Ginger Rogers won the Academy Award for Best Actress in KITTY FOYLE as the hard-working, stubborn Irish lass who learns more than a few lessons about life, love and the social strata in this affecting melodrama.
The film opens with a surmise of the changing role of women in Philadelphian society in the early part of the 20th century. The first five minutes switch from a woman daintily accepting a proposal, campaigning for suffrage and, finally, joining the workforce. This panoramic examination of changing social mores and conventions zooms in for a more personal look at one Kitty Foyle, a young working girl from the wrong side of the tracks who falls for her boss Wyn Strafford (Dennis Morgan), part of the Philadelphian social set. Kitty has to make a choice between her love for Strafford (who will never be her equal) and her relationship with a poor young doctor.
In an interesting technique, Kitty's conscience (through a mirror) narrates her story. The film is told mostly in flashback, while looking through a snow globe. This RKO production pre-dates CITIZEN KANE by one year! Was Welles parodying or paying tribute to KITTY FOYLE in the opening scenes of his film? Is it just pure coincidence? You decide.
Rogers, whose Oscar win is often hotly debated by classic film fans, is good, not yet entirely great in the role. Considering the quality of the performances nominated against hers in 1940- Joan Fontaine in REBECCA, Bette Davis in THE LETTER, Katharine Hepburn in THE PHILADELPHIA STORY- Rogers win seems undeserved. Was it undeserved? Honestly, yes. Rogers was far better in her musicals with Astaire (see SWING TIME and TOP HAT- Rogers is superb) in which she had to sing, act and dance- now that's versatility. Yet the Academy seems to shy away from rewarding comedy or musical performances, instead opting for drama. Rogers in KITTY FOYLE, with dyed hair, plain clothes and doing a lot of suffering at the hands of men, seemed a better choice than the luminous, cheerful Rogers of SWING TIME. Ginger is good as Kitty but I wonder why she was even nominated when Rosalind Russell (HIS GIRL Friday) and Vivien Leigh (WATERLOO BRIDGE) were both overlooked in the same year. Perhaps the Academy wished to award her for the magic she brought to the screen with Astaire?
Dennis Morgan and James Craig are decent in support as the two men who Kitty has to choose between. Morgan, handsome, charming and sharing more than a passing resemblance to Robert Walker, is effective as the attractive yet selfish and weak-willed Strafford, who is unwilling to forgo the comforts of his social position to make a married life with Kitty. Craig is perhaps a little bland yet he is still likable as the honest, good-hearted doctor who Kitty really should fall for. Gladys Cooper appears in a small role as Wyn's disapproving mother, and Ernest Cossart (sort of a poor man's Thomas Mitchell) is memorable as Kitty's father.
KITTY FOYLE possesses an average script that is lifted by it's interesting themes of social divide, women in the workforce, divorce and single mothers. Sure, it's nothing revolutionary now but it was in 1940. Rogers gets her best scenes when she learns she has had a miscarriage and, five years later, meets Stafford's son to another woman who could well have been her own. Wood's competent direction and storytelling draws emotions from viewers in all the right places.
Foot Note- One of my favorite poems, Tennyson's brilliant and unforgettable The Lady Of Shallot, is used symbolically and poignantly in KITTY FOYLE. Kitty herself could well be the The Lady ("I am half sick of shadows") in Tennyson's castle, waiting for Camelot to come rescue her from her working life. Unfortunately, Kitty's mirror is also "crack'd" when she realizes Strafford for the man he is, not the ideal she dreamt about. It's fun to speculate whether or not the film was reaching for a more high-brow intellectualism than the average soaper with Kitty effectively playing the Lady when she is conversing with her conscience in the mirror. Interesting stuff!
7/10.
The film opens with a surmise of the changing role of women in Philadelphian society in the early part of the 20th century. The first five minutes switch from a woman daintily accepting a proposal, campaigning for suffrage and, finally, joining the workforce. This panoramic examination of changing social mores and conventions zooms in for a more personal look at one Kitty Foyle, a young working girl from the wrong side of the tracks who falls for her boss Wyn Strafford (Dennis Morgan), part of the Philadelphian social set. Kitty has to make a choice between her love for Strafford (who will never be her equal) and her relationship with a poor young doctor.
In an interesting technique, Kitty's conscience (through a mirror) narrates her story. The film is told mostly in flashback, while looking through a snow globe. This RKO production pre-dates CITIZEN KANE by one year! Was Welles parodying or paying tribute to KITTY FOYLE in the opening scenes of his film? Is it just pure coincidence? You decide.
Rogers, whose Oscar win is often hotly debated by classic film fans, is good, not yet entirely great in the role. Considering the quality of the performances nominated against hers in 1940- Joan Fontaine in REBECCA, Bette Davis in THE LETTER, Katharine Hepburn in THE PHILADELPHIA STORY- Rogers win seems undeserved. Was it undeserved? Honestly, yes. Rogers was far better in her musicals with Astaire (see SWING TIME and TOP HAT- Rogers is superb) in which she had to sing, act and dance- now that's versatility. Yet the Academy seems to shy away from rewarding comedy or musical performances, instead opting for drama. Rogers in KITTY FOYLE, with dyed hair, plain clothes and doing a lot of suffering at the hands of men, seemed a better choice than the luminous, cheerful Rogers of SWING TIME. Ginger is good as Kitty but I wonder why she was even nominated when Rosalind Russell (HIS GIRL Friday) and Vivien Leigh (WATERLOO BRIDGE) were both overlooked in the same year. Perhaps the Academy wished to award her for the magic she brought to the screen with Astaire?
Dennis Morgan and James Craig are decent in support as the two men who Kitty has to choose between. Morgan, handsome, charming and sharing more than a passing resemblance to Robert Walker, is effective as the attractive yet selfish and weak-willed Strafford, who is unwilling to forgo the comforts of his social position to make a married life with Kitty. Craig is perhaps a little bland yet he is still likable as the honest, good-hearted doctor who Kitty really should fall for. Gladys Cooper appears in a small role as Wyn's disapproving mother, and Ernest Cossart (sort of a poor man's Thomas Mitchell) is memorable as Kitty's father.
KITTY FOYLE possesses an average script that is lifted by it's interesting themes of social divide, women in the workforce, divorce and single mothers. Sure, it's nothing revolutionary now but it was in 1940. Rogers gets her best scenes when she learns she has had a miscarriage and, five years later, meets Stafford's son to another woman who could well have been her own. Wood's competent direction and storytelling draws emotions from viewers in all the right places.
Foot Note- One of my favorite poems, Tennyson's brilliant and unforgettable The Lady Of Shallot, is used symbolically and poignantly in KITTY FOYLE. Kitty herself could well be the The Lady ("I am half sick of shadows") in Tennyson's castle, waiting for Camelot to come rescue her from her working life. Unfortunately, Kitty's mirror is also "crack'd" when she realizes Strafford for the man he is, not the ideal she dreamt about. It's fun to speculate whether or not the film was reaching for a more high-brow intellectualism than the average soaper with Kitty effectively playing the Lady when she is conversing with her conscience in the mirror. Interesting stuff!
7/10.