The Toy Wife

This is a seldom seen film. We caught it on TCM, the best source for some of the best classic films of all times. The main attraction in watching this 1938 movie was a curiosity for watching Luise Ranier at the height of her Hollywood days.

As directed by Richard Thorpe, the film has its merits. This movie, based on a play, seems artificial, but that was the taste of those days and it will not disappoint, although it is a typical melodrama. The art direction of Cedric Gibbons is evident in the lush interiors of the elegant New Orleans mansions and the antebellum plantation owned by the Vallaire family.

This is a story about two sisters who loved each other dearly, but their relationship suffers a blow as George Sartoris will ask the flighty Gilberte "Frou Frou" Brigard to marry him instead of the woman who really loved him, her sister Louise. Frou Frou, a frivolous girl, only wanted the glamor of the social life in New Orleans. She liked George, but she never felt anything for her husband. Dashing Andre Vallaire awakens a fatal passion in her. In fact, that is her downfall and she lives to pay for her indiscretion.

Luise Ranier plays the young girl well. Her acting reminded us of another star of the day, Greta Garbo, although Ms. Ranier was not a product of the silent era. Both believed in the large gestures as a way to emphasize the lines they were reciting and both played to the camera in similar fashion. In fact, she sticks out from the rest of the cast, which obviously had another approach to acting.

The dashing Melvyn Douglas was good as George. Barbara O'Neil is perfect as the Louise, the noble sister that gives up her own happiness to make George happy. Robert Young cuts quite a figure as the handsome Andre. Alma Kruger, H.B. Warner, are seen in minor roles.

The film is a curiosity, and it should be seen as such because it probably will resonate with admirers of the classic films of that era.

The reviews should help potential viewers decide whether or not they will like a movie. I thought there were certain aspects of this movie that were exceptionally good so I was surprised to see a below average rating. When this occurs, I often see a sharp disparity in the reviews where one group loves it and another group thinks it a flop. Both are valid subjective comments. Readers should read a couple of reviews from each of the two groups and see which group they identify with and view or not accordingly. I belong to the former group. I was blown away by the fantastic performance of Luise Rainer, arguably the best actress of her era - it was exactly the characterization the original play and movie called for. In contrast, when the movie came out, critics did not like it and it didn't do well at the box office (suffering a small financial loss). Critics called it too melodramatic, but melodramas have always been one of the major genres of movies - especially in the '30s and still survive today. Critics called Luise's performance "too feminine" (NY Times) and too animated. Those criticisms are a bit like calling a Boris Karloff horror film "too scary" - if you don't like horror (or melodrama), then don't watch horror (or melodrama). The movie and story line are NOT on the same level as, say, Gone With The Wind, but it's a good B level melodrama with all supporting actors and others doing A level jobs albeit on a modest budget. Individual reviewers thought Luise's style was too animated, but that's what the role calls for and her Oscar winning performance in The Good Earth had was no animation as that's what that role required. Others thought Luise's acting style was too different than the other actors. However, the others were playing "normal" people whereas Luise was portraying a character that was qualitatively different and doing it perfectly. The key theme is the Melvyn Douglas character (solid, all business, male) falling in love with Luise's (animated, happy-alive, ultra female) character. I've seen Luise's character in real life - rare, but still seen again and again - and those who are like Melvyn's character are very strongly attracted to her as they seem to sense that she will add another dimension, or two, to their life. Melvyn's character falls for Luise's character because of who she is - her personality. But then, to be brief and not give too much away, Melvyn's character begins to become disenchanted and critical as she's not more like him. This is a deep theme for a melodrama. Being fiction, there are many possible endings and many may have been disappointed (and lowered their rating) by the chosen ending not matching their preferred ending - I preferred a different ending, but my subjective choice is NOT inherently better than the chosen ending. And as I reflect on the movie, I'm free to change the ending to fit my taste.

This film is a period piece set in Louisiana before the Civil War. In this Hollywood version of the Old South, the rich plantation owners are good to their slaves and the slaves are happy people! I can't even repeat (due to IMDb standards) some of the ways these human beings are referred to in the film and I can't see this film earning a perfect 10 simply because of its whitewashing of slavery.

The story is about a very shallow, child-like and destructive woman nicknamed "Frou Frou" (Luise Rainer). She bounces about like a happy bunny--captivating men in the process. Yet, because of her selfishness and lack of depth, she is destined to screw up the lives of men who get close to her. Frankly, I think they overdid her character a bit in the first half of the film--you'd think that smart men would see right through her and know exactly what she is (I know I hated her almost as soon as I saw her on the screen).

