Directed: Robert Z. Leonard

Year: 1930

Nominated: Best Film, Best Director – Robert Z. Leonard, Best Actress – Norma Shearer

Won: Best Actress – Norma Shearer

Plot in 25 Words: A group of friends engage in wife-swapping, hypocrisy, and double standards. But finally, women wearing trousers, working and playing the field like men.

In My Opinion: One of my main problems with films of this era (and one I’ve never backed down from mentioning) is the horrific treatment of women. Ranging from physical violence to verbal abuse. This film was different. It chose instead to point out to me the terrible double standards at play in the 20s.

Ted and Jerry are happily married. Don’t panic, Jerry is a girls name in the 20s. They’re progressive enough to allow her to wear trousers but don’t worry, they don’t support the gays.

Ted and Jerry are happily married. On their third wedding anniversary, the woman Ted is knocking off on the side is invited to their home and Jerry puts two and two together and gets four. She confronts Ted and my hatred for him goes sky high. He’s patronising, demeaning and just downright cruel. At one point he pats her on the head and tells her not to be such a downer around their friends.

So the next time Ted’s out of town, Jerry has a drink or twelve and goes to town on Ted’s friend Don. Good for her, I say, but she feels remorse and upon seeing Ted immediately confesses her sins and begs for forgiveness. Wow. She doesn’t stand a chance. Ted is not a forgiving man. He goes insane with rage, calling her names, shouting, screaming before eventually leaving the country to avoid seeing her.

I just can’t even! His hypocrisy is infuriating. His implication that his wife having an affair is an embarrassment to him, for him to be ashamed of, but him having an affair is a matter to be laughed off.

It doesn’t sit right with me, even less so when Jerry spends the last quarter of the film chasing Ted down to beg his forgiveness and to take her back.

I’d have chased him down and shot him.

Star Performer: Norma Shearer as Jerry. Until she turned weak again by the end, she was one of the strongest and most defiant female characters I’d seen in the 1920’s. She wore trousers and had a job and everything!

Overall: I was too angry by the double standards on display to really pay too much attention to the rest of the film. The quality was a lot smoother but I doubt I’ll be watching this one again.