Theodora Goes Wild marked a turning point in Irene Dunne’s career as her first foray into screwball comedy, in which the actress played a clandestine author of risqué novels unbeknownst to her puritanical aunts and conservative community. Complications abound when the suave and handsome New York artist (Melvyn Douglas) who designs her book covers seeks her out in her small town. Although Dunne received rave reviews and her second Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her endearing and whimsical performance, the actress resisted making the film, unconvinced that comedy would suit her talents. Dunne credited her agent, Charles Feldman, for persuading her otherwise, as well as for encouraging her to expand her acting range beyond melodrama and musicals.
35mm, b/w, 94 min. Production: Columbia Pictures Corporation. Distribution: Columbia Pictures Corporation. Producer: Everett Riskin. Director: Richard Boleslawski. Based on a story by Mary McCarthy. Screenwriter: Sidney Buchman. Cinematographer: Joseph Walker. Editor: Otto Meyer. Cast: Irene Dunne, Melvyn Douglas, Thomas Mitchell, Thurston Hall, Elisabeth Risdon.
