Considerably changed from the novel, Babbitt diverges most from it in the personae of its two leads. George F. Babbitt is a normal semi-educated, average-looking philistine businessman, someone who would have accurately been represented by another of the cast, Alan Hale. Instead, he is portrayed by Guy Kibbee, who has Fat Fool written all over him. Sinclair Lewis wanted his readers to identify Babbitt as a member of their own families, perhaps even themselves, but no one would identify with Kibbee, a blustering, hapless figure of fun.
At the other extreme, George's wife, Myra, is the beautiful and obviously intelligent Aline MacMahon. The wife ought to be a frumpy dimwit who idolises George, who is indeed her superior. But this Myra, as she herself says, regards George as a little boy, protects him, and saves him, most dramatically (in a way that makes no sense at all) from destroying his reputation and losing their money.
However, having said that, the film is full of funny lines and tart observations on the childishness of men and the maturity of women, and there is plenty of social texture to enjoy, as well as the inimitable Hattie McDaniel, as the Babbitts' maid, who sees it as her duty to pep up their dinnertime with colourful bulletins from the other side of the tracks.
At the other extreme, George's wife, Myra, is the beautiful and obviously intelligent Aline MacMahon. The wife ought to be a frumpy dimwit who idolises George, who is indeed her superior. But this Myra, as she herself says, regards George as a little boy, protects him, and saves him, most dramatically (in a way that makes no sense at all) from destroying his reputation and losing their money.
However, having said that, the film is full of funny lines and tart observations on the childishness of men and the maturity of women, and there is plenty of social texture to enjoy, as well as the inimitable Hattie McDaniel, as the Babbitts' maid, who sees it as her duty to pep up their dinnertime with colourful bulletins from the other side of the tracks.