May we never be less happy than we are at this moment.
The Divorcee (1930) - watched 7/24/24
Director: Robert Z. Leonard
Writers: Nick Grinde, Zelda Sears, John Meehan
Starring: Norma Shearer, Chester Morris, Robert Montgomery, Conrad Nagel
Available to watch on most platforms to rent or buy
First Time Watch? Yes
As a child of divorce, I’ve always been drawn to stories about, you guessed it, divorce.1 I was pretty young when my parents divorced, so I think I’ve always sought out ways to better understand it. I remember, puzzlingly, watching Kramer vs. Kramer when I was around six or seven, and while I don’t remember a ton of specifics of the plot, I do remember it reflecting a lot of the frustration and confusion that I felt through the character of Billy, the son caught in the middle of his parents’ contentious divorce.
There was also a common theme with divorce movies (or movies about families that have already experienced divorce) from my youth—Kramer vs. Kramer, Mrs. Doubtfire, Liar Liar, The Santa Clause—and you probably can see where I’m going already. In each of these movies, the mother is portrayed as cold, rigid, unable to have fun or take a joke. The father is either an irresponsible man-child or a workaholic (or both) and yet somehow the mother is always to blame for the divorce, or is painted as an evil, uncaring bitch who just wants to take her children away from their father. Bonus points if the mother is in a new relationship with a sensitive man who’s actually a good, if maybe a little dorky, father figure. Because that’s the worst possible thing a man can be, I guess.
I’d love to see these movies from the women’s perspective. Give me Mrs. Doubtfire but with Sally Field getting dicked down nightly by Pierce Brosnan in his prime. Give me the version of Liar Liar where Maura Tierney successfully moves away with Cary Elwes and her son and they never have to deal with her obnoxious, compulsive liar ex-husband ever again.
One of my favorite movies of all time (and one I’ll go more in-depth on in this newsletter, many many weeks down the road) is An Unmarried Woman, which essentially gives me the perspective I so desperately crave, of a mother as she navigates her divorce. It’s complicated and emotional, but also freeing. The man in this story rightfully reaps what he sows, while the woman (played by an absolutely luminous Jill Clayburgh) gets to actually go out into the world and be with her friends, go on dates, have weird sex, and put more attention towards her career, instead of being stuck in the roles of wife and mother.
The Divorcee, our next entry from the 3rd Academy Awards, gives us a little bit from column A, a little bit from column B. One glaring difference between the divorce movies I’m used to and this one is that there are no children involved, the ideal situation for a divorce. Another interesting thing that The Divorcee does, though, is it doesn’t fully spoon feed us a “side” to root for, as far as the husband and the wife go. But even with this being a pre-code film, and an overtly horny one at that, the overarching message still seems to be one that divorce is an immoral act, one that you’ll surely regret, even in instances of unforgivable betrayal.
I gotta say, even as someone with a bit of a traumatic experience with divorce in my family, that’s a message I find it difficult to get on board with. But that’s 1930 for ya! I’ll leave it at that before I get too long-winded on this topic—just know that I fully plan to do a deep-dive on divorce movies at some point.
The truth—the last thing any man wants to hear from any woman.
Jerry (Norma Shearer) and Ted (Chester Morris) are a couple, part of a cool, young New York friend group, all partying together at a country house. Their friends Paul (Conrad Nagel) and Don (Robert Montgomery) are both pretty into Jerry, and rightfully so—she’s hot and fun and charming. When Jerry and Ted become engaged, Paul is devastated. He gets drunk and drives—a scene that is truly wild to behold—and ends up crashing his car, causing one of his passengers, Dorothy (Judith Wood) to become permanently disfigured. We jump to two weddings—the first, for Jerry and Ted. The second for Paul and Dorothy, whom he marries out of guilt after the accident.
Three years later, Jerry and Ted are as in love as ever, it would seem, and they’re celebrating their anniversary. When a woman named Janice (Mary Doran) shows up, the vibes are immediately off. Jerry soon discovers that Ted has had an affair with Janice, and she’s devastated. Ted completely blows off Jerry’s pain and tells her that it didn’t mean anything—then he immediately leaves for a business trip! Like, just fucking bounces! Bro, you need to stay home and handle your business!!
While Ted is away, Jerry tries to forget her troubles by going out on the town with Don and spending the night with him. Ted tries to repeatedly get ahold of Jerry while he is away, but she doesn’t answer or return his calls. When Ted returns from his trip, Jerry confesses to her own infidelity, telling him that she “balanced their accounts.” Honestly, an iconic way to tell your husband that you’ve evened the score. Ted is outraged by this news—funny how it “didn’t mean a thing” when he cheated, but when Jerry cheated, it was the end of the world. Hm!
