#1076: ARZNER, Dorothy: Merrily We Go To Hell (1932)

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ARZNER, Dorothy (United States)
Merrily We Go To Hell (1932)
Spine #1076
Blu-ray


Addiction, nonmonogamy, and female sexual liberation: decades before such ideas were widely discussed, Dorothy Arzner, the only woman to work as a director in 1930s Hollywood, brought them to the screen with striking frankness, sophistication, and wit -- a mature treatment that stands out even in the pre-Code era. Fredric March (in one of four collaborations with Arzner) and Sylvia Sidney turn in extraordinary performances as the urbane couple whose relationship is pushed to the breaking point by his alcoholism and wandering eye -- leading them into an emotionally explosive experiment with an open marriage. Exposing the hypocrisies and petty cruelties simmering beneath the surface of high-society elegance, Merrily We Go to Hell is a scathing early-feminist commentary on modern marriage.

83 minutes
Black and White
Monaural
1:37:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2021
Director/Writers


Based on the novel I, Jerry, Take Thee, Joan by Cleo Lucas.
Screenplay by Edwin Justus Mayer.
Dorothy Arzner was 35 when she directed Merrily We Go to Hell.

Other Arzner films in the Collection:

#1028: Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)

The Film

A

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Four-page leaflet featuring an essay by film scholar Judith Mayne.

Commentary

None.

Dorothy Arzner: Longing for Women

A 1983 documentary by Katja Raganelli and Konrad Wickler.

Video essay

By film historian Cari Beauchamp.

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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