That Forsyte Woman

By the end of the 1940s, the WB had relegated one-time box office king Errol Flynn to 'B' movies, and offered him little studio support. While most of the stars under contract to the studio were still protected from unflattering publicity, Flynn's rape trial and subsequent revelations revealed a public far more tolerant of the star than the studio was, so Flynn was left 'to his own devices', and found himself the constant subject of scandalous headlines, a situation that became so intolerable that he would eventually sue 'Confidential' magazine, the most virulent of the 'scandal sheets'.

Therefore, when, negotiating a new contract in 1947, Flynn asked to be allowed to do one film a year away from the WB, the studio agreed, happily, more than pleased to let another studio pay the actor's salary and deal with his unsavory reputation. While the result of this new 'freedom' did not produce any Flynn 'classics' (KIM would be the best received of his work away from the WB), it did give him a seat at the table with Gable, Tracy, Hepburn, Garland, Taylor, and MGM's other legendary stars, when the studio celebrated their 'Golden Anniversary', in 1949.

THAT FORSYTHE WOMAN, Flynn's first film away from the WB, was a heavy-handed, ultimately unsuccessful adaptation of the first of John Galsworthy's trilogy of the rise and fall of a British aristocratic family, a popular series of works that would become the basis of the classic BBC series, 'Upstairs, Downstairs'. Offered his choice of the male 'leads' in the film, Flynn lobbied for, and got, the 'villain' of the story, the coldly ruthless Soames Forsythe, who marries MGM 'queen' Greer Garson, and proceeds to make her life a living hell. It was a major departure for Flynn, who had watched his roles at the WB deteriorate into a collection of jaded roués with a 'taste' for married women. While he acknowledged that he wasn't the easiest person to work with, he wanted to demonstrate, once and for all, that he was an actor capable of far more than leaping horses over cannons and swinging a sword. With Soames, Flynn proved he 'could deliver', even as a character you would be hard-pressed to feel sympathetic about.

As the men Garson would find comfort with, Robert Young (who had his own 'typecasting' problems, again playing a near juvenile when, in fact, he was older than Flynn!), and Walter Pidgeon (also playing a role younger than his actual age, but, as usual, winning Garson's heart), had to contend with poorly written, nearly cardboard roles (that Pidgeon 'comes off' so well is a testament to his often-overlooked acting talent...he was FAR more than just 'Garson's Leading Man').

Greer Garson, long 'typed' as the most aristocratic of MGM leading ladies, had to deliver some truly 'ripe' dialog, and her manipulation by 'class conscious' Soames seemed unrealistic and out of character, but she managed to survive the stodgy production with her reputation unblemished.

Filming was smooth and untroubled, and Garson was impressed by Flynn's professionalism (he was on his best behavior, for a change). He did, however, pull one memorable practical joke; in a very dramatic scene, as she packed to leave Soames, she opened a wooden wardrobe to discover Flynn, standing inside, naked, grinning from ear to ear! One NEVER pulled a stunt like that on a Major Star (Bette Davis would have had a tantrum), but Garson simply burst out laughing, appreciating Flynn's irreverence.

THAT FORSYTHE WOMAN would be one of Errol Flynn's favorite movies, even if it didn't turn his career around.

A luscious film, this breaks a few molds in the casting department. Greer Garson is superb as the unfulfilled wife who "held out for a higher price." (Great line!) Errol Flynn as the cold husband? It worked for me -- he showed a subtle side to his acting that worked perfectly. A young and not-so-debonair Robert Young, with his "uncombed" hair and his less-than-elegant wardrobe, plays the seducer with just the right touch of impishness. And Janet Leigh as the spurned fiance brings great pathos to her role.

The story is a bit contrived at the end, but the rest of the film succeeds in depicting frustration, arrogance, control, and passion with aplomb.

According to the Citadel Film Series book, The Films Of Errol Flynn, MGM and Warner Brothers did a swapping of stars for the services of the other. Errol Flynn went to MGM for a picture in return for Warner Brothers getting the services of William Powell for Life With Father. I think Powell made out far better in the deal than Flynn did with an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his film.