They end up divorcing, and we are treated to a delightful montage where Jerry goes on dates with a string of men who all seem to fucking worship her. I love that for Jerry!! Jerry runs into Paul on a train, and they catch up—we find out that Paul’s marriage with Dorothy is on the rocks. Who could have possibly predicted that a marriage out of pity would be an unhappy one? Jerry and Paul begin an affair. When Dorothy finds out about Paul and Jerry’s relationship, she shows up at Jerry’s apartment just as Paul arrives to pick Jerry up to go to dinner. Dorothy is there to plead with Jerry not to take Paul away from her—big “Jolene” energy. Even though it’s clear that Jerry and Paul have feelings for each other, Jerry comes to her senses and decides she can’t move forward with her plans with Paul—she can’t hurt Dorothy in the same way that she was hurt, and she ultimately regrets giving up on her own marriage.
Some time passes, and Jerry tracks down Ted in Paris at a New Year’s Eve party. They both express regret at how they handled the end of their marriage, and agree to reconcile. They kiss exactly at midnight—a new beginning.
Funny, isn’t it? How one girl can be bigger than all the tall buildings.
Not gonna lie, it always bums me out when I watch a movie where a beautiful, effervescent woman divorces her Bad Husband and at the end of the film, they end up back together.
I recently watched the 1954 divorce comedy Phffft and had a similar experience. While there was no infidelity—the marriage in that movie dissolved more so due to boredom and irritation than anything else—I still never got the sense that the couple really belonged together in the end. It was more fun and exciting when both characters were single and figuring themselves out! I ended The Divorcee with the same feeling, if not heightened by the fact that both Jerry and Ted were unfaithful to each other. Maybe I’m naive, but it doesn’t make sense to me for them to have gone through that betrayal, decide to split, and live their own lives separately (in other countries, even!) only to end up back together. Feels like the beginning of something pretty toxic!
Sure, the chemistry between Jerry and Ted at the time of their engagement and at the beginning of their marriage is undeniable. But I am also of the opinion that Norma Shearer and Chester Morris could have good chemistry with a couple of tree stumps. At the end of the day, despite their attraction, these two clearly weren’t right for each other. And maybe, based on their actions, they’re not right for monogamy at all, at least not at this stage in their lives.
Norma Shearer won the Best Actress Academy Award for her performance as Jerry (one of two of her performances that were nominated that year), and I would say it was well deserved. Jerry is immediately an endearing character, and it’s easy to see why so many men in her life would get caught in her orbit. But her pain also felt very real, very lived in, and it made me wonder if women are able to pull off such great performances because we have an innate ability to access our own pain and trauma in a way that is more often discouraged in men. Just some food for thought!!!
Her performance also left me wondering if it at all inspired Jill Clayburgh as Erica in An Unmarried Woman, as I noticed a lot of similarities in their characterization—both women were strong-willed, flirty, and alluring, while at the same time a bit lost and in need of care. It’s a delicate balance that both actresses in their respective roles pull off seamlessly. I just wanted a better ending for Jerry, dammit!
What a triumph it would have been if, at the end of the film, both Jerry and Ted walked away certain in the knowledge that they did not want to be married to each other, or maybe anyone, ever again. To be certain about that one thing, and to carry on into the otherwise unknown would have been such a beautiful, freeing ending to the story for Jerry and Ted (but especially Jerry). Instead, the movie takes the easy way out by having them end up back together. It’s a cowardly move, and one that sets a bad, trite precedent for romantic comedies moving forward.
From now on, I take all the hurdles, see all the scenery, and listen to the band play.
Quick Facts:
Nominated for 4 Academy Awards, won 1
Best Picture
Best Actress (Norma Shearer, won)
Best Director (Robert Leonard)
Best Writing (John Meehan)
Chester Morris and Robert Montgomery also appeared together in another Best Picture nominee of 1930, The Big House
Norma Shearer was also nominated for Best Actress for her role in Their Own Desire
Costume design by the iconic Adrian (of Wizard of Oz fame, among many many others) and, truly, this movie is worth a watch based on the wardrobe alone
Stray Observations:
This is now the 3rd movie I’ve watched so far starring Chester Morris (Alibi and The Big House being the other two). Keep ‘em coming, I like this fella!
This is also the 2nd movie from this year to star Chester Morris and Robert Montgomery (the other being The Big House)
They friggin’ loved ukuleles in the 1920s and 30s. What was that about?
The drunk driving/accident scene with Conrad Nagel is… wild. Truly wish I could easily find a clip of it online because it is… something that needs to be seen to be believed.
I actually fully believed Jerry & Ted were in love, which feels rare for this era! And which made the story all the more effective and compelling!
These mfers love to whistle? Do NOT trust a man who whistles.
The guy Jerry dances with at the wedding looks like Minnie Mouse’s ex-boyfriend, Mortimer Mouse
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐½
Next Up: The Love Parade (1929)
For the last time, yes, I’m in therapy!!