Cynara

London barrister Jim Warlock (Ronald Colman) is packing to leave his loving wife Clemency (Kay Francis). They discuss how he met Doris Emily Lea (Phyllis Barry) and the start of his troubles.

This pre-Code early talkie is a romantic melodrama mystery. I'm not always in love with these male characters who are 'ruined' by aggressive females. They feint innocence a little too easily and are rarely that at all. I do like the mystery of his downfall. At least, there is no boiled rabbit at the end of this "obsessed female" drama and he does accept some responsibility. I still don't like him, but I do accept his journey.

According to the Citadel Film Series book The Films of Ronald Colman, the movie-going public did not take to Colman in Cynara playing an adulterous husband. His image as the ultimate civilized man of the English speaking world did not jibe with infidelity. Still Colman does give a decent performance in a rather dated melodrama.

Colman when we meet him is one happily married if somewhat bored man to Kay Francis. He's a successful barrister. But when Francis is on a girl's holiday, Colman rather casually drifts into an affair with young Phyllis Barry.

Of course it ends in tragedy as these things do, especially back in the day. It does resolve in the best tradition of stiff upper lip English dignity which I think today's audience will not understand. But that would also be in the Ronald Colman tradition as well.

King Vidor got good performances out of his cast. Kay Francis as the wronged wife has little to do here, but look martyred. A favorite character actor of mine Henry Stephenson lends his worldly wisdom to the proceedings. And there is a nice performance by Viva Tattersall as Barry's friend and Colman's accuser.

Cynara is a nice, but terribly dated film. Audiences back then were put off by this digression from the Colman image. Audiences today will be thrown by all those rather silly romantic notions and the idea that we must preserve appearances at all costs.

King Vidor directed "Cynara," an early talkie starring Ronald Colman and Kay Francis, in 1932. The title is based on a poem by Ernest Dowson that contains the line: "I have been faithful to thee, Cynara, in my fashion."

Colman plays a barrister who is faithful to his wife of 7 years, Clemency (Francis) but succumbs to the carnal temptation of a young girl (Phyllis Barry) while his wife and her sister are in Venice.

As others commented, there are some lovely effects, including the film within a film, and a piece of paper that Colman rips up that dissolves into flying pigeons in Venice.

And there are very good performances by Colman, Francis and Barry, who has the difficult role of the young girl who, because of a mistake, is not considered quite respectable, and falls for Colman.

The problem I have with the story is that the Colman character is such a devoted husband in the beginning and so happy about being married 7 years. In practically the next scene, with the encouragement of his friend (Henry Stevenson) he has taken up with this girl. If some of that had been left out of the script, it would have been much more believable.

At any rate, well worth seeing for the director, the precode aspects, and the stars.

Ronald Colman may never have been better than as the happily married barrister who foolishly embarks on an extramarital affair with a young shopgirl, (Phyllis Barry), in King Vidor's now totally forgotten "Cynara". Made pre-Hays Code this is one of Vidor's best and certainly least known films that treats the subject of adultery with surprising frankness as well as a considerable degree of tenderness. Excellent work, too, from that very fine and underrated actress Kay Francis as the wronged wife and Henry Stephenson as Colman's older friend who is largely responsible for driving Colman into the younger woman's arms. Seek this one out.

Recently I was finally able to see this early sound classic with Ronald Colman and Kay Francis. I haven't seen many movies with the latter, and her understated beauty suits Colman perfectly.

Colman looking elegant in his perfectly tailored suits, plays a conservative and happily married (to Kay, as Clemency) barrister whose life is turned upside down by a chance affair with a shop girl played sensitively by an unknown at the time, Phyllis Barry. King Vidor, the director, took a chance in casting her, but his faith in her ability paid off. She brings just the right touch of pathos and desperation to the role of Doris. (And just happens to resemble Kay more than just a little.) In David Shepard's book on King Vidor several effects within the movie are discussed, such as the movie within a movie scene with Charlie playing the little tramp when they all go to the flickers the night he and Tring (character actor Henry Stephenson in a salty role.) meet the girls, and the fade out scenes of Colman tearing up the paper with the girls address to a scene of Clemency in Venice with her sister and the scraps of paper have dissolved into pigeons in flight.

I would say that this was a different type of role for Colman. Yet even though he plays an adulterous husband, his kindness and tenderness toward Doris is always there, and all parties suffer because of the infidelity. Even in a precode, no one gets away from the consequences of their actions! I highly recommend this movie for Colman and Francis fans and as a fine example of an early Vidor sound movie. I enjoyed it more than Street Scene as the sound quality was better by this time, and the story flowed more smoothly.