''That Forsyte Woman'' (released in the United Kingdom as ''The Forsyte Saga'') is a 1949 romance film directed by Compton Bennett and starring

Greer Garson Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson (29 September 1904 – 6 April 1996) was an English-American actress and singer. She was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer who became popular during the Second World War for her portrayal of strong women on the hom ...

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia ...

Walter Pidgeon Walter Davis Pidgeon (September 23, 1897 – September 25, 1984) was a Canadian-American actor. He earned two Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his roles in '' Mrs. Miniver'' (1942) and ''Madame Curie'' (1943). Pidgeon also starred in ...

, Robert Young and

Janet Leigh Jeanette Helen Morrison (July 6, 1927 – October 3, 2004), known professionally as Janet Leigh, was an American actress, singer, dancer, and author. Her career spanned over five decades. Raised in Stockton, California, by working-class parents, ...

. It is an adaptation of the 1906 novel ''The Man of Property'', the first book in ''

The Forsyte Saga ''The Forsyte Saga'', first published under that title in 1922, is a series of three novels and two interludes published between 1906 and 1921 by the English author John Galsworthy, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature. They chronicle the vici ...

'' by John Galsworthy. Walter Plunkett and Arlington Valles were nominated for an Oscar for Best Costume Design, Color. The original music score was composed by

Bronisław Kaper Bronisław Kaper (; February 5, 1902 – April 26, 1983) was a Polish film composer who scored films and musical theater in Germany, France, and the USA. The American immigration authorities misspelled his name as Bronislau Kaper. He was also va ...

. ''Filmink'' magazine wrote that the movie featured "perhaps Flynn’s most famous “capital-A-Acting” performance".

Plot

Irene (

) is the wife of Soames Forsyte (

), a Victorian "man of property". Irene married without love, after having many proposals. Soames is preoccupied with material possessions, and considers Irene to be his possession. Irene eventually rebels against Soames' treatment of her. Irene falls in love with unconventional architect Philip Bosinney ( Robert Young), who is engaged to Soames' niece June (

). June happens to be one of Irene's closest friends. Soames learns of Irene's affair with Bosinney, and rather than allowing Irene to leave him, he slaps her. When Soames and Bosinney discover that Irene has run away, Bosinney rushes out in the foggy London streets after her. Bosinney is run over in an accident. After Irene learns of Bosinney's death, she takes refuge with Soames' cousin Young Jolyon (

). Jolyon is June's estranged father, but has sympathy for Irene's plight. Irene and Young Jolyon eventually marry, after Irene spurns Soames's attempts at reconciliation.

Cast

as Soames Forsyte *

as Irene Forsyte *

as Young Jolyon Forsyte * Robert Young as Philip Bosinney *

as June Forsyte * Harry Davenport as Old Jolyon Forsyte *

Aubrey Mather Aubrey Mather (17 December 1885 – 16 January 1958) was an English character actor. Career Mather was born in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, and began his career on the stage in 1905. He debuted in London in ''Brewster's Millions'' i ...

as James Forsyte * Gerald Oliver Smith as Wilson *

Lumsden Hare Francis Lumsden Hare (17 October 1874 – 28 August 1964) was an Irish-born film and theatre actor. He was also a theatre director and theatrical producer. Early years Hare studied at St. Dunstan's College in London. Career Hare appeare ...

as Roger Forsyte * Stanley Logan as Swithin Forsyte *

Halliwell Hobbes Herbert Halliwell Hobbes (16 November 187720 February 1962) was an English actor. Early years The future actor was the son of William Albert Hobbes (1841-1909), a Warwickshire solicitor, and his wife, Marion Hobbes, née Dennis, (1838-1925). ...

as Nicholas Forsyte * Matt Moore as Timothy Forsyte * Florence Auer as Ann Forsyte Heyman * Phyllis Morris as Julia Forsyte Small *

Marjorie Eaton Marjorie Lee Eaton (February 5, 1901 – April 21, 1986) was an American painter, photographer and character actress best known for physically portraying Emperor Palpatine in the original release of ''The Empire Strikes Back'', though her face ...

as Hester Forsyte *

Lilian Bond Lilian Bond (January 18, 1908 – January 25, 1991) was an English-American actress based in the United States. Life and career Bond was born in London and made her first professional stage appearance at the age of 14 in the pantomime ''Dic ...

as Maid * Evelyn Beresford as Mrs. Taylor

Background

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer bought the film rights to ''The Forsyte Saga'' in 1937 after much negotiating over a long period of time. Initial plans were to make an all-star film in the vein of '' Dinner at Eight'' or '' Grand Hotel'', with

Norma Shearer Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated ingénues. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'N ...

