Claudia *** (1943, Dorothy McGuire, Robert Young, Ina Claire, Reginald Gardiner) – Classic Movie Review 12,355

Robert Young recalled: ‘Dorothy McGuire had done the play Claudia on Broadway and the 1943 film version was mostly a photographed play. Ina Claire was wonderful as her mother. It did sensational business.’

Director Edmund Goulding’s 1943 20th Century Fox black and white American comedy drama film Claudia stars Dorothy McGuire, Robert Young, Ina Claire, and Reginald Gardiner, with Olga Baclanova, and Jean Howard.

Too-young, too untutored child bride Claudia (McGuire) weds easy-going-till-provoked Young and has to wise up quickly and learn all about the facts of life in this heart-tugging comedy, based on Rose Franken’s 1941 Broadway play.

McGuire makes her film début in a re-creation of her hit Broadway role and it is just one of several admirable pieces of acting in the film (notably also from Robert Young, Ina Claire, and Reginald Gardiner). Goulding directs tastefully and with much poignancy.

Dorothy McGuire and Robert Young immediately re-teamed for The Enchanted Cottage and again for a 1946 Claudia sequel, Claudia and David.

The film was released by 20th Century Fox on 4 November 1943.

Robert Young recalled: ‘Dorothy McGuire had done it on Broadway and this was mostly a photographed play. Ina Claire was wonderful as her mother. It did sensational business and 20th Century Fox requested a sequel. Dorothy was aghast and said she’d never do a sequel, but technically, she was under contract to David Selznick and he simply put his foot down and Claudia and David duly appeared in 1946 and was almost as big a hit.’

The cast are Dorothy McGuire as Claudia Naughton, Robert Young as David Naughton, Ina Claire as Mrs. Brown, Reginald Gardiner as Jerry Seymour, Olga Baclanova as Madame Daruschka, Jean Howard as Julia, Frank Tweddell as Fritz, Elsa Janssen as Bertha, Frank Twedell, John Royce, Frank Fenton, Ferdinand Munier, Winifred Harris, and Jessie Grayson.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,355

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com