Over 21

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Movie
Original title Over 21
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1945
length 105 minutes
Rod
Director Charles Vidor
script Sidney Buchman
production Sidney Buchman for Columbia Pictures
music Marlin Skiles
camera Rudolph Maté
cut Otto Meyer
occupation

Over 21 is an American comedy film from 1945 and the film adaptation of the play of the same name by Ruth Gordon with Irene Dunne in the leading role. Directed by Charles Vidor .

action

In a fit of patriotism, Max Wharton, the no longer very young editor of the New York Bulletin, decides to quit his job and volunteer with the US Army. Neither his publisher Robert Gow nor his wife Paula "Polly" Wharton, a successful screenwriter and columnist, are really enthusiastic about the decision. In the end Paula decides that her place is next to Max and follows him to Florida, where the basic training should take place. She rents a small house next to the army base and tries her best to raise the morale of Max, who finds himself unable to keep all the many details of the training. Not very seriously, she takes him up with the remark that the brain can hardly absorb anything new from the age of 21 onwards. The next few weeks go by in a flash and Paula quickly makes friends among the officers. Her liberal views are not shared by everyone present, however, and Max has to settle the resulting dispute again and again. Wherever she can, Paula helps her husband with the strenuous tasks of the training. Things get complicated when suddenly Robert Gow stands in the door and threatens to sell the newspaper if Max doesn't return. In the end, all problems are resolved when Paula gets the job and Max can start his career as an officer.

background

After a few supporting roles, including as the wife of Edward G. Robinson in Paul Ehrlich - A Life for Research and alongside Greta Garbo in The Woman with Two Faces, Ruth Gordon had come to the decision to concentrate entirely on writing screenplays and plays to concentrate. In 1944, she finally celebrated a personal triumph on Broadway as the leading actress in Over 21 . The film studio Columbia Pictures bought the rights for the filming for the then high price of $ 350,000 and initially offered the lead role to Rosalind Russell , but she declined. The choice finally fell on Irene Dunne . The actress had recently signed a contract for two films with Columbia Pictures, the autocratic and notorious for his vulgarities boss Harry Cohn treated the actress in contrast to his other female stars with respect and esteem. The first film under the contract, the romantic comedy Reluctant Model, reunited her with Charles Boyer in 1944 and grossed a lot at the box office. As with Model Reluctant , Charles Vidor directed and Charles Coburn played an important supporting role. The male lead went to Alexander Knox , who had recently gained fame by portraying Woodrow Wilson in the biographical film of the same name.

Over 21 dealt intensively with the question of the changed relationships between men and women, which resulted from the demands of the war economy on society. Many women became employed and took on positions of responsibility in companies and factories. In this respect, Paula Wharton is also an independent character with her own ideas and ideas about politics and the role of female army employees. The film historian Jeanine Basinger interpreted the role of Irene Dunne in her book A Woman's View: How Hollywood Spoke to Women 1930-1960 remarkably modern. According to Basinger, Irene Dunne is here:

“A career woman who takes on the role of her husband. [She] becomes both the male and female hero of the story. […] Their mutual failure, hers as a cook, his as an athlete, are fitting for a time in popular history when the audience was asked to show the highest degree of tolerance for the other. It was also a time when women had to take over men's work. […] .Irene Dunne takes over her husband's duties and he is proud of her that she does it. According to him, she is the best newspaper man there is. […] She has become a man and that was found to be good. But something like that is only possible in times of war, and only because the play was written by a woman. "

Reviews

Most critics found little praise for the film and particularly criticized the fact that Irene Dunne is simply imitating Ruth Gordon. One particularly nifty reviewer therefore said:

"Miss Dunne gives the most laudable impression of Ruth Gordon, who plays Irene Dunne, who plays Ruth Gordon."

The New York Times found in its résumé that the film was simply “over-Dunne”.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jeanine Basinger, A Woman's View: How Hollywood Spoke to Women 1930-1960 , quoted from Jeremy Arnold: Over 21 (1945) - Articles. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved on May 30, 2019 (English): “[…] a career woman who takes over her husband's role in life. [She] becomes both male and female hero to the story. [...] Their gender failures, hers as cook and his as athlete, are appropriate to a time in pop-culture history in which audiences were asked to be supertolerant of one another. It was also a time in which women had to do men's jobs… Irene Dunne takes her husband's place, and he is proud of her for it. She is, he says, 'the best newspaperman there is.' [...] She has become a man, and the action is welcome. But only in wartime, and only because the play was written by a woman! "
  2. ↑ Miss Dunne gives the most commendable impression of Ruth Gordon playing Irene Dunne playing Ruth Gordon.
  3. ↑ Bosley Crowther : THE SCREEN; Irene Dunne, Alexander Knox Appear in 'Over 21' of Music Hall - 'Bewitched' Makes Its Bow at the Criterion Theater . In: The New York Times . August 17, 1945 ( online at nytimes.com [accessed May 30, 2019]).