I watched "Dodsworth" (1936) again last night. What an absolutely superb movie!!
Acting, direction, script...brilliant!
Walter Huston was amazing. Every word, every delivery, every nuanced expression was perfection. Ruth Chatterton (in her last film) was wonderful. Her narcissistic, snobby, pathetic denial was both infuriating and heart rending.
This is a movie of depth and subtlety. There is no throwing stuff to indicate anger, but rather incredibly subtle and intense facial and body expressions.
This movie could never be made now. It would be considered "slow", and without enough "action". It evokes emotions in the audience honestly...it earns our emotion responses, rather than pushing cheap, easy sentimental buttons (see: Steven Spielberg). It evokes true sentiment, not sentimentality.
The supporting cast...Mary Astor, Paul Lucas, and especially Mme. Maria Ouspenskaya are marvelous. Ouspenskaya has only one scene, but it is scary good.
Forgive what may well be an unfair generalization, but this film may not appeal to a younger audience. Again, my apologies for perhaps underestimating the younger readers, but I think age and life's varied experiences, good and not so good, deepen the appreciation of this film.
But no matter what the reader's age, give this film a look. It is a generally little known masterpiece.
