Smart Woman

The great Mary Astor never looked better and rarely had such a juicy role. She had an incredibly long career, with nary a dud, and it spanned movies like this, the poignant "Dodsworth," the justly famous "Malteste Falcon," "Meet Me in St. Louis." Its highlight was the magnificently over-the-top "Great Lie," for which she won of the most richly deserved Oscars in that award's history.

Here she is a loving wife who returns from a trip to Europe only to learn that her husband plans to ditch her. She learns from his sister and his business partner, who become her partners in thwarting him.

He invites his old-digging girlfriend and her bossy mother for a weekend at their country home. So she invites a very eligible nobleman she met on shipboard and she and her cohorts collaborate to make it seem hat she is in love with him and more than glad her husband has found someone else.

The girlfriend is treated humorously, not cruelly. (An example of a cruelty in a comedy is the Gail Patrick character in "My Favorite Wife." Nor is the happy ending forced. Everything works out. The bad are dispatched, the good reunited.

Gregory La Cava directed and boy! This makes clear how different a fine director can make a relatively routine movie look from the way it would like if handled by a routine Doctor.

After a trip to Europe, socialite Mary Astor (as Nancy) is back on her Long Island estate. Traveling companion John Halliday (as Guy Harrington) thought, "All American women were restless and dissatisfied," but Ms. Astor is faithful to husband Robert Ames (as Donald "Don" Gibson), and lovingly looks forward to seeing him. Astor is disappointed when Edward Everett Horton (as Billy Ross) meets her at the ship, instead of Mr. Ames. Moreover, she's disheartened when Mr. Horton and wife Ruth Weston (as Sally) give Astor some devastating news - hubby Ames has been having an affair with blonde bimbo Noel Francis (as Peggy Preston).

Ames wants a divorce. But, "Smart Woman" Astor decides to use finesse to win Ames back. Pretending to approve of her husband's affair, she invites Ms. Francis ("Miss Alabama of 1927") and her mother over for the weekend, explaining that she, too, has romantic interests in another. Then, Astor invites Mr. Halliday (the man she rejected in Venice) to visit, hoping he'll make Ames jealous, and seduce the gold-digging Francis… This sounds complicated, but it's a capably handled, by director Gregory La Cava, version of the New York stage play "Nancy's Private Affair" (1930). Astor makes noticeable gains as a fine "talking pictures" actress.

****** Smart Woman (9/12/31) Gregory La Cava ~ Mary Astor, Robert Ames, John Halliday, Edward Everett Horton

A SMART WOMAN uses duplicitous ingenuity to attempt to win back her adulterous husband.

Mary Astor shines in this sophisticated--and unfortunately obscure--little soap opera, which rewards its viewers with an intelligent script and fine acting. Crisp, cool & calculatingly composed, Astor uses her intelligence to get exactly what she wants. Inviting her spouse's mistress to spend the weekend in their country mansion may not seem like the usual tack to follow, but for Astor it's all part of her game plan.

Robert Ames plays Astor's erstwhile husband; Ruth Weston is his outspoken sister. Noel Francis is the gold digger after his money & Gladys Gale is her ambitious mother. All four offer good support, but the best fun comes from John Halliday as an affable English knight agreeably in tune with Astor's schemes and snippy Edward Everett Horton as Ames' brother-in-law. As usual, Horton effortlessly steals his every scene.

Mary Astor was seen in any number of supporting roles (for example "Midnight" with Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche, just to stay with La Cava productions)but here shows she could hold the stage effortlessly as leading lady. And "stage" is the word since the film's origins as a play for theatre are rather obvious (the same set does for about 70% of the time). The remaining characters are stereotypes and Ames is somewhat wooden but the script is often very amusing indeed and with Gregory La Cava to mastermind the production everything sweeps along splendidly. Though short (65m) and nearly forgotten (no reference book on my shelves mentions this film) this is worth seeing by anyone with a taste for comedies of the period.

Mary Astor stars as Nancy Gibson, the titular wife who returns from a trip abroad to discover her husband has fallen for another woman. Women of 1931 are, of course, enlightened and modern, so she takes it all in stride. Well, at least she pretends to, but she is devoted to her husband, Don (Robert Ames). So she uses reverse psychology in an attempt to win him back.

Viewers might wonder who is more stupid: Don for cheating on a wife who is beautiful, intelligent, and devoted to a fault? Or Nancy, for wanting to keep Don despite his deceit and stupidity?

Noel Francis plays Peggy Preston, the other woman. She is blonde, of course, and insipidly shallow. John Halliday is wonderful as Sir Guy Harrington, a rich bachelor who develops a crush on Nancy while sharing her homeward cruise. Edward Everett Horton, as Billy Ross, plays his usual comic relief role.

Adapted from the play, "Smart Woman" has a simple plot. But it's a mixture of drama and tragedy that requires Mary Astor to show shades of feelings and to turn on an emotional dime, which she does very adeptly. Her performance is the best part of the film.