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was si ...

and

Franchot Tone Stanislaus Pascal Franchot Tone (February 27, 1905 – September 18, 1968) was an American actor, producer, and director of stage, film and television. He was a leading man in the 1930s and early 1940s, and at the height of his career was known ...

mentioned as possible stars. Joseph L. Mankiewicz was assigned to the project, which at one stage was going to be turned into two films. James Hilton wrote a screenplay in 1938 and in 1939, and it was reported the film would be made as a vehicle for

Myrna Loy Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. ...

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

was going to star as Soames as his follow-up performance to ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...

''. This did not proceed. In July 1940, it was announced

would star in the film, which would most likely use many of the supporting cast from MGM's 1940 version of '' Pride and Prejudice'' (which had starred Garson). Again, no film was made. In 1945, it was announced that Robert Lord was going to produce the first in a series of proposed movies based on the series from a script by Robert Nathan. Deborah Kerr and Garson were named as possible leads. Eventually, Garson was set for the female lead. She had reservations about the script and threatened to withdraw but changed her mind after further work on it. Compton Bennett signed to direct, and producing duties were taken over by Leon Gordon, who said the film would mostly concentrate on the story of ''A Man of Property'' (written between 1903 and 1906). (When the script went to credit arbitration with the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Gu ...

, it was revealed that 13 writers had done 17 adaptations in all. The writers included James Hilton, Richard Llewellyn, Robert Nathan,

Ivan Tors Ivan Tors (born Iván Törzs; June 12, 1916 – June 4, 1983) was a Hungarian playwright, film director, screenwriter, and film and television producer with an emphasis on non-violent but exciting science fiction, underwater sequences, and stori ...

, Robert Lord, Lawrence Weingarten, John Balderston, Arthur Wimperis, Ann Cunningham, Franclien McConnell, John Collier, and J.B. Williams. Under guild rules at the time, only three writers could be credited. These ended up being Tors, Lustig and Williams.) MGM wanted

Michael Wilding Michael Charles Gauntlet Wilding (23 July 1912 – 8 July 1979) was an English stage, television, and film actor. He is best known for a series of films he made with Anna Neagle; he also made two films with Alfred Hitchcock, '' Under Capric ...

for one of the leads but were unable to get him. In November, it was announced Errol Flynn would join the cast – he was under contract to Warners, but MGM had had a one-picture call on his services ever since Warner Bros borrowed

William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the '' Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters cr ...

from MGM for ''

Life with Father ''Life with Father'' is a 1939 play by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, adapted from a humorous autobiographical book of stories compiled in 1935 by Clarence Day. The Broadway production ran for 3,224 performances over 401 weeks to become the ...

''."FLYNN WILL STAR IN 'FORSYTE SAGA': To Appear with Greer Garson in Metro Film Adaptation of Galsworthy Trilogy" by THOMAS F. BRADY ''New York Times'' 08 Nov 1948: 24. Robert Young, Janet Leigh and Walter Pidgeon rounded out the main stars. Reportedly, Flynn was cast as the bohemian artist Jolyon and Pidgeon as the stuffy banker Soames. When they met on the set, and discovered that they both were tired of being typecast, they decided to switch roles.Tony Thomas, Rudy Behlmer & Clifford McCarty, ''The Films of Errol Flynn'', Citadel Press, 1969 p 162-163 (This casting was publicly confirmed in December.) Filming took place from December 1948 to March 1949. Flynn and Garson were recalled for reshoots in June. Robert Young later claimed he developed his English accent from listening to records of Maurice Evans and Laurence Olivier. Flynn and Garson got along surprisingly well during filming and discussed making another film together, such as a project about female pirate Mary Burns. However this movie was not made.

Release

In August 1949, it was announced the film's U.S. title would be ''That Forsyte Woman''. The movie was selected for the Royal Command Performance of 1949. This happened on 17 November, attended by the King, Queen and two princesses.

Critical reception

The ''Washington Post'' wrote "while it's long, talkative and musty, there is a certain lush sincerity about it." The ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote the casting of Errol Flynn as Soames "is about the only neat trick with which the filmmakers have succeeded in enlivening a photographed novel and one that is virtually without other surprises."

Box office

''That Forsyte Woman'' ranked ninth among popular film at the British box office in 1949. It recorded admissions of 1,341,629 in France.1951 French box office figures
at Box Office Story According to MGM records, the film made $1,855,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $1,855,000 overseas, ultimately earning the studio a loss of $574,000.

References

External links

* * * * {{The Forsyte Saga 1949 films 1940s historical romance films American historical romance films Films based on romance novels Films based on British novels Films based on works by John Galsworthy Films directed by Compton Bennett Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1949 romantic drama films Romantic period films Films set in the Victorian era American romantic drama films Films set in London Films scored by Bronisław Kaper The Forsyte Saga Adultery in films Films about rape 1940s English-language films 1940s American films