Froufrou

With the US Civil War on the horizon, coquettish 16-year-old Luise Rainer (as Gilberte "Frou Frou" Brigard) returns from a French finishing school to her Louisiana plantation. After looking over her slaves, Ms. Rainer selects self-described young "darkie" Theresa Harris as her personal attendant. Called "Pick" (short for "Pickaninny"), Ms. Harris is the cast member with the most star quality in this story. Rainer becomes involved with two men, stable lawyer Melvyn Douglas (as Georges) and more irresponsible Robert Young (as Andre). Her immaturity and flirtatious nature causes heartache in Ms. Rainer's relationships with these men and her older sister Barbara O'Neil (as Louise)...

It should have been obvious by "The Toy Wife" that MGM's much hoped-for success with Luise Rainer was not going to materialize. Here, she impersonates Greta Garbo (from "Camille") doing Bette Davis (from "Jezebel"). The studio and Rainer would soon give up on each other. It's a shame, because Rainer might have gone on to have an engaging US film career. MGM and studio head Louis B. Mayer should have originally pushed Rainer for a "Supporting Actress" award (for "The Great Ziegfeld") and given her some more suitable projects. Here, she is way off the mark. "The Toy Wife" is also notable for its threatening treatment of house slaves. Alma Kruger does well as Mr. Young's mother.

*** The Toy Wife (6/10/38) Richard Thorpe ~ Luise Rainer, Melvyn Douglas, Robert Young, Barbara O'Neil

I have watched television over the last forty years and this is one of the few black and white movies that I missed. It was great to see one of the greats again. This movie invokes a wide set of emotions that doesn't require explicit sex, explosions or fast plots. The photography is outstanding and every close up is a prefect portrait of expression and lighting. Luise Rainer gives an incredible performance. After reading her biography, I understand that she is known for her emotional dramatic acting and hand postures, but in this film, I don't see how any one could have pretended to be as beautiful and flighty. The character was "almost" mentally ill, that is nearly detached from reality. Flighty and beautiful...a prefect performance. I'd have to say that she stole the show. *S* Thank you Luise.

Luise Rainer gives a beautiful performance as "The Toy Wife," a 1938 film. After she won two consecutive Oscars, roles for this beautiful, petite actress were difficult for MGM to find.

Here she plays Gilberte, a young woman known as Frou Frou, who comes back to Louisiana after living in France and captivates New Orleans. Her sister, Louise (Barbara O'Neill) is in love with George (Melvyn Douglas) but he falls for Frou Frou and marries her. They have a son, Georgie. Though George loves her, he has to admit that she is not much of a wife and mother. She's childlike herself, a playmate to her son, impractical, and an airhead.

George brings Louise to live with them and take care of the household and Georgie. Meanwhile, Frou Frou is rehearsing a play with a man who is in love with her, Andre (Robert Young). Over time, she realizes that Louise has taken over Georgie, and her husband, occupied with work, is less interested in her. When Louise receives a marriage proposal and turns it down, Frou Frou blows her top and lets her sister know what she really thinks of her. "You don't want your own husband and children, you want mine!" she screams. That night, she runs away with Andre, embittering George and putting Andre in danger.

This is a very good movie with a wonderful performance by Rainer, who is surrounded by an excellent cast. The costumes are gorgeous.

The character of Frou Frou is so sweet and loving, it's painful to see what a mess she makes of her life and the lives around her.

After Irving Thalberg's death, Rainer left Hollywood, dissatisfied with what Louis B. Mayer had to offer her. She married Clifford Odets and, after that ended, left the country. She married again, had a child, and continued to work on and off over the years, as late as 1997's The Gambler.

Luise Rainer was a great treasure unappreciated by MGM. She brought beauty and excellence in performance to everything she did. But MGM figured she had two Oscars so they could give her anything, and they did. She was miserable. But she liked this film very much, as well as her costar, Melvyn Douglas.

Quite the period piece... the south, before the civil war. But some big names.. .Melvyn Douglas (star of silents and talkies), Robert Young (Marcus Welby), HB Warner (many films). some similarities to Gone With the Wind.... girl likes one guy. another guy proposes, so she accepts. but still likes the other guy. and doesn't really get over it. stuff happens. many references to slavery. not all complimentary, but historically accurate. goes on and on. lessons learned. one lives with ones' decisions. Directed by Richard Thorpe. about the biggest films for him were Jailhouse Rock and Fun in Acapulco.

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).