Mrs. Parkington

"Mrs. Parkington" is an incredibly well made film--with great acting and some lovely production values. Clearly, MGM gave this film the full glossy studio treatment. And, for her wonderful performance, Greer Garson was nominated for an Oscar. However, I am very ambivalent about the film because so many of the characters are either despicable or pathetic. In many ways, it reminds me of the country music song "Stand By Your Man"--as a woman should put up with ANYTHING in order to keep even the most awful man. Clearly, this is a film for dependent personalities!

The film begins near the present time. The Parkington family appears to be made up of a group of sociopaths--all loathsome jerks who think mostly of themselves. When the matriarch, Mrs. Parkington (Garson) learns that one of the brood is a thief, she begins to reminisce--remembering her life with Mr. Parkington (Walter Pidgeon). At first, their marriage seems pretty nice--with a rich and doting husband. However, through the course of these long series of flashbacks, you learn that Mr. Parkington is vindictive, petty, selfish and cheats on Mrs. Parkington. And, as for Mrs. Parkington, she is clever and long-suffering--and lifted up as some sort of shining example. I couldn't help but think she was pathetic and would have probably accepted Mr. Parkington back after he murdered or slept with children or sheep. And this brings me to my ambivalence--no one--not anyone in this family is likable in the least. And, the film seems to promote the notion that a woman's job is just to put up with this and smile throughout! Talk about an anti-feminist message! The bottom line is that I'd hate for my daughters to watch such a film, as I'd hate to think that Mrs. Parkington is someone to admire (though the film tries HARD to say this). If Garson's character had either shot her husband or left him and bled him dry in alimony, then maybe I would have enjoyed it much more. A great job of acting and a sick message to this film.

Oh, and I should mention that in one brief scene, the Parkingtons joke about how it is Mr. Parkington's job to regularly 'thrash his wife'. Wow....need I say any more?! Well, yes. If you like films that promote women as lovely doormats, also try Mary Pickford's last film, "Secrets". Her husband is also a piece of work and she looks back fondly to their lives together.

Greer Garson and Walter Pigeon were one of the great romantic teams of the 1940s but both were too old (particularly Pigeon) for their roles in this disappointing film version of the popular Louis Bromfield novel. Pigeon is simply miscast; he is too much the gentleman to ever be convincing as the boorish, philandering Major "Gus" Parkington. As his wife, Susie, Garson, wearing a dark wig (and looking rather like Yvonne DeCarlo), ages from a naive young woman to the crusty, 84 year old family matriarch. The characterization is never believable but her scenes as the elderly Mrs. Parkington are especially objectionable (she's too arch). Neither Garson or Pigeon is particularly well-aided by a meandering script that fails to adequately clarify the relationships among the family members or takes the time to develop the various characters. Consequently, one simply doesn't care what happens to the members of the Parkington dynasty. The supporting cast...among them, Edward Arnold, Lee Patrick, Dan Duryea, Cecil Kellaway, Frances Rafferty and Tom Drake...is competent but only Agnes Moorehead, in a rare sympathetic turn as Pigeon's ex-mistress, and Gladys Cooper, as Pigeon and Garson's dypsomaniacal daughter, manage to make a significant impression.

Greer Garson lived to be 91 years old, and she never looked as she did as the older Mrs. Parkington and the older Madame Curie - all white.

In this 1944 film, the Parkington family meets for Christmas, just before they all learn of a scandal which will impact the family fortune and the reputation of the family.

Thinking about her husband, Susie (Greer Garson), the matriarch, now 84, thinks back to meeting her husband Gus (Walter Pidgeon) at her family boarding house in Leaping Frog, Nevada. The major, as he was called, owned the mine where everyone worked.

Susie had always dreamed of being in high society, and she knew all about it and would fantasize about what it would be like. She gets her wish when, after the loss of her mother when the mine caves in, the Major and Susie marry and go to New York.