Not that Errol Flynn was bad in That Forsyte Woman, in fact his casting as the proper and stuffy Soames Forsyte was quite a revelation. But the movie-going public simply wouldn't buy it. Errol, not the dashing hero with sword in hand and cape over the other shoulder was not accepted. If That Forsyte Woman had been made a decade earlier and for Warner Brothers, Flynn would have been perfect to play Robert Young's role of Philip Bossiney.

Flynn is married to Greer Garson and is guardian of niece Janet Leigh. Leigh is the daughter of black sheep brother in this proper Victorian family, Walter Pidgeon. Pidgeon years ago ran away with his niece's governess after the family did not permit the recently widowed Pidgeon to marry her. Back in those days proper English families did things like that.

Anyway the rather staid marriage of Flynn and Garson gets a jolt when opportunistic Robert Young who Leigh has been keeping company with, falls for Garson and she, him. In modern times it would be a no fault divorce, but things aren't done that way in Victorian England.

If there is a weakness in casting it's that of Robert Young. I'm surprised that MGM did not use someone like Peter Lawford whom they had under contract and was British besides. Greer was British, but the rest of the cast had two Americans in Young and Leigh, a Canadian in Pidgeon and Flynn was Australian. Young was older than Errol Flynn and just doesn't come over as the young opportunistic lover.

Garson of course is the perfect English lady who usually wan't allowed dalliances by MGM, but she's fine here. Greer wrote the introduction to the Films Of Errol Flynn and she says that she found Flynn to be a perfect gentleman and anxious to prove himself a serious actor.

He did in many ways in That Forsyte Saga. He was a prisoner of his own legend at this point.

There was real potential for 'The Forsyte Saga' to be a good film. The casting did sound odd but with performances this talented there was a chance that they could have pulled it off. It was from a studio with so many classics under its belt. It looked incredibly handsome seeing its advertising and stills. The source material is absolutely brilliant, though did worry that because it is so rich it would not lend itself well to merely a feature length film.

Which were my feelings exactly when getting round to seeing 'The Forsyte Saga'. It is watchable and has a number of obvious good things, but with more consistent pacing and more suitable casting it could have been a winner but turned out to be instead an interesting and noble disappointment. Proof too that when it comes to adapting the source material for feature length it is best leaving it alone, and the vastly superior television series from the 60s showed that it works much better adapted as a serial/mini-series.

Good things are quite a few. It is a very handsomely mounted film, especially the quite exquisite photography and the costumes won an Oscar for good reason. The other best thing is Errol Flynn, this was courageous casting for a role he on paper sounded wrong for and would have been quite different for him. He however was one of the few actors that came off well, showing that he can do dramatic and less sympathetic roles and does so in an admirably restrained way. Walter Pidgeon is also charming.

Bronislau Kaper's score is lush and induces a lot of emotions. The main theme is one that is not easy to forget. Greer Garson has some affecting moments.

She also doesn't always look comfortable or like her heart was properly in it, Eleanor Parker would have been a better choice. Janet Leigh does her best and brings some charm but her role is practically a plot device and has nothing to it. Worst of it is a too old and far too cold Robert Young, who has no charm or likeability. The characters seemed underdeveloped, with the one exception being Soames. The direction seemed rather pedestrian.

Much of the script was very stilted and rambled. The film did need a longer length and more of the story elaborated upon and taking longer to unfold. There was no substance to the storytelling either, to me there was very little tension and emotion and it all feels undernourished. A tighter pace was also in order and there are similarly scenes that drag as a result of padding out material that works a lot better in mini-series format.

On the whole, watchable but there was a potentially good film in there somewhere that doesn't materialise. 5/10

The main problem with this film is the casting. As Greer Garson's cold husband, Errol Flynn was cast. He is nothing short of superb, and he and Garson have great chemistry together. But the casting of Garson's lover went to Robert Young, and he is totally wrong for the role. One can never accept Garson's feelings for him over Errol Flynn!