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Housewife

  • 1934
  • Approved
  • 1h 9m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
1.2K
YOUR RATING
Bette Davis, George Brent, Ann Dvorak, and John Halliday in Housewife (1934)
DramaRomance

Nan Reynolds encourages her copywriter husband Bill to open his own agency. Nearly out of business, he finally gets a client. Former girlfriend Patricia Berkeley writes a very successful com... Read allNan Reynolds encourages her copywriter husband Bill to open his own agency. Nearly out of business, he finally gets a client. Former girlfriend Patricia Berkeley writes a very successful commercial for the client and heats up their old romance. Wife and girlfriend battle over Bil... Read allNan Reynolds encourages her copywriter husband Bill to open his own agency. Nearly out of business, he finally gets a client. Former girlfriend Patricia Berkeley writes a very successful commercial for the client and heats up their old romance. Wife and girlfriend battle over Bill.

  • Director
    • Alfred E. Green
  • Writers
    • Manuel Seff
    • Lillie Hayward
    • Robert Lord
  • Stars
    • George Brent
    • Bette Davis
    • Ann Dvorak
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.1/10
    1.2K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Alfred E. Green
    • Writers
      • Manuel Seff
      • Lillie Hayward
      • Robert Lord
    • Stars
      • George Brent
      • Bette Davis
      • Ann Dvorak
    • 18User reviews
    • 9Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos9

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    Top cast34

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    George Brent
    George Brent
    • William Reynolds
    Bette Davis
    Bette Davis
    • Patricia Berkeley
    Ann Dvorak
    Ann Dvorak
    • Nan Wilson Reynolds
    John Halliday
    John Halliday
    • Paul Duprey
    Ruth Donnelly
    Ruth Donnelly
    • Dora Wilson
    Hobart Cavanaugh
    Hobart Cavanaugh
    • George Wilson
    Robert Barrat
    Robert Barrat
    • Sam Blake
    Joseph Cawthorn
    Joseph Cawthorn
    • Krueger
    • (as Joe Cawthorne)
    Phil Regan
    Phil Regan
    • Mike Hathaway
    Willard Robertson
    Willard Robertson
    • Judge Edwin A. Matthews
    Ronnie Cosby
    Ronnie Cosby
    • Buddy Reynolds
    Leila Bennett
    Leila Bennett
    • Jenny
    Harry Tyler
    Harry Tyler
    • Mr. Simmons
    Charles Coleman
    Charles Coleman
    • Bolton
    Corky
    • Buddy's Dog
    • (uncredited)
    Virginia Dabney
    Virginia Dabney
    • Girl in Nightclub
    • (uncredited)
    William B. Davidson
    William B. Davidson
    • Nan's Lawyer
    • (uncredited)
    Bill Elliott
    Bill Elliott
    • Clerk
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Alfred E. Green
    • Writers
      • Manuel Seff
      • Lillie Hayward
      • Robert Lord
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews18

    6.11.1K
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    Featured reviews

    8movingpicturegal

    Dressed to Sell

    Self-described "just a housewife" Nan (Ann Dvorak) is married to hubby Bill (George Brent) who only earns $175 a month as office manager for an advertising firm. Scrimping and saving to make ends meet, she still manages to remember that Sunday dinner isn't Sunday dinner without Leg of Lamb (and even though complains about their lack of income, keeps a maid in the house to help her with her "housework"). Hubby has a meanie boss where he works who gives him no respect, so with wife giving him the push (she's been busy reading "Success" magazine) he quits and decides to start his own advertising firm, with strong wife by his side helping him come up with ideas AND helping him get new clients. And meanwhile - he brings over blonde Pat (Bette Davis) from his old office, a girl who once was in love with him in high school, and stills seems to hold the torch for him.

    I guess the plot of this film sounds a bit silly, but I actually liked this a lot, though thought the ending was a bit tacked on and unsatisfying. Bette Davis looks very pretty in this film, and I love the chemistry between her and George Brent. Bonus - I love all the really gorgeous satin and crepe ruffled bias-cut dresses the women wear in this. Very good film, well worth seeing.
    5TheLittleSongbird

    Romantic struggles

    While the premise sounded pretty old-hat and familiar and the title not particularly appetising (not to mention trusted reviewers not caring for it), 'Housewife' did have enough to make me want to see it. The main reasons being Bette Davis, an acting legend, and Ann Dvorak, always a pleasure to watch. But also because of my appreciation of the genre 'Housewife' fits under and of my love for classic, pre-1970s film (though my film taste is made up of all decades and genres).

    'Housewife' though could have been so much better. It is watchable and does have its good things, including Davis and Dvorak. There is also though nothing much special in 'Housewife' and has a lot of major drawbacks, with the story almost single-handedly bringing the film down. All did much better work, performances and films, despite coming off quite well this is lesser early Davis in terms of films and even a lot of her previous films are better.

