The Divorcee

1930 was a year in which the Hays Code was in existence but was not yet being enforced. It was adopted earlier  in 1930, but it wouldn’t be until 1934 that it would be strictly enforced. Were it being enforced at the time, The Divorcee, a film based on the 1929 novel Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott, would not have been able to be made. It seems impossible under the rules of the code that this film could exist even with judicial edits; the subject matter would have been too saucy and suggestive to make it into a film just a few years later. But because it was made when it was, we got a rather juicy and salacious story that tackled a subject that is still relevant to this day. 

Norma Shearer is playing Jerry, a woman who has just been proposed to by her beau, Ted Martin (Chester Morris). The news of their engagement, announced at a social gathering, has greatly upset Paul (Conrad Nagel), who wanted her for himself, and he turns to alcohol to console himself. When Paul drives away drunk, with several others in his car, he crashes, leaving one of the women passengers, Dorothy (Judith Wood, credited as Helen Johnson), disfigured. Out of guilt, as Jerry is marrying Ted, Paul marries Dorothy. 

On the evening of their third anniversary, Jerry discovers that Ted had had a brief affair. She is naturally upset by the news, but Ted tries to reassure her that it did not “mean a thing”. While Ted is away on a business trip, Jerry spends the night with his best friend, Don. When Ted returns, though, she tells him that she “balanced our accounts”. But Ted doesn’t see it that way, refusing to attribute his own interpretation of it doesn’t “mean a thing” to her own infidelity. They fight and end up getting a divorce. Her parting shot to him afterwards is “this door is now open to everyone, except for you.” 

Because this is Hollywood, even though it is a pre-code film, it is going to end with a happily ever after, albeit one that has a surprisingly dark twist to it that I will get into later. Jerry is going to start living for herself again, but eventually she will realize that she still loves Ted and, though she has a dalliance with Paul, realizes that she is breaking up his own marriage, even though he isn’t in love with Dorothy. This is hit over the head in the penultimate scene when Dorothy makes an appearance to plead with Jerry to not run away with Paul. We never see the extent of the damage to her face—it’s kept enshrouded with a veil—but we do see that she is a broken and unhappy woman cleaving onto the one thing she has left, Paul.

This film calls to light the double standard that still exists in the world today. Ted views his affair as not meaning anything, but when Jerry does the same thing, it is a big enough sin against their marriage to warrant a divorce. This mentality still exists, though it is sometimes thrown far in the other direction, vilifying men and justifying women for the same actions. Consider the 2022 Academy Awards. Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes performed a sexually charged skit, manhandling several male actors under the guise of testing them for Covid. This skit included inappropriate pat-downs and dialogue referencing performing a Covid swab with their tongues. Had this same sketch been performed by men objectifying women, there would have been a major outcry. Instead, some frowned on it as in bad taste, but it went mostly ignored. 

That same double standard can be seen even in my own home. My wife, for instance, will watch a show on TV because she finds the male lead hot. However, if I were to watch something like Baywatchbecause the women are hot, she would put me in the doghouse. I point all of this out because, like it or not, there is a double standard in this world that still exists. A man sleeping around is considered a stud and a chick magnet, whereas a woman doing the same thing is a slut or a whore, loose, to use a crude slang term from my high school years. 

The Divorcee is calling that double standard out in a way that is impossible to miss. That line Jerry uses, “balanced our accounts,” would be accurate in a fair world, but in the world she lives in, what she has done is far weightier than what he did. We are meant to feel the injustice in that assessment and be all the angrier at Ted for his attitude towards her as well as at a world that supports this mindset.

Norma Shearer was a real highlight in the films she made for MGM. She was married to Irving Thalberg, vice president and head of production for the studio. Oddly, she was not originally in contention for the role because she wasn’t considered sexy enough. She arranged a special photo session to prove them wrong, and it worked. Anyone watching this film will wonder how anyone could think she didn’t have the sex appeal this film needed. She is simply gorgeous and carries herself like someone who knows they are beautiful and attractive. More importantly, though, she conveys vulnerability well. Her “welcome home” to Ted when he returns from his trip after telling her about the affair is a prime example of this. You can tell she still loves him, but there is a wedge that has come between them. She could keep her own affair private but insists on being honest about it. His response catches her off guard, and she is deeply hurt by him again, perhaps even more so than with his initial confession. 

It is hard to be too judgmental against Jerry for her actions after Ted is found out. Two wrongs don’t make a right, but it isn’t as simple as saying the account is balanced. But it is also hypocritical for Ted to respond the way he did. We also cannot be too forgiving of Paul, who is willing to throw away his fragile wife for Jerry. He made his choice when he married Dorothy, and though Jerry changes her mind and leaves the two to stay together, is this the right thing for those two? It’s hard to say because Paul seems to be a terrible husband, but Dorothy is so emotionally fragile and may not be able to cope losing him. There is no good answer there, and the film leaves these two on an uncertain note. It is the most troubling aspect of this film, and we feel that their marriage isn’t long for the world, no matter what happens next. 

This was a surprisingly complex moral drama tied to a rather simple plot. With very little, this film presents a lot of talking points and an ending that leaves you uncertain if the right choices were ultimately made. Ted and Jerry reconcile after he turns to alcoholism once the divorce is granted. He is miserable without her, but does he truly repent for cheating on her? Jerry returns to him for much the same reason; she misses him and realizes he is her true love. But the plot surrounding Paul and Dorothy is unsettling and is so realistic that it is disturbing even to think about it. This is a powerful film that really caught me off guard, especially after the fact as I think back on it and realize it is even more deep than I had felt while it was playing out. 

Academy Award Nominations:

Outstanding Production: Robert Z. Leonard

Best Director: Robert Leonard

Best Actress: Norma Shearer (won)

Best Writing: John Meehan

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Release Date: April 19, 1930

Running Time: 84 minutes

Not Rated

Starring: Norma Shearer, Chester Morris, Conrad Nagel, and Robert Montgomery

Directed by: Robert Leonard