Babbitt

Plot

Warner Bros. grabbed up the rights to Babbitt, Sinclair Lewis' satirical novel of middle America, soon after publication in 1922, and it was first filmed in 1924 by Harry Beaumont as a silent (with Willard Lewis, Mary Alden, and Carmel Myers). A decade later William Keighley brought it to the screen with Guy Kibbee in the role of George Babbitt. A small town real estate broker who is too stupid and unimaginative to do anything terribly wrong or dishonest, Babbitt has lived a dull, staid, middle-class life -- until a little bit of recognition from his local loadge and the cajoling of a couple of crooked politicians get him roped into a plot to swindle the city. Suddenly Babbitt's life is poised on a slippery slope, as he falls into an unwise (though basically innocent) flirtation with a young woman (Claire Dodd) during his wife's extended absence. And that quickly leaves him vulnerable to a blackmail effort, and it soon looks as though his whole life may be falling down around him. Fortunately, Mrs. Babbitt (the incomparable Aline MacMahon) can think on her feet, and proves to be made of sterner stuff than her husband in an exciting, twist-laden finale. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Review

William Keighley's Babbitt may lack the piercing barbs of Sinclair Lewis's original book, but it does have Guy Kibbee in one of the biggest screen roles of his career -- and absolutely perfect as the dunderheaded protagonist in this story of middle American hipocrisy -- as well as Aline MacMahon as his much smarter wife, as well as a crackerjack supporting cast. And under Keighley's fast-paced direction, that makes this movie fine entertainment, even eight decades later. The mix of comedy and drama is woven together so tightly that viewers will find themselves riveted to the screen in most of the places where they aren't laughing -- Kibbee's George Babbitt may not be too bright, but he is thoroughly likeable, and the actor makes us care very much what happens to him, especially as Claire Dodd's Tanis Judique is such a reprehensible, two-faced manipulator. This is not the best adaptation of Lewis's fiction -- that honor belongs to William Wyler's Dodsworth or Richard Brooks' Elmer Gantry -- but it is a fine little piece of not-too-ambitious filmmaking, breezily paced and enjoyable. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Cast

• Aline MacMahon - Myra Babbitt
• Guy Kibbee - George F. Babbitt
• Claire Dodd - Tanis Judique
• Maxine Doyle - Verona Babbitt
• Glen Boles - Ted Babbitt

Minna Gombell - Mrs. Reisling; Alan Hale - Charlie McKelvey; Berton Churchill - Judge Thompson; Russell Hicks - Commissioner Gurnee; Arthur Ayleswofth - Zeke; Harry Tyler - Martin Gunch; Mary Treen - Miss McGoun; Nan Grey - Eunice Littlefield; Hattie McDaniel; Arthur Hoyt; Minor Watson

Credit

John Hughes - Art Director, William Keighley - Director, Jack Killifer - Editor, Leo F. Forbstein - Composer (Music Score), Leo F. Forbstein - Musical Direction/Supervision, Arthur Todd - Cinematographer, Sam Bischoff - Producer, Niven Busch - Screenwriter, Mary C. McCall, Jr. - Screenwriter, Sinclair Lewis - Book Author

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