The Animal Kingdom **** (1932, Leslie Howard, Ann Harding, Myrna Loy) – Classic Movie Review 12,543

The sophisticated 1932 comedy of manners film The Animal Kingdom is based on the 1932 play by Philip Barry, and stars Leslie Howard as a man trying to justify his love for both his wife (Myrna Loy) and his mistress (Ann Harding). 

Director Edward H Griffith’s sophisticated 1932 RKO black and white comedy of manners film The Animal Kingdom [The Woman in His House] is based on the 1932 play by Philip Barry, and stars Leslie Howard, Ann Harding and Myrna Loy.

Philip Barry’s Broadway hit about Tom Collier, an affluent egghead publisher, torn between a calculating wife and an arty bohemian mistress (Harding), an illustrator and artist, becomes a smart, witty and highly engaging comedy drama film. Leslie Howard plays the publisher, Ann Harding plays the mistress Daisy Sage, and Myrna Loy plays the wife Cee Collier.

Also in the cast are Neil Hamilton, William Gargan, Henry Stephenson, Ilka Chase, Leni Stengel, Don Dillaway [Donald Dillaway], William B Davidson, Ralph Byrd, Philip Dorn [Phil Dorn], and Torben Meyer.

In a fine reversal of the usual order, and of movie typecasting, Loy’s character is capriciously flirting with lawyer Owen (Neil Hamilton), while Harding’s character turns out to be the caring, faithful partner.

The sophisticated material still impresses thanks to the captivating performances of Howard, Harding and Loy (all seen at their best), the lavish, good-looking David O Selznick production, and little-known Edward H Griffith’s tasteful, pacy direction. In support, William Gargan is excellent as Howard’s genial butler and Ilka Chase shines as Cee’s friend Grace.

The screenplay is by Horace Jackson.

Running time: 85 minutes.

Release date: December 28, 1932 (US).

It was not a hit though. RKO recorded a loss of $110,000 in 1932–33.

Howard, Gargan and Chase all repeated their roles from the stage show, which opened on Broadway on January 12, 1932.

It is remade in 1946 as One More Tomorrow, with Ann Sheridan, Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, Alexis Smith, Jane Wyman.

Leni Stengel, with Don Dillaway and Ann Harding in The Animal Kingdom (1932).

The film entered the public domain in the US in 1960 because the claimants did not renew the copyright registration in the 28th year after publication. It is preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive since 1985.

Leslie Howard’s home movie footage taken on set during production is included in the 2016 documentary Leslie Howard: The Man Who Gave a Damn.

The cast are Ann Harding as Daisy Sage, Leslie Howard as Tom Collier, Myrna Loy as Cee Collier, William Gargan as ‘Red’ Regan,  Neil Hamilton as lawyer Owen, Ilka Chase as Grace, Henry Stephenson as Mr Rufus Collier, Leni Stengel as Franc Schmidt, Don Dillaway as Joe Fiske, William B Davidson, Ralph Byrd, Philip Dorn [Phil Dorn], and Torben Meyer.

It was renamed The Woman in His House in the UK.

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,543

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