    As said, Davis commands the screen without over-doing it, though to me it wasn't a going through the motions type of performance. The best performance as others have said belongs to Dvorak, a sheer delight and perhaps the best and only real exceptional thing about 'Housewife'. The film looks good and is amiably scored.

    It does pick up in momentum a little in the middle act where things got more eventful. There are moments where the dialogue isn't too corny or overwrought.

    The story sadly badly undoes 'Housewife'. It is a slow-starter and takes far too long to find its footing. For so much of the length, the story is very flimsy in content and what there is is so been there done that that there are so few surprises. Then the film gets very rushed and cramped towards the end, culminating in an "out of the blue", very silly and tacked on ending that doesn't ring true for a second.

    George Brent is very take or leave for me generally as an actor, and here he came over as very bland as a character impossible to feel anything for. The direction is very routine at best, which is a good way to sum up too much of the pace too. The characters are sketchy and only Dvorak's has much likeability. The script was in sore need of a tightening up and wit.

    All in all, watchable but a big disappointment. 5/10
    6spirit11

    A Happy Ending from Nowhere

    WARNING: These comments may reveal portions of this film's plot.

    This film takes you on a variety of "up's and down's" as you watch a young couple that is struggling during the depression make it big when the wife encourages her husband to strike out on his own in advertising. This portion of the film runs slow, and the entire film seems very melancholy, until the plan works and suddenly the couple is rich, pulling you up.

    Then you are pulled back down when the now successful husband hires an old high-school flame onto his staff and starts an affair. The wife won't grant the husband a divorce, however, pulling the mood back down again. To throw a curve into the mix, (as if there weren't enough already), the couple's son is struck by a car. This changes both their minds about the divorce -- now she wants one, and the husband doesn't!

    The film ends on another high note, with a happy ending that appears from no where. Up to this point, many portions of the film have run rather slow, just as the beginning of the film. This happy ending appears from no where -- the couple reconciles in the courtroom at their divorce.

    Overall, the film surprised me. For a 1934 film to focus on the depression, adultery, and a child struck by a car doesn't seem to be much of the "happy-go-lucky" films of that era when people didn't want to be reminded of their problems -- or so I understood.

    Parents, the kids won't like this one since it is a drama. They probably shouldn't see it anyway, considering the philandering of the husband and the car hitting the child. The big draw here is the "other woman," played by Bette Davis. If you can catch it on cable, you might want to check this one out.
    Michael_Elliott

    Fair Film

    Housewife (1934)

    ** (out of 4)

    Boring melodrama from Warner has a copyright expert (George Brent) becoming successful and leaving his wife (Ann Dvorak) for a vamp (Bette Davis). If you watch Turner Classic Movies late at night of early in the morning then you'll discover all sorts of lesser known titles and this is one of them but it's also like most of the melodramas they show. The film is predictable from start to finish if you've seen at least one movie like this. The film takes place in the pre-code era but sadly the movie doesn't try to do anything dangerous and instead just plays everything pretty straight. The story is your typical dumb guy gets famous an leaves for someone he thinks is better than his wife but none of this works and it just leads to one of the dumbest endings in film history. I'm really mixed when it comes to Brent because he's really hit and miss with me. I'd have to call his performance here one of the misses because he's really bland throughout and doesn't bring any energy to the role. Davis is somewhat better in the film but the screenplay doesn't do her character any justice. Dvorak is the best thing in the film but again, she isn't given too much to do.
    5Art-22

    Bette Davis as the other woman in this otherwise routine domestic melodrama.

    Until Bette Davis makes a play for George Brent, this film drags badly. Even then, there's little zip in the screenplay although it does become more interesting. Davis had a crush on Brent in high school but left for New York once he married Ann Dvorak, and now is hired as the chief advertising copywriter at the unheard of salary of $25,000 per year by the advertising firm where Brent works. (Brent earns $2,100 a year as office manager.) When Brent quits at the urging of Dvorak and starts his own firm, Davis is lured back to work for him and the trouble starts. This was the type of role Davis could eat up if it were in the hands of more capable screenwriters and the mores of the 30's permitted it. Then it might have been called "Homewrecker," with the emphasis on Davis rather than Dvorak. Still, it's fun to watch the stars and is a good example of an early Bette Davis film.

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      This film has been preserved by the Library of Congress.
    • Goofs
      Early in the film when Bill goes into Sam Blake's office, he is shown opening the office door twice between shots.
    • Quotes

      Patricia 'Pat' Berkeley: Well, I've done all right. I suddenly found out I had some brains and decided to use them.

    • Connections
      Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: Bette Davis/Richard Pryor (1983)
    • Soundtracks
      Cosmetics by Duprey
      (1934) (uncredited)

      Music by Allie Wrubel

      Lyrics by Mort Dixon

      Sung by Phil Regan at a radio rehearsal

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • August 11, 1934 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Una mujer de su casa
    • Filming locations
      • Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Warner Bros.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Runtime
      • 1h 9m(69 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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