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| Theodora Goes Wild - 1936 |
Coming up next we have 1936's "Theodora Goes Wild", a story about a young woman from a small, uptight community. When it's discovered that she is the author of a racy novel that's sweeping the United States, the town's literary group condemns her. Theodora takes on a whole new persona as she begins to embrace the view that the town has taken of her.
The film's cast includes Irene Dunne, Melvyn Douglas, Thomas Mitchell, Thurston Hall, Elizabeth Risdon, Margaret McWade, Spring Byington, Nana Bryant, Robert Greig, and Corky.
The whole town of Lynnfield, in upstate New York, is abuzz at the scandalous novel "The Sinner" by Caroline Adams. The town's literary group, led by top gossip Rebecca Perry, condemns the book when the town newspaper decides to serialize it for public consumption.
What they don't know is that Caroline Adams is right in their midst. However, she is known to them as Theodora Lynn, a scion of the town's founding family, a ten year Sunday School teacher, and a fifteen year player of the organ at church. As she listens to her words read aloud, Theodora is horrified at how indecent they are.
The only person who knows her identity is her publisher. She goes to New York and tells him how horrible she thinks the book is now that she's heard it. "I suddenly realized I was a writer of wide
reputation and most of it bad," she says.
By accident she is introduced to Michael Grant, the creator of the cover art for her book. He can't believe that the woman before him is the infamous Caroline Adams, author of the hottest book in America. Theodora is not happy that now someone has a face to go with her name.
One of the reasons that Theodora has come to New York is to visit her Uncle John. She's also there to see Adelaide, the daughter of Lynnfield top gossip Rebecca Perry. Adelaide was married without telling her mother. Now she's pregnant, and her husband has been forced away from her by his own mother. Theodora helps to support her, and the young woman couldn't be more grateful.
While in New York, Michael Grant invites Theodora out for a night on the town. She gets her first taste of alcohol, which loosens her inhibitions. When they arrive at his apartment, Theodora suddenly becomes aware of just how hot and heavy the situation is. She runs out of the apartment screaming at him not to touch her. On the way out, she drops some papers.
Theodora runs right back to Lynnfield, where we next find her leading the congregation in singing "Rock of Ages".
On the way home from church with her aunts and Rebecca Perry, Theodora is startled to see Michael Grant standing in front of her house and whistling. "Nice day of the week to be whistlin' a jig on the streets," says Aunt Mary indignantly.
When he gets a chance to speak to her alone, Michael tells Theodora that he discovered where she lived from the papers she left behind at his apartment. He also threatens to out her as the author of "The Sinner" if she doesn't let him stay in town.
Bringing along a stray dog named Jake, Michael takes up the position of gardener, much to the aunts' displeasure, and much to the delight of gossip Rebecca Perry.
On his very first night (he's staying in the tool house), Michael starts whistling very loudly. Theodora counters by playing the piano loudly and singing at the top of her lungs. Aunt Mary can barely stand all the noise.
The more time he spends in Lynnfield, the more Michael realizes that Theodora needs to break free and live the life she wants. He encourages her to blow the whole town off. She, understandably, has trouble doing that.
The two begin spending a lot of time together, including berry picking, fishing, and cooking over an open fire. Theodora even forgets to play the organ at church one Sunday because she's spending time with Michael. Naturally, the whole town raises their collective eyebrows at her behavior.
One night, she gets up the courage to tell the nosy literary group that she is in love with Michael and they have no right to tell her how to live her life.
When she tells Michael that she's in love with him, he reacts somewhat differently than she expected.
Leaving Jake and a note behind, Michael quickly disappears back to New York.
Bringing Jake with her, Theodora follows him to New York expecting an answer as to why he left. He tells her that he's in love with her, too, but things are difficult.
She soon founds out how difficult. It turns out that Michael's father is Lieutenant Governor of New York. He's also married. His father insists that they stay married for the honor of the family, despite the fact that they no longer love nor care for one another. Michael is too afraid of his father to do anything about it.
Theodora decides to hang around and do exactly for Michael what he did for her. She's going to stay in New York and help him break free from his father and the marriage that is holding him back.
Her first order of business is to buy a whole new wardrobe and march into her publisher's office demanding publicity, a whole lot of it.
She outs herself as the author of "The Sinner", which enrages the literary group of Lynnfield.
She gets up to all sorts of shenanigans, including some scandalous behavior with the Governor, all while constantly attaching her name to Michael's. Of course, his wife initiates divorce proceedings, and he is able to break free. But, in the meantime, Theodora has disappeared.
She's gone to help Rebecca Perry's daughter Adelaide, who has recently gone to a maternity home to give birth. Theodora tracks down the father and reunites the couple. Then, she wires Lynnfield and tells them that she is coming home.
Wanting time to prepare Rebecca for the fact that she is married, Adelaide and her husband slip out the back of the train when it pulls into Lynnfield. The entire town is there to welcome Theodora, and a collective gasp goes up when she exits the train with a baby in her arms.
Her aunts are totally scandalized, but won't say anything to her about it (and she never told them anything about bringing home the baby to help Adelaide). The town thinks she is completely immoral as she brazenly waves at the crowds.
And when Rebecca Perry, accompanied by the rest of the nosy literary group, arrives at the Lynn home to give Theodora a berating for her scandalous behavior, she's in for the shock of her life when Theodora gives her the baby and announces that the baby is her own grandchild.
Michael is there too, but now he and Theodora are free to be together, and they embrace.
Cast rundown:
Irene Dunne...............................Theodora Lynn
Melvyn Douglas...........................Michael Grant
Thomas Mitchell..........................Jed Waterbury
Thurston Hall..............................Arthur Stevenson
Elizabeth Risdon..........................Aunt Mary Lynn
Margaret McWade........................Aunt Elsie Lynn
Spring Byington...........................Rebecca Perry
Nana Bryant...............................Ethel Stevenson
Robert Greig...............................Uncle John Lynn
Corky.........................................Jake
And that's it for Theodora Goes Wild. Originally considered for the role of Theodora was Marion Davies and Carole Lombard. Davies decided to retire, and Lombard was unavailable. This was Irene Dunne's first comedic role, and she was so against the idea of her casting that she took a two-month vacation to Europe in the hope that someone else would be hired. Ultimately, this film earned her a second Academy Award nomination.
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