He was so mean to his daughter. And then trying to validate his cheating ways by telling his wife it has nothing to do with her, he just wants to feel young again. Ugh, whatever. I couldn't stand him. He was so disrespectful and unsympathetic. But every good story has a villain of some sort. Other than that, I loved the other characters.
shareTruth is harsh.
shareHe was wrong in what he did (cheating) but he never said, "its my right" or "what i did was ok". He just gave an explanation for why he did it and his analysis to his daughter was true in the means that hepburn's character was meant to be arrogant so that it would evolve through the story.
shareI agree that he's too harsh on his daughter. It's ridiculous to minimize his cheating, and to say that if his daughter were more devoted he wouldn't have gone off with that dancer. This wouldn't fly with modern audiences. But I do think he has a point that she is judgmental and imperious and intolerant. Cheating is crappy in any age, but if her mother is willing to forgive, it's really not for her to comment.
shareWow, I wouldn't have guessed that anyone nowadays would defend the father's vile speech.
I can't say I'm convinced that he had his wife's permission to screw whoever he wanted. Yes, Tracy's mother said something implying she wasn't as bothered by the affair as Tracy was, but that's hardly the same as saying that she's fine with him doing it. (And if he has her permission to cheat, does that mean it's an open marriage and he'd be okay with her sleeping with other men? I tend to doubt it.)
But...even if the mother was fine with her husband cheating, it doesn't make his comments any more defensible. It's completely insane to suggest that every aging man has some sort of a right to have a young woman in his life, especially a right to have a young woman around who never passes judgment on him. And the idea that if he has a daughter, but she isn't willing to forgive his frailties, she bears some of the blame for him cheating on her mother? He actually said that the blame was partially hers!
If he had said "Mind your own business," that would have been a somewhat better response than the one he gave - especially if he and Tracy's mother had an "understanding." But it is still her business to a certain extent, because Tracy had just been blackmailed as a result of his actions. They're both part of a very high-profile high society family, and whether they like it or not, if the father cheats on her mother in the public eye, it's going to affect Tracy quite a bit.
I'd feel differently about all of this if, like the OP, I saw him as being the same as other movie villains. But unlike other jerkass characters in movies, I think the intention of the writer was that we were supposed to agree with him, and to see that he was right about her personality leading to his affair. He's just one of the characters that reminds her that she's overly judgmental, and in what's meant to be a happy conclusion, she's finally realized that they were all right.
I'm glad Tracy realized her flaws and that she had to improve. What I wish is that the father realized he was wrong too. I agree with you. When he tried to blame his own daughter for his indiscretions... I was amazed. That was so ridiculous of him to do. It almost seemed like he was supposed to be this wise man who shows everyone the light. Just because he was right about Tracy does not make him right about everything else. He wasn't Mr. Perfect and it's a shame he didn't seem as open to change as Tracy was.
shareI absolutely agree with everything fidelio said. That was the one part of the movie that I really hated. Yes, Tracy was arrogant and needed to be taken down a notch or two, but her opinion of her father and his actions was one of the things I think she was quite right about, and to have her dad turn around and blame his philandering on _her_ was just unbelievable. I wouldn't have minded so much if the writer did this to showcase what an asshat the dad really was, but instead we're supposed to agree with him! Yes, yes, it was a different time, yada yada yada, but still....
"He's already attracted to her. Time and monotony will do the rest."
I love the movie, but there's no doubt Tracy's father is the worst part. I always want to deck him.
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I directed this years ago, and when I got to that scene, even I had to say to the cast "Back me up on this, ladies, doesn't this sound like crap? 'I cheated on my wife because my daughter was mean to me!'? Don't you have that backwards?"
shareYeah... talk about morals changing. This kind of scene would never be made in a modern-day movie, at least not for the purpose of being taken seriously.
Supermodels...spoiled stupid little stick figures mit poofy lips who sink only about zemselves.
yeah he was wrong but in a way right too.
there is this line from to kill a mocking bird
If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it"- Atticus Finch.
well it just depends from which angle you looking at.
Internet - A place for useless bantering & silly hate crime.
I love that quote too by Atticus Finch. But honestly, when you're wrong, you're wrong. you don't need to walk around in the person's skin, it doesn't change the fact that he's wrong. In some cases, there's areas of shades of gray. But Tracy's dad was a cheater and that's all there is to it.
share**Spoilers**
This is one of my favorite movies and, as one who NEVER condones cheating I agree that his actions hardly made Seth Lord likeable. However, he was a pivotal character who ended up not being quite the villain folks here seem to think he was. I think in those days some women in films, especially older women like Mrs. Lord, tended to accept the "men will be men" attitude. As she sadly told Tracy, "Now I have my self respect and no husband." But his tough love attitude toward Tracy was essential to her transition in the story. Possibly in part because of her resentment of her father, she had no tolerance for "human frailty" (e.g. Dexter) and was going to marry the "stuffed shirt" George Kittredge in a vain search for perfection. If Seth hadn't given her the "goddess" speech, she may not have toppled from her pedestal in time to realize she didn't really love George.
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i love Keira, but she strikes me as too "delicate English rose" for the role. try looking up Leighton Meester, then we're talking.
sharei love this clip, she's watching A Philadelphia Story at the end!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxHhHYyZy3A&lc=tXXf3jUebPjCa0zKHazqVXkOF4EgLi0nW_cHLhyaL5k&feature=inbox
*I’m slightly biased since I have a pretty cynical view towards marriage myself and tend to view cheating as a logical response to the unnatural restrictions that monogamy places on individuals in relationships, but I’ll try not to let my personal views interfere.*
I actually thought that the way the film handled Seth's indiscretions was somewhat progressive. As has been previously mentioned, he never tried to justify what he did and nor did he say it was right; he simply had the maturity to try his best to explain why he felt compelled to have an affair. I applaud the film for giving him the chance to explain himself without just brushing him off as a cheater and a villain, as it would have been easier to do. Oh, and I don't consider Seth a villain. I think his character was too complex to simply be labeled that way. He was a fairly bitter and cynical old man, but in the end his affections for his daughter were definitely established.
Of course with said, I agree that the part where he partially blamed Tracy for his philandering ways went too far. That was completely uncalled for. Saying that he wished she had behaved more affectionately towards him would have been ok, but insinuating that her behavior towards him motivated his affairs was just unfair to her.
The thing is, the part where he blames Tracy is the whole crux / core of his argument.
Had he argued that his wife had become aloof from him and deprived him of intimacy (whether emotional or physical), it might have been a bit different. But he never did.
His entire thesis was that a mistress was a direct exchange for his oldest *daughter* not behaving enough like an unquestioning puppy dog toward him.
And note that his claim that it was just youthful exuberance that he craved also completely ignores the fact that he still had another daughter who was still at an age that tends to be in the "adolescent Daddy's girl" range. If his affair was Tracy's fault (as he claims) then it would have to have been equally Dinah's fault. (Of course, if he had included Dinah in his blame-laying, he would have lost *all* audience sympathy, even in the Pre-War world, thereby removing all weight from his rebuke of Tracy.)
I'm sorry, but Seth Lord's self justification (as he states and argues it) was a total crock. Pure rationalization.
You make a very good point. I can't believe I overlooked Dinah. That's so true! You helped to show that the dad really didn't have a leg to stand on. He was just a pitiful big baby and a cheat. And he was wrong, wrong, wrong. Thank you for helping to strengthen my argument. I appreciate it. :)
shareExcellent argument! I would've killed to see you put an asshole like this in his place!
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