Screening of "Theodora Goes Wild" at Daystar Center September 8

Theodora Goes Wild (1936)

Where: Daystar Center, 1550 S. State Street, Room 102

When: September 1, 2018

Time: 6:45 p.m

Hosted by Stephen Reginald

Imagine you’re a small-town girl from New England, raised by two maiden aunts. Imagine you’re a Sunday school teacher and the church organist. Imagine that you can barely sneeze without the entire community knowing about it. Then imagine that in the midst of all this, you’ve written a racy best-selling novel that has taken the world by storm under a pseudonym. How do you manage to live your life while keeping the truth from everyone you know? That’s the plot of Theodora Goes Wild, one of the great screwball comedies of the 1930s.

Irene Dunne and Melvyn Douglas

Backstory: Star Irene Dunne had carved out a successful movie career as a dramatic actress. She was reluctant to do comedy, afraid that a flop in a comedy could possibly ruin her career.

To avoid doing the movie, Dunne stayed in Europe on vacation  for an extra month! Unfortunately, for Dunne, she had a contract deal with Columbia Pictures and if she didn’t come back to do the movie, she would have been put on suspension.

Dunne need not have worried. When Theodora Goes Wild was released, it was an immediate box office and critical hit. Dunne received her second Best Actress nomination (she earned a total of five) and she became a screwball comedy icon. In an interview with film historian James Harvey, Dunne said, “That film [Theodora Goes Wild]…was the biggest surprise of my life. I still don’t see how it was so successful…”

General admission $5, students and seniors $3.

Douglas and Dunne on location for Theodora Goes Wild

Join the Chicago Film club; join the discussion

Twice a month we screen classic films and have a brief discussion afterward. For more information, including how to join (it’s free), click here. The Venue 1550 is easily accessible by the CTA. Please visit Transit Chicago for more information on transportation options.

Stephen Reginald is a freelance writer and editor. He has worked at various positions within the publishing industry for over