User Reviews

One of the many productions to tackle issues later forbidden by the Hays Code, THE Divorcée is a completely modern account about a marriage gone bad due to the infidelities and debaucheries of not only the man, but the woman. That the woman in question was none other than Norma Shearer in a very risky move which paid off and gave her the Oscar for Best Actress proves the mettle in Shearer, but also proved the implicit involvement of Irving Thalberg.

Like early talkies, there is a tinny, flat quality to the sound which lessens some of the emotional impact from the movie, and the way these people talk is a little too rapid at times, with an emphasis in staging every sentence with meaning -- a holdover from the silent movie days. Harsh lighting doesn't help, as some of the cuts between scenes and dissolves which indicate either the passing of time (and their debauchery) and Jerry's liaisons with other men, shown awkwardly in close-ups of their hands and off-screen dialog.

This is a movie to view as a study of American culture at the very end of the Roaring Twenties when women were assuredly emancipating their position in society, but there isn't a dated bone in this story's body: women even today are still punished in many societies, including ours, if they decide to take matters into their own hands, a point THE Divorcée makes very well. The only segment in which it falters is right at the end, when Jerry decides she loves Ted after all and would like to renew their marriage: on seeing their brittle relationship, it somehow comes off false although Shearer's performance and the way her character is written does not make it so. However, her choice to be happily married over being a swinging baby comes off as a reflection of not only women but people even today, and in that way, this film is a great example.

Shearer gave much better performances than the one she was awarded for; however, it's up to the viewer to decide if hers Oscar-worthy. Considering her competition, it must have been tight.

SPOILERS The Divorcee takes a hard look at the double standard. This is one of my personal favorite films of the Pre-Code Era because it's exactly the kind of film that the Code guarded against. Norma Shearer's character is extremely strong-willed and essentially proposes to her boyfriend at the beginning of the film. Later on she finds out her husband has cheated on her, and she does the only thing she could think of to do: she "balances their accounts." Ted cannot handle being cheated on himself and when she states plainly what she has done he asks her for divorce. Throughout the rest of the film though they both regret not being together, it is Ted who dips the lowest, becoming too drunk to even go to work. Jerry is still strong (sad that it had to end the way it did, but strong) and has many exploits with various men, but she knows she still loves Ted. In the end it is Ted who needs Jerry the most, and they end up back together on New Year's. The moral of this story is not that the married couple gets back together where it should be-- the moral of this story is that no double standard should ever exist. A woman is not going to sit idly by while her man cheats on her, nor should she. A man has to realize that he cannot ask for forgiveness if he is not willing to forgive the same act. That is why this film defines Pre-Code in my mind-- Jerry states at the beginning that they'll have a go at it only if they are equals. She finds out that she is not his equal-- she is the better man. This movie would not only never have been made after the Code was enforced (due to the adultery, allusions to sex, and the strong female protagonist)-- I don't think it would be made now. What a great female protagonist-- Shearer is magnificent (as she usually is). Chester Morris is great and Robert Montgomery is the fun-loving best friend, who acts as an organ- grinder's monkey at one point-- just delightful! Needless to say I recommend this movie to anyone and everyone!

I just rewatched this one last night. This 1930 MGM film tells the story of a happily married couple, whose marriage crumbles under the taint of infidelity.

Norma Shearer portrayed Jerry Martin, a happily married New York socialite, who discovers that her husband, Ted (Chester Morris), had a drunken one night stand with some blowsy woman. She tried to pretend that it was water under the bridge and openly forgave him. But his infidelity continued to bother her. And when he leaves New York for a business trip to Chicago, she has a one night stand with his best friend, Don (Robert Montgomery). Jerry confesses her infidelity and discovers that as far as Ted is concerned, what was good for the goose, was not for the gander. Furthermore, Ted is not so concerned about the pain of the infidelity as he is about his pride and that someone in "their set" is laughing at him. This is the last straw for Jerry, and a divorce follows with what must be a pile of alimony because Jerry seems to lack no luxury even though she lacks a job. Not bad work for a fairly short marriage.

