That Forsyte Woman (1949) with Greer Garson and Errol Flynn

1949 that forsyte womanTo men she could be ice . . . or fire . . . or everything!
Errol Flynn is often typecast as an actor who couldn’t act, but when given the chance, he usually shows up with a fine performance. Sadly such meatier roles rarely, if ever, came his way during his peak years at Warner Brothers. It was only when his athleticism began to fade and Warners, tiring perhaps of the star’s reputation, allowed him to be farmed out to other studios.

Such is the case with 1949’s That Forsyte Woman, a dramatic stew with a myriad of folks cast against type. Flynn is Soames Forsyte, a rather numbers oriented man who is quite self-centered, egotistical and curt. So curt that it borders on rudeness. The always likable Greer Garson is Irene Forsyte, a woman who marries not for love (as there is none here) but necessity. Walter Pidgeon is bad-boy artist and brother (of Soames) Jolyon, who has been ostracized for running off with one of the staff. To round it out you have Robert Young as a social butterfly flitting from one Forsyte woman to another.

With the cast, sets and technicolor it is clear that MGM spared little expense with That Forsyte Woman and for the most part this results in a surprisingly effective picture- even though it was a box office disaster on release. Though I am not familiar with the source material, the film provides a strongly dramatic way to spend two hours.

1949 that forsyte woman errol flynn robert young greer garson janet leighThough Greer Garson is the lead, with Flynn at times almost becoming a supporting player, it’s clearly Flynn who takes over the picture. His apt personification of jealousy and wounded pride knows few bounds. This is best shown in a great scene where over dinner Flynn coldly berates Garson for forgetting their wedding anniversary. After this goes on for a few minutes Flynn grabs his napkin in disgust, only to find Garson’s gift for him underneath it. Flynn breaks, and falls on his sword in regret. It’s a well done performance and not a sailing ship in sight.

It’s good too to see Flynn in color, which was a relative rarity for him. He’s starting to wear down and show the effects of his hard lifestyle but there are still glimmers of the swashbuckling star underneath the only slightly sagging cheeks and fresh paunch.

Garson’s delightful as well, though it’s hard even now to see her as a wanton adulteress, much less one for the like of Robert Young. Though it’s perhaps intentionally left vague, the impression is that nothing really happens in her fling with Young (as Philip Bosinney) except for a few embraces and a kiss or two. If anything her apparent reluctance to rush into anything with him fits the same curve as her relationship with Soames. She had to be worn down into that relationship as well. Surprisingly Garson moves her way through most of the male cast during the course of the picture.

1949 that forsyte woman errol flynnRobert Young is a bit foppish and too old for his role as aspiring architect. Sadly with all the money MGM did spend on That Forsyte Woman, none was apparently left for Young’s hairpiece, which is woefully lacking. Incredulously they make the situation worse by drawing attention to it when he’s told that he evidently doesn’t comb it often enough.

Janet Leigh’s here as well a Young’s somewhat flighty initial love interest and Harry Davenport, in one of his last roles, is excellent as the patriarch of the new to riches Forsyte family.

That Forsyte Woman holds its own pretty well, but those looking for action will either have to look elsewhere or settle for some well executed dramatic fireworks.
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