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      Craig's Wife

      1936 1h 13m Drama List
      100% Tomatometer 8 Reviews 56% Audience Score 50+ Ratings A pushy pessimist with an eye for the finer things in life, Harriet (Rosalind Russell) has married Walter Craig (John Boles) because he is able to provide the kind of posh lifestyle she is certain she deserves. She feels not the slightest bit of guilt about her lack of affection for her husband, and aside from John himself, everyone around her seems to realize this. But when her husband gets a scare involving the police, Harriet's way of life is threatened. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

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      Frank S. Nugent New York Times The entire weight of the drama depends upon the malign effectiveness of its central character and Miss Russell, here enjoying her first real opportunity in Hollywood, gives a viciously eloquent performance. Mar 25, 2006 Full Review Meyer Levin (Patterson Murphy) Esquire Magazine Very competently done character study of the wife who has a perfect-house mania. Closely follows the play, which is not a bit dated. Apr 22, 2020 Full Review Liz Galst Sojourner [Director Dorothy] Arzner played her part to perfection: she added to her films "a woman's touch," while never really challenging the patriarchal stranglehold on cinema. Her 1936 film Craig's Wife bears this out well. Sep 4, 2019 Full Review Ann Ross Maclean's Magazine A deft and well-acted screen version of the Pulitzer Prize play. Aug 7, 2019 Full Review Lauren Humphries-Brooks Citizen Dame Harriet Craig is not formed by her past but by her culture, fulfilling the requisite role of the housewife to a degree that turns her into a monster of patriarchy's own making. Jun 18, 2019 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com The young Rosalind Rusell gives a tour de force performance as the obsessive wife in Dorothy Arzner's 1936 critique of patriarchal culture. Rated: B Jun 11, 2010 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      A R I like movies based on plays because they tend to focus on dialogue and excellent acting, and this is no exception. Rosalind Russell in particular gives and amazingly believable and subtle performance as the detached, manipulative wife. That said, I don't understand the takeaway here, besides the expositional final passage 'those who live alone are usually left alone'...I hope there's more to this movie than that singular concept. As a movie directed by a woman, focusing on women's position in a patriarchal society - I'd like to find a different conclusion here. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Engrossing thriller that intends to tell a message plainly and simply. Rosalind Russell and John Boles play their roles magnificently as do the supporting actors. The film is tight, always moving to its inevitable conclusion. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member This version is a must see classic. Ms. Russell's performance compelling. I like this version much better than the 1950 remake starring Crawford. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Audience Member Russell is superb in this glossy adaptation of the stage play. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member good weepy melodrama Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member A film so criminally undervalued and a little forgotten, it's also a much better version of the play than it's glossy and somewhat misogynistic Crawford remake. It's pioneering director, Dorothy Arzner, was unique in two ways. Not only the only woman director making big studio pics during the Hollywood Golden Age but also a lesbian who made no secret of her sexuality. Most surely a gay icon as well as a feminist one. Her version of Craig's Wife is very much a crack at the male dominated studio system of the time (good on her!!). Arzner's Harriet Craig is also a much more sympathetic character than the one being justly (?!) punished in the remake (which, of course, was produced and directed by men) Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Craig's Wife

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis A pushy pessimist with an eye for the finer things in life, Harriet (Rosalind Russell) has married Walter Craig (John Boles) because he is able to provide the kind of posh lifestyle she is certain she deserves. She feels not the slightest bit of guilt about her lack of affection for her husband, and aside from John himself, everyone around her seems to realize this. But when her husband gets a scare involving the police, Harriet's way of life is threatened.
      Director
      Dorothy Arzner
      Production Co
      Columbia Pictures Corporation
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Runtime
      1h 13m