Ann Vickers | Irene Dunne, Walter Huston | Unusual for a number of reasons

Ann Vickers | Irene Dunne, Walter Huston | What Are You Doing to Irene?

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Ann Vickers

	Ann Vickers Irene Dunne, Walter Huston Turner Home Entertainment, 2002 average customer review:based on 2 reviews
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Unusual for a number of reasons

Irene Dunne and Walter Huston are two of my favorites, one reason I like this film so much. Sinclair Lewis wrote biting commentaries on social issues, often shocking for their day (another great example, one of my favorite movies, is Dodsworth, also with Walter Huston). Ann Vickers is a social worker, who eventually gets a Ph.D. She has the odd notion that maybe prison should be about rehabilitation, about treating people with kindness, instead of abusing them and warping them further. She is the warden of a prison, and writes a bestselling book about prison reform. The film opens with her going to Cuba for an abortion (pregnant out of wedlock). Later she falls for a disreputable, married judge (Walter Huston), with whom she has a passionate affair. There are more controversies in store, but I won't ruin the plot. What is unusual here is not simply the fact that this pre-Hayes film has such controversial subjects, it's the fact that Lewis did not apologize for people's "shortcomings". Ann Vickers is a complex woman, full of ideals but also passions; she is magnificent but also flawed, makes mistakes. There is no moralizing about her "downfall". In fact, the film has a happy ending. The chemistry between the radiant Dunne and bad boy Huston is palpable, romantic, and very satisfying. I highly recommend this film and am awaiting the release of the DVD.

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What Are You Doing to Irene?

Ann Vickers is a movie based on the Sinclair Lewis novel about a woman involved in prison reform (Irene Dunne). She begins as a social worker who meets a man who puts her in an awkward position when he leaves her after serving in the military. She wipes her slate clean and moves on, this time away from men and into women's prisons. She sees the need for reform and plans to do it all on her own. After healthy success, she meets an amourous judge (Walter Huston) whose imperfections do not faze Ann. She finds herself again in an awkward situation, but this time with a man who truly wants her.

The story and the shocking pre-code elements of this film really aren't all that shocking by today's standards, but they were quite risque in the early 1930s. What might shock audiences today is the fact that the saintly Miss Dunne is playing such an "immoral" character. Further still, it is strange to see Huston in such a cleaned up part; he is rather suave here. It is an interesting movie and a great representative of a time period in films long lost.

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