Let's get this straight. In my book, Irene Dunne is untouchable. She could do no wrong. Drama, comedy, romance, musical, western, circus suspense (kidding on that last one, but she would have irrefutably nailed it): Dunne easily held her own with the best of them or steered a whole picture on her own two shoulders, whatever the script called for. She could fully immerse herself in a character yet retain many of the qualities so distinct to Irene Dunne, the woman: charm, strength, refinement, and a bit goofy at times, too.

I first stumbled upon two of Dunne's earlier pictures, Consolation Marriage (1931) and Ann Vickers (1933), years ago on TCM. As a big fan of hers, I noticed that both films remained near the top of my imaginary list of Dunne favorites over the years (and they definitely are my top two adored pre-Codes of hers). However, I also made note that both movies remained somewhat elusive, available for several years only on VHS.

Until now.

Thankfully, Warner Archive Collection righted that wrong, debuting both films on DVD alongside two other lesser-known Dunne pictures, Sweet Adeline (1934) and Never a Dull Moment (1950). Below is my review of Consolation Marriage. You can peruse my thoughts on Ann Vickers, which I posted yesterday, here.

Irene Dunne and Pat O'Brien.

My Two Cents

To be honest, on the outside the pairing of Pat O'Brien and Irene Dunne simply appeared, well, odd to me. However, it turned out that they shared a wonderful chemistry, helped along in part by both actor's superb comedic compatibility. Seriously, when they interact in their cutesy/insanely flirty world, it looks like they were genuinely having a ball. But don't let the above few sentences mix you up: Consolation Marriage, though interspersed with humorous and witty moments, falls more squarely into the drama genre. Dunne, still light-years away (well, five) from a newfound image of comedienne extraordinaire, holds the bulk of the melodramatic moments near the end; she again resorts to that disenchanted expression I described yesterday in my Ann Vickers review, but always cracks a smile, forced as it may be, when Steve leaves her to pay Elaine a visit.

In a refreshing way, for the most part the adults in the picture act…well, like adults, at least when it comes to Steve and Mary's outside relationships and how they are handled by all parties. However, there's a very clear and ironic exception to this: the true heart of the picture, the lead's own connection, is masked from them by their own childish actions, as pining over others shields them from the truth right in front of them.

I've personally always appreciated Consolation Marriage's bold and open portrayal of relationships and have consistently found the film supremely fun and entertaining. I think Paul Sloane's direction earns high praise in this regard; he kept the couplings and all the action light considering the content could have easily dragged the energy into thorny, heavy territory. However, while the plot certainly wouldn't fly under the Production Code post-1934, the backbone of the picture is rather lackluster and predictable. That being said, the script benefits greatly from the characterizations and ensuing performances, both of which fill the story out. 

As I mentioned above, O'Brien + Dunne = delightfully surprising, but they weren't the only ones. The supporting cast, including John Halliday in a role that 99% of the time would have been handed to Roland Young (though Halliday excelled with gentler and more restrained parts), delivered solid, good-natured performances all around. This includes another favorite of mine, Myrna Loy, appearing here in her bad girl/exotic/what-do-we-do-with-her period, which lasted until 1934 when The Thin Man put an end to that. Though she delivers her dialogue in a rather stagey manner at times, Loy flexed her character's muscles well, actually imbuing Elaine with some redeeming qualities instead of playing her as a stereotypical one-dimensional wicked other woman.