The Bride Wore Red - 1937 - Reevaluated

The Dorothy Arzner film "The Bride Wore Red" was on TCM this morning. Given the well known facts that it was based on a Molnar play about a reformed prostitute, originally intended for Luise Rainer, and that it was somewhat changed into more of a Cinderella story for Joan Crawford, I think the film still holds great value and should be evaluated again, on it's own terms, by it's detractors. First off, the cast is impeccable. Then there's the story that had to adhere to post code dictates, and Louis B. Mayer's even greater influence on MGM product after the death of Thalberg. During the pre-code era, Thalberg would have allowed the film to display more of the racier elements that were originally intended. What remains is still a very interesting and well acted film. To start, the credits are lovely and we start to hear what continues as a beautiful film score by Franz Waxman. The opening scenes with George Zucco and Robert Young are sophisticated, brilliantly written, and a marvelous set up for a story that delves into what are the conflicted emotions of many characters in all classes of society. Joan Crawford gives a truly moving performance and plays each nuance of her character with precision. Her conflicted feelings, motivations, and frustrations are beautifully played and believable throughout. When her character feels the need to be either snobbish, friendly, charming, happy, sad, or overwhelmed, her motivations always seem to make sense and taking on such a complex character is not easy for an actress to do. Her socially awkward scenes with Billie Burke come off beautifully. Crawford's character, Anna Vivaldi, has been around long enough to know how to diffuse the snobbishness of Bille Burke's character. One of my favorite scenes is when Billie Burke is on to Crawford's character and is overly rude. Crawford diffused the situation by being extremely kind. No character is the film knows what is or isn't truly real to them, except perhaps the Franchot Tone character, Julio. He knows who he is and what he wants. He has feelings for the Crawford character, and is constantly trying to persuade Crawford's character, Anni, to find the truth in what she REALLY wants out of life. Eventually, she realizes that a life with Tone would be real to her, but how she comes to that conclusion is fascinating, and we soon realize that there are all kinds in all classes of society. This is truly one of Crawford's best performances of the late thirties and I recommend it to those who haven't seen it. I also recommend it to those who have seen it. Perhaps you'll enjoy it more than the last time you saw it. Between the cast, the direction, the story, the score, and the settings, it's really a wonderful film.