Housewife (1934)

Name: Housewife
Genre: Drama
Released: 1934-08-11
Duration: 69 min
Rating: 7.3
Cast: George Brent, Ann Dvorak, Bette Davis, John Halliday, Ruth Donnelly

Housewife (1934), directed by Alfred E. Green, starring George Brent and Ann Dvorak.

08/11/1934 BR Drama 1h 9m

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Synopsis

Nan Reynolds encourages her copywriter husband Bill to open his own agency. Nearly out of business, he finally gets a client. Former girlfriend Patricia Berkeley writes a very successful commercial for the client and neats up their old romance. Wife and girlfriend struggle over Bill.

William ReesCinematography
Alfred E. GreenDirector
James GibbonEditing
Jack L. WarnerProducer

About the film

Housewife is a 1934 American drama film directed by Alfred E. Green, and starring George Brent, Bette Davis, and Ann Dvorak. The screenplay by Manuel Seff and Lillie Hayward is based on a story by Hayward and Robert Lord.

A print is held at the Library of Congress.

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A print is held at the Library of Congress.

Plot

Nan Reynolds struggles to run the household on her meek husband Bill's meager salary as an office manager. She urges him to apply for better jobs elsewhere, but he is disinclined to take risks, and his lack of ambition is placing a strain on their marriage.

Pat Berkeley, who attended high school with Nan and Bill, is hired by his firm as an advertising copywriter, and her success prompts Nan to coerce her husband into asserting himself with his boss. When he fails to spark any interest with his ideas, Bill succumbs to his wife's suggestion that he start his own agency using the money she has managed to save. Spurred by Nan, he steals a major client from his former firm and hires Pat to help him handle it. Complications arise when the feelings the two had for each other years before are reignited and they embark upon an affair. Nan becomes aware of their relationship but chooses to ignore it.

Bill announces he wants a divorce. When Nan refuses to grant him one, he angrily leaves the house and accidentally hits their son Buddy with the car, seriously injuring him. Months pass, Buddy recovers, and Bill and Nan's divorce is in its final stages. Hearing Nan's court testimony, Bill realizes how good she is as a wife and mother and how much he loves and needs her, and the two decide to reconcile.

Cast

George Brent as William Reynolds

Bette Davis as Patricia Berkeley

Ann Dvorak as Nan Reynolds

John Halliday as Paul Duprey

Ruth Donnelly as Dora Wilson

Hobart Cavanaugh as George Wilson

Robert Barrat as Sam Blake

Joseph Cawthorn as Krueger (as Joe Cawthorne)

Phil Regan as Radio Singer

Willard Robertson as Judge

Ronnie Cosby as Buddy Reynolds

Critical reception

Frank S. Nugent of The New York Times observed, "A characteristic of a poor boxer is that he telegraphs his punches. In Housewife . . . the dramatic punches are not merely telegraphed, but radioed. About the most unexpected element of the film is the bewildering regularity with which the unexpected fails to happen . . . Mr. Brent and Miss Dvorak do as well as any one might expect, but Miss Davis is a trifle too obvious as the siren."

Although Variety called it "satisfactory entertainment," when asked about the film in later years, Bette Davis responded, "Dear God! What a horror!"

References

External links

Housewife at IMDb

Housewife at the TCM Movie Database (archived)

Housewife at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films

Text from Housewife (film) on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housewife_(film)

Trivia

It premiered on August 11, 1934, a Saturday.
It runs 1h09 — short for a feature film.
This film's quiz has 13 questions — enough to play more than once without repeats.

Production

StudiosWarner Bros. Pictures
CountriesUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
StatusReleased

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Crew

William Rees Cinematography
Alfred E. Green Director
James Gibbon Editing
Jack L. Warner Producer
Heinz Roemheld Original music
Lillie Hayward Story
Lillie Hayward Screenplay
Manuel Seff Screenplay
Robert Lord Story

Questions about this film

What is Housewife about?

Housewife: Nan Reynolds encourages her copywriter husband Bill to open his own agency. Nearly out of business, he finally gets a client. Former girlfriend Patricia Berkeley writes a very successful commercial for the client and neats up their old romance. Wife and girlfriend struggle over Bill.

Who directed Housewife?

Housewife was directed by Alfred E. Green in 1934.

Who stars in Housewife?

The cast of Housewife includes George Brent, Ann Dvorak, Bette Davis, John Halliday and Ruth Donnelly.

How long is Housewife?

Housewife runs for 69 minutes, or 1h09.