Theodora Goes Wild

Irene Dunne plays Theodora Lynn, a proper New England girl. She also happens to go by the name of Caroline Adams. Secluded all her life with her two prudish aunts and the other puritans of the "highly regarded" Lynn Literary Circle, she sublimates her revolt as the secret author of a tantalizing best-selling novel. This is her sublimation of revolt. The movie illustrates the makeover of an allegedly homely and introverted girl into the most wild and high-spirited lady. And it marks a difference between wild and silly, as Uncle John says, "A Lynn may go wild, but never silly." See title for more info on how Theodora goes.

She lives in Lynnfield, named after the Lynn family, whose only legacy are Theodora and her two aunts, Elsie and Mary. "The two oracles," says Thomas Mitchell, editor of The Lynnfield Bugle, the "pulse" of the town. It's an enticing note for the movie to start on, a brassy Thomas Mitchell carving out the lovable, spirited personality he'd bring to Stagecoach, fending off puritanical spinsters protesting that the titillating novel he's featuring is not fit to print. Indeed, the members are single-minded not to allow "sexy trash like this come right into our homes and corrupt the morals of our youth." When Mitchell gets to have a word, he blames the community for denying social progress. But the group deems it their obligation to keep Lynnfield the one pure, God-fearing place left in the world.

We chuckle knowingly when the action then cuts to New York, where a publisher reads an irate wire from Lynnfield. Theodora is so frantic she thinks Caroline Adams is depraved. Was he raised in a small town by two maiden aunts? Has he lectured Sunday School or played church organ for years? Categorically not. Undaunted, he knows that nobody dumps an audience this big, a career this sensational, due to scruples. That's the reality, one curtailed by Hollywood soon after. But the censors were new and hadn't yet learned to keep its right up, so here we have a forgotten early-sound keepsake of silver-screen censure of moral censorship, frivolous and wacky, but by god not silly.

It's this uncensored rebellious energy that I think lends itself to a creative stylishness rare to early American cinema. Short-lived Russian immigrant director Richard Boleslawski brings a particularly effective and stylishly economical editing and visual direction to this appropriately fast-paced early rom-com. Like all the "early rom-coms," its time played a big role in not just its plot but its attitudes, which on the one hand make Theodora Goes Wild refreshingly irreverent but on the other still outmoded in certain varying personal ways. Theodora meets her dapper illustrator, in the form of Melvyn Douglas. Here's a persona who bursts into the movie mugging, blustering and making a domineering nuisance of himself. Theodora opposes his idea of a writer who ought to live life, and so he enlists himself to liberate her. And yet judging this behavior as extraordinarily narcissistic, overbearing and cocky against the alpha male fantasy in romantic comedies of the era would be judging one against a homogeneous crowd.

Women were to be rescued, shown the way, wisened up to the real world. And consistent with that role, Theodora is finally inspired by this dashing leader-of-the-pack type to run amok, even exceeding him in mischief and cheek. She now exhibits what he's urged on her so winningly. She relates with dignity how she told the town off: It's a free country, she's an adult and phooey to anyone who judges her for what she does. Indeed, Theodora woos infamy, summoning one outrage after another. But, to her disappointment, beneath his supposedly freethinking facade, Michael is as soft and repressed as she was. Michael is ensnared in a hateful marriage on behalf of his father's political livelihood, and Theodora guarantees to return his favor with a taste of his own juice. Usurping into Michael's apartment, she dresses in feathers and gives shocking interviews to the tabloids. They rotate. Now it's Theodora's task to free him from his bourgeois sense of decorum.

Regardless, all that good stuff is just decoration. Actually, it's foundation, but there is a definite, sublime enchantment in its star, Irene Dunne. She played more kinds of roles in more kinds of movies than most of her female peers, and yet is arguably more natural, spontaneous and memorable than any of them. In fact, Theodora Goes Wild is her first comedy. She walks right into it, fully and effortlessly possessed of herself and manages to both be better than all of her female comedy contemporaries and completely different from all of them as well. I'll even go as far as to say that the movies owe more to Dunne than Claudette Colbert, Carole Lombard and Myrna Loy put together. Her Theodora became the forerunner of copious romantic comedies like The Awful Truth and Ninotchka, all anchored in similar principles: the enchanting transformation of their female protagonists. The Awful Truth made a star out of Cary Grant. And in his later co-stars, were looking for Dunne-like qualities. This is her show, and like it always is in such cases, absolutely no one else could've compared.

