Being “a woman of a certain age,” I felt embarrassed for Fran, and myself, as I watched her trying her new “self” on for size: dying her hair blonde, putting on airs (along with fussy, flashy clothing she’s too old to pull off), fishing for compliments, and, eventually, taking flirtations too far.
When the Dodsworths meet up again with Edith in their travels, the difference between the two women is jarring. Painfully self-conscious Fran has turned into a pretentious phony, while Edith, her near contemporary, is ethereal and effortlessly elegant.
She’s also wiser and more gracious, first parrying Fran’s insult about her age with a subtle thrust, then trying gently to warn Mrs. Dodsworth – with a single, exquisitely chosen and uttered word — that she’s making a fool of herself.
The mind-blowing ‘Dodsworth’ (1936) airs tonight on TCM