I understand that the Jerry Martin role nearly evaded Norma Shearer, because husband and MGM production chief Irving Thalberg did not feel that the role suited her. She used a series of sexy photographs taken by George Hurrell to convince Thalberg that she could do the role. And she certainly proved that she was the right woman for the role. What I liked about Shearer's take on Jerry was that she was a complex woman who discovered that she could not hide her feelings - whether she was disturbed by her husband's infidelity and hypocrisy; or her longing to reconcile with him, despite enjoying the company of other men. Shearer certainly deserved her Oscar.

Although he had some moments of over-the-top acting as Ted Martin - Jerry's husband, Chester Morris did a pretty good job portraying the newspaper man, who tried to dismiss his own infidelity and discovered how his wife truly felt in the worst possible way. What I found interesting about Ted is how alcohol led to a great deal of his troubles. It was booze that encouraged him to cheat on Jerry. And it was booze that he indulged in following the breakup of his marriage and loss of his job.

Robert Montgomery was at turns rather funny and sexy as Don, Ted's best friend with whom she cheated. There's a funny midnight scene in a deli where everybody is in top hat and tails, and Ted is talking to Don about how he would still like to kill the guy that broke up his home, if only he knew who that was. Don makes a polite but speedy exit.

Many have dismissed Conrad Nagel as a boring actor, who performance in the movie was not worth mentioning. Mind you, his role as Paul, Jerry's former boyfriend was not as splashy as Morris or Montgomery's role, Nagel still managed to invest quite a bit of angst in his role as a man who is dealt a double blow in life when the woman he loves (Jerry) marries another man and he finds himself in a loveless marriage to a woman (Judith Wood), whose face he had disfigured due to a drunken car accident.

The attitudes and personalities of most of the major characters seemed relevant today. Despite the late 20s/early 30s wardrobe and slang, the so-called "Bright Young Things" were not really different from the Twenty and Thirtysomethings in the dating scene, today. Do remember,also, that though this film was post stock market crash, that it was still pre Depression. Things were still rolling pretty good for most people at this point.

I realized that the movie had a "happy ending" that many modern viewers might not care for. But for me, it was an ending in which both husband and wife were humbled. They not only forgave each other, but forgave themselves. I bought it.

This is a very dated soap opera but I wanted to see it because I often like classic films and I've never actually sat through one that starred Norma Shearer.

Was Norma Shearer a sexy woman? I found her just okay, nothing special. At times she's attractive; other times not so. She giggles in here a lot and - like Jean Harlow - likes slinky dresses.

The dialog in most "talkies" up until the later 1930s is very dated, especially in the "Pre-Code Era." Actually, I find it fun to hear these odd expressions of the day, but all the "darling" this and "darling" that get a little nauseating after a short time and the corny lines, hysterical women, sexist men, etc., wear thin fast.

In essence, this was a woman's movie with the message that it's NOT all right for a man to cheat on her husband but bad if a woman does. I buy that. As you all know, it's bad if either does! That's the only problem. This idiot husband, played by Chester Morris, makes an absolute ton of stupid remarks after admitting he had an affair with "Janice" and that "it doesn't mean a thing."

However, that same night after he shuffles off to Buffalo for a work assignment, she hits the sack (not shown) with a buddy. Two wrongs make a right? Of course not, but Shearer's character "Jerry" and her response to the whole thing is interesting to watch. And, yes, she slowly sees the error of her ways and "repents" at the end. That ending may be predictable, but it will still draw a tear or two to your eyes.

The film gets really sudsy the last half, especially in the last hour. I thought, "Wow, this would play well on the Lifetime Network - what a women's soaper." So, if you like that sort of thing - nothing but men and women in and out of all kinds of relationships and talking about them - then this film, dated or not, is for you.

To see and think about this movie, you have to consider "The Women" in the same context. Husband has affair. Wife finds out and cannot stand the thought. Although there is no wife's affair in The Women, that is one difference. The married couple get divorced. Others get married. Robert Montgomery's character turns out to be a cowardly heal. The second difference is that Shearer's character in this goes out and parties hard, while in The Women, she is dating another (unseen) man who wants to marry her. But in the end, they both turn out about the same way. With the divorced couple back together, but not yet officially reconciled or remarried.

The ending actually reverses the idea of the movie that women should treat marriage and men the same way unfaithful husbands treat wives.