Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

I’ve been exploring some of the precode movies related to divorce to distract my mind. Perhaps that seems odd.

Some of my friends have asked if they can reach out to shore up some help for me, mainly lodging. Having been unexpectedly homeless for 196 days in 2023, I know that’s a big lift. Nobody really wants a house guest for two years or longer. If you’d consider a monthly pledge to help a lesbian out, that would be grand. If you have a room or apartment or tiny house for let, even grander. Grandier? Gayer?

So let’s see what the movies teach us.

• Let Us Be Gay (1930)
  • Norma Shearer is a somewhat dowdy devoted housewife who discovers her husband is cheating. They divorce, she reinvents herself as a sophisticated woman, and they meet again. Didn’t love that ending, but the movie is fascinating. Several intense character actors whose stage experience lends itself to the action.
• The Divorcée (1930)
  • Another Norma Shearer film, this one earned her an Academy Award. The nuances of a woman whose first love dissolves due to infidelity and hypocrisy against a background of the ‘New York in-crowd.’ Everyone is miserable until the divorced leads shake the dust off and build new lives. And reunite is a scene surely Nora Ephron had in mind for the reunion of Harry and Sally.
• Loose Ankles (1930)
  • Not a divorce movie at all, but delightful. Screwball elements, lots of wink, wink, nod, nod moments. A fantastic B story that threatens to subsume the main narrative.
• Our Blushing Brides (1930)
  • Again, no divorces or perhaps allusions to one. Three shop girls with the job title of ‘mannequin’ try to land husbands. But it is not a comedy. The poverty of these working class girls is quite real. Their desperation and self-delusion feels timeless. This was Joan Crawford’s third leading role in a talking movie and she nailed it. The scenery was on point.
• Cynthia Warrington (Katharine Hepburn) in A Bill of Divorcement (1932
  • It is easy to focus on Katharine Hepburn’s debut movie role. Her mentally ill father returns home on Christmas Day after near two decades in a sanitarium. Her mother has secured a divorce and a new fiancé. Mom agrees to dump her ex-husband on her young adult daughter because she can’t cope. This was a masterclass in how divorce can destroy the lives of children of any age. Hepburn was radiant and John Barrymore as papa was intimidating as fuck. I waa a little puzzled that everyone lived in London, but the accents were all over the place.
• The Gay Divorcee (1934)
  • The namesake movie – Ginger Rodgers and Fred Astaire paired up for only the second time. She’s an American trying to secure a divore. He’s the BFF of her lawyer. Shenanigans ensue. The big dance numbers are absolutely amazing. It is a fun movie, almost a screwball comedy.
• Mary Haines (Norma Shearer) in The Women (1939)
  • To be fair, I watched this several years ago. It is on my list for a repeat. I love the premis that only women are in the movie. I don’t love the ending.
• Lora May Hollingsway, Rita Phipps, and Deborah Bishop in A Letter to Three Wives (1949):
  • This is not precode and I expected to hate it. I was shocked to get quite enthralled. The dynamics of each marriage are unique and somewhat intense. No one ends up divorced. That’s okay.
• Gloria Bell (Julianne Moore) in Gloria Bell (2018)
  • This has beem on my list for awhile. Julianne Moore is radiant as a mousy 50 something woman with a secret passion for dancing at clubs. Her love interest may blow apart some of her wishes, but he can’t destroy her.

The performances were solid, but some of the character actors stole the show. I found it quite fascinating to realize some of the older actors were born as far back as the Civil War. You can absolutely see their history in theater and silent movies through their intense expressive faces and gestures. Many had leading roles in other films.

A few of the standouts

• Marie Dressler starred in Let Us Be Gay as Boucie, the wealthy domineering grandmother who enjoyed a good game involving her friends and guests. Of course she was gruff with a heart of gold. Dressler’s life story is pretty interesting.
• Loose Ankles had an entire B story of two young male roommates and the prudish aunties – Louise Fazenda, Ethel Wales, and Norman Selby.
• Edward Everett Horton’s turn in The Gay Divorcée as the somewhat bumbling lawyer was hilarious.

The tumult of their lives juxtaposed with their significant role in social justice efforts. It is also interesting to note that several of the actors are BIPOC. Linda Darnell was of Indigenous descent. Horton was of Cuban descent. Fazenda was Mexican-American. Dressler organized one of the first unions in stage and left her estate to her black caretakers, asking that they create a ‘place of comfort’ for Black travelers. They did.

Still to watch

• One Hour With You (1932)
• The Rich Are Always With Us (1932)
• Smarty (1934)
• Madge Evans and Alice Brady in Beauty for Sale (1933) – not streaming
• Madge Kennedy in Merry Wives of Reno (1934) – not streaming
• Lucy Warriner (Irene Dunne) in The Awful Truth (1937)
• Mary Haines (Norma Shearer) in The Women (1939) Rewatch
• Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell) in His Girl Friday (1940) Rewatch
• Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn) in The Philadelphia Story (1940) Rewatch
• Ann Downs (June Allyson) in The Shrike (1955) – not streaming
• Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford) in Mildred Pierce (1945)
• Giulietta Boldrini (Giulietta Masina) in Juliet of the Spirits (1966)
• An Unmarried Woman (1978)
• Vivian Bell (Helen Shaver) in Desert Hearts (1985): Rewarch
• Bernadine Harris (Angela Bassett) in Waiting to Exhale (1995) Rewatch
• The First Wives Club (1996) Rewatch
•  It’s Complicated (2009)
•  A Separation (2011)
• Enough Said (2013)

Stay tuned …