There she meets Aspasia (Agnes Moorhead), the Major's former mistress, who takes Susie in hand and helps her to buy clothes and learn the ways of society. Susie and the Major have children and encounter tragedy and separation. With the Major gone now, Susie reflects on how best to handle this situation by asking herself what the Major would do.

Really lovely film, with fine performances by Moorhead, Pidgeon, and of course, Garson. In the beginning she sports a black wig; I kind of missed, even in black and white, her flaming red hair. Strangely, Gladys Cooper plays Garson's daughter when Mrs. Parkington was 84. Cooper was 16 years older in reality.

In those days, it was more economical for studios to use actresses under contract than borrow someone (though lending actors out was incredibly lucrative). Possibly Cooper was under contract and available.

The film also features Edward Arnold, Dan Duryea, Lee Patrick, Tom Drake, Hugh Marlowe, Hans Conried, with Peter Lawford in a tiny role.

Good movie.

This was an entertaining movie, told in both contemporary time and flashback, as Susie Parkington (Greer Garson) recalls her life with her late husband, Augustus (Walter Pidgeon), while dealing with a family crisis that involves all her self-centered children, grandchildren, in-laws and her beloved great-granddaughter, who adds substance to the shallow brood.

Greer is terrific and the character she plays is admirable and likeable, but the same can't be said for Walter, as Augustus can't be called admirable. He's got an ego to match his bank account as well as a vengeful streak that borders on obsessive. Despite being a young, innocent woman (as well as his social inferior) when they wed (he felt responsible for her, as the mining accident he indirectly caused resulted in her mother's death) she manages to hold her own against this strong, often domineering man, like when she confesses to lending financial help to the family of a business rival he sought to destroy. She also stands her ground when it comes to Aspasia (Agnes Moorehead), Augustus's former mistress, who becomes Susie's friend, though still in love with her husband. Later down the road, after a year's separation caused by a family tragedy, Susie follows Augustus to Europe, where she wins him back from another woman, with help from the Prince of Wales! She's more than a match for the husband who called her "Sparrow"!

There are other familiar faces here: Edward Arnold, Dan Duryea, Cecil Kellaway, that add to the story, though I would have been just as happy had the present-day clan been left out altogether.

It's Christmastime in 1938. Elegant 83-year-old family matriarch Greer Garson (as "Susie" Graham-Parkington) welcomes various family members to her majestic New York mansion. The guests display various excesses, which are fueled by their wealth. We will learn the family fortune, estimated at over $30 million (not too shabby for 1938), could be in jeopardy. The holiday spirit triggers Ms. Garson's life story to be told, in a series of extensive flashbacks… Long ago, 18-year-old Garson tends to guests in her poor mother's boarding house. Their Leaping Rock, Nevada home is visited by silver mining tycoon Walter Pidgeon (as Augustus "Gus" Parkington). Garson and Mr. Pidgeon exchange winks; we're off and running...

We see newlywed Garson move from lowly to life in high society. She doesn't have far to go, looking impeccable in her scenes as a Leaping Rock chambermaid. Still, attractive Agnes Moorehead (as Aspasia Conti) decides to show Garson the ropes, having given up on playboy Pidgeon. Multi-millionaires have problems too, as we discover while the decades pass...

"Mrs. Parkington" isn't a very engaging story, but it is an excellent star vehicle for Greer Garson. It's all tailor-made, right down to the way she blows the curl dangling over her forehead. The actress had become MGM's most bankable female, with huge box-office success and measured critical acclaim. Very popular with "Oscar" voters, Garson added another nomination to her collection. She does an outstanding job, though her craftiness and make-up are not often subtle. Moorehead, Edward Arnold and the supporting cast all hit their marks. Director Tay Garnett, photographer Joseph Ruttenberg and the MGM crew make everything look superlative. A sense of staginess pervades, but it's appropriate; after all, this isn't "Citizen Kane".

****** Mrs. Parkington (1944-10-12) Tay Garnett ~ Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Agnes Moorehead, Edward Arnold