Mrs. Parkington (1944)

Well, this was a giant misfire for Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon. This was their fourth pairing (though I've only seen Mrs. Miniver, so far) but I found this one ineffective.

Sure, the plot line of servant girl catches the eye of a man above her station and they get married has been done numerous times and this one was a missed opportunity. My biggest issue had to be with Major Augustus Parkington (Pidgeon) isn't a likeable character. His mine is in poor shape and instead of listening to his workers, he scoffs at their requests and urges them to gamble just as he does. Even when the mine collapses, killing Susie's (Garson's) mother, he marries her, even though he's an admitted rake (Harlequin term for man whore), but he does marry her out of pity, which is a partial truth. 

Susie fits in well with high society, including Gus's old flame, Baroness Aspasia (Agnes Moorhead) who becomes Susie's confident while Gus still is good at making enemies, isolating the rich who snub him at a lavish (far too lavish) party. He undercuts all those who betrayed him and Susie is blissfully unaware, until she isn't. Forgiving him too quickly, she vows that they will be partners instead of being at odds with each other.

Too bad we don't see any of this partnership as the film flashs forward again, twenty years, just after the death of their young son, his cause of death never revealed. Instead, each parent deals with grief in their own way which for Gus is traveling to England, going on hunts and taking a mistress. Fortunately, Susie snaps out of it and gets Prince Edward (Cecil Kellaway) to get the mistress, Nina (Tala Birell) to become a lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria herself. And the two reconcile, yet again.

And then there is the present-day plot, which includes grandson-in-law, Avery (Edward Arnold) having inbezzled stockholders money and Susie decides to ruin the lives of her spoiled daughter and granddaughters and bail Avery out, so no one else has to suffer for his crimes. It is one of the few times the less fortunate than them are mentioned or thought of. 

So the plot line and screenplay is an utter mess, with gaps and plot holes abound, a huge pet peeve of mine. This is yet another one of Garson's films that would have made a better mini series (Valley of the Decision is another) and MGM should have splurged and filmed this in color. Still, Garson was solid and managed to look even younger here (at when she was supposed to) than she did earlier in Mrs. Miniver and Moorhead is such a scene stealer and the accents are realistic this time. Too bad the screenplay is disastrous. Grade: B-

Side Notes:

-This film also uses gaslights as a symbol only here it is status symbol, not a sign that someone is losing their mind, or being made to lose their mind.

-Gus blames the lack of guests for Susie's miscarriage, when he's actually to blame or it was just a tragic accident. 

-Peter Lawford receives supporting billing but he never utters word. 

-It is unclear as to how all the relatives are related to Susie. 

-I can't believe that she married him after he inadvertently caused her mother's death.