I saw this movie for the first time a few days ago. I've heard and read a lot about it, and know that it is considered one of the top screwball comedies of the '30s. Unfortunately, I can't figure out why.

I actually like Irene Dunne, and always thought that Melvyn Douglas was in the same league with William Powell when it came to glib, sophisticated comedy, so I was all set to enjoy this one. But about a quarter of the way through it, I found myself asking, "When is this thing going to get funny?" The subject matter--how the reactionary, repressive mentality of a clique of small-town religious zealots stifles any kind of individual creativity at all--is more suited to a drama than a comedy, and I think this film would have actually worked better as a drama with some comedy thrown in, which both Dunne and Douglas were more than capable of, than just as a comedy alone, which it really isn't. There are a few amusing moments in it, but not nearly enough to be classified as a "screwball" comedy. Thurston Hall is his usual amusing, blustery self, and Spring Byington is good as the town's two-faced gossip, but that's about it. Dunne and Douglas try hard, but they're just not given much to work with.

I know that a lot of people think this film is on a par with "Nothing Sacred", "My Man Godfrey" or "Twentieth Century," but I just can't see it.

The first time I ever saw this was my introduction to Irene Dunne. She is one of the greatest actresses in the history of American movies and never better than she is here. ("The Awful Truth" is virtually flawless and she may be more polished in it. But she is a true revelation here.) The story involves hypocrisy, puncturing it, overcoming inhibitions, being decent in a true sense rather than according to a pre-prepared code.

Dunne is a rather frumpy woman from a small town who has written a scandalous novel under a pseudonym. She sneaks off to her publisher in Manhattan, with a visit to her reprobate uncle, now and again. And this time she is swept off her feet by Melvyn Douglas (a little too madcap initially.) She sheds her alias after he's come to her town to woo her. She returns to New York, only to find him as stuffy as her elderly aunts and their friends. (These ladies are portrayed delightfully by actresses including Spring Byington and Elizabeth Risdon.) She really does go wild -- not just dumping her modest clothes for feathers and chic hats but turning up at all the best parties. And embarrassing people who have presented themselves as liberated.

Dunne was not a beautiful woman. Sometimes she looked pretty and sometimes not really even too pretty, though she wore clothes well. But she was an extraordinary film actress. Her range was broad and her hits included many women's pictures, several comedies (including "Joy of Living," dismal through no fault of her own.) And she played Magnolia in my favorite of all movie musicals: "Showboat," which came out this same year.

I've seen this movie many times, and it just keeps getting funnier every time I see it. It reminds me a lot of myself, growing up in a small town like "Lynnfield", and being brought up to think and act the way Theodora was. Then when I moved away from home, some people thought I went "wild!" This has all the qualities for people who can relate to small towns, even with the "worst town gossip" to make you wonder what's going to be spread next... For a fact, this movie is a lot like Irene Dunne's life, actually her friends said they liked her best in this movie, because it is most like her in character. If you come from a small town, it's a classic film you can kinda relate to...and just have to see!

Theodora Goes Wild is perhaps the greatest sleeper in film history. When other comedies such as Midnight, Lady Eve, It Happened One Night, and especially the over-rated Bringing Up Baby are touted with 4 star ratings, this relatively unknown gem sweeps them all away in its irresistible path. One of the finest comedies ever filmed, this is a masterpiece in every way. The direction is superb, the writing sparkles with a wit that time has not dimmed. But the frosting on its cake is the comic genius of Irene Dunne, one of Hollywood's most underrated actresses. This, her first real comedy, is an object lesson to any aspiring comedienne, so perfect is her timing and delivery of virtually every line. This film should be studied by every student in the field of film and enjoyed by countless others who have never even heard of it. It's too bad that Irene Dunne is not given the credit she truly deserves. My bet is that in 50 years she will be considered perhaps the finest Hollywood actress of her time. If you think I'm joking, just watch her in Back Street, Love Affair (much better in my opinion than its more popular remake Affair To Remember), Show Boat, I Remember Mama, this film, The Awful Truth, A Guy Named Joe, Anna and The King of Siam, Life With Father, Ann Vickers........