Marjorie Main

[8] Norma Shearer (The Divorcee) fronts an all-star, all-female cast in George Cukor’s adaptation of Clare Boothe Luce’s The Women. Shearer plays a happily married woman of privilege who learns through the gossipy grapevine that her husband is having an affair with another woman, played by Joan Crawford. Shearer struggles under the dueling influences of her mother (Lucile Watson) and her so-called ‘friends’, which include …

[6] Carole Landis and John Hubbard star as a bickering husband and wife who each believes the other has the easier life. They wish upon a statue of Buddha to trade places, and lo and behold, their wish comes true. Husband then has to deal with the house staff and a conniving wives’ group, while wife has to deal with the corporate business environment. A …

[9] William Wyler directs this story about an Indiana Quaker family trying hard to keep their pacifist faith while the Civil War creeps up on their doorstep. The screenplay makes the period setting completely accessible, skillfully blending comedy and drama with character and substance. I quickly invested in the family, especially Gary Cooper as the father, a man who enjoys horse racing his neighbor to …