The first man she becomes involved with is George (Melvin Douglas). George is competent, decent and a very good catch--and her sister, Louise (Barbara O'Neil)is already in love with him. After marrying him, Frou Frou has a child and everything seems fine. However, George becomes frustrated with Frou Frou. She's very simple-minded and too self-absorbed to be much of a mother (as he describes her "she's more like a playmate than a mother to the boy"), she spends money with abandon and offers no intellectual stimulation for her husband. When he is offered an important assignment from the government to the new territories of Texas and New Mexico, she refuses to go, as she finds these places boring (though she's never even seen them)! He stays but is quite unhappy about this and it's obvious that something bad is brewing in this marriage! I actually liked this next part of the film. I had incorrectly assumed that Frou Frou would cheat on George and was too selfish to even try to be a proper wife. This would have been the easy next step for the film. Fortunately, the writers chose a different and much more interesting path.

Because Frou Frou is so irresponsible and daffy, her sister Louise comes to live with them. Over time, the boy looks more to Louise for guidance and love and it's clear to the audience that she is slowly taking Frou Frou's place. In the meantime, Andre returns and begins to make the moves on Frou Frou. He can see that she is unhappy but Frou Frou refuses--she is determined to keep her home intact. She seems to realize that her marriage is slipping away from her and she makes some efforts to work on it...but it appears to possibly be too late. In desperation, Frou Frou tries to arrange a marriage for Louise to get her out of the house but Louise refuses the offer! Eventually, however, Frou Frou realizes that the marriage is beyond her ability to save it. Then, and only then, she runs to Andre. At this point, her life and the lives of those around her are in ruins--her family is aghast and she and Andre are now outcasts. As the film nears the end, George and Andre are about to kill each other in a duel--and Frou Frou realizes that this is her doing. How this all ends is something you'll just have to see for yourself.

Overall, not a great film but there is a lot to be admired. Several times during the film, I anticipated what would happen next and was wrong. Being a huge fan of classic Hollywood, my 'batting average' is pretty good in anticipating plots and I am glad the the writers didn't take the easy way or rely on clichés. I also like how late in the film George's responsibility for marrying a woman like this and then being unjustly angry because she lacked depth was brought to light--it wasn't just a 'one-way street'. As long as the way they portray slavery doesn't completely alienate you (and it easily might), the film is well acted and original.

If you liked films like CAMILLE or JEZEBEL, then you will most likely enjoy seeing THE TOY WIFE.

Based on a French play from the nineteenth century (1869) ,"Frou Frou" is virtually forgotten in its native country .Only a waltz which has little (or nothing ) to do with the character is still played for Thé-Dansant for old generations .

Thorpe partially succeeding in giving a French aristocratic touch to the film.There are some lines in that language ,and the classic old folk tune "Au Clair De La Lune" is heard again and again and again ,a good choice,for it is primarily a children's song and the heroine (check the title) has never grown up whereas her sister was born an adult.You cannot blame Frou Frou for what she's done because she is in a world she does not understand;Whatever she does, she is out of steps with what the others do :her sister (why shouldn't be jealous of her?) , her son (Isn't she a good mother?) , her husband (isn't she a good wife at least in her mind?) and even her lover (isn't it only a stopgap solution?)

Sainte Catherine is the heroine's model.This character has been part of the French culture for a long time and plays a prominent part in Frou Frou's life :she often says a prayer to her and when everything turns to gray ,her last resort is to go and implore her idol.The Catherinettes were girls of 25 still unmarried by the Feast of Sainte Catherine (25th November);the tradition is slowly fading nowadays.

"The toy woman" (which was retitled "Frou Frou " in the French version,although the American title is much more relevant) is a good melodrama which would deserve a better rating than the mediocre 5,8 it's got at my time of writing

Like her contemporaries, Garbo and Dietrich, the Vienesse Luise Rainer had both beauty and talent and yet, despite winning two consecutive Best Actress Oscars, failed to achieve the same level of cinematic greatness. Dissatisfied with the way MGM was handling her career, she fled Hollywood in the late 30s and, sadly, audiences today barely know of her work. Here, she had one of her better film roles as Frou-Frou, the flighty Southern Belle, indulged by a wealthy father and doting older sister and, consequently, aware of nothing but her own needs and desires. When she catches the eye of a staid lawyer (humorless Melvyn Douglas), who is charmed by her youthful joy and gaiety, she consents to marriage at the urging of the sister, who is hopeful Frou-Frou will somehow be forced to grow up, and in spite of the sister's own love for the lawyer. When the marriage fails to produce the desired outcome, and sensing the loss of her husband's affection, Frou-Frou drifts into an affair with a wealthy roué, with tragic results. Rainer gives a very fine performance as the innocently destructive Frou-Frou and is an absolutely enchanting presence on screen. With Barbara O'Neil as the more serious-minded older sister, Robert Young, bland as always as Frou-Frou's lover, and H.B. Warner, Alma Kruger and the very pretty black actress Theresa Harris (in a truly offensive role as Frou-Frou's maid. You'd have to see her in something like Miracle On 34th Street to appreciate how very different, and dignified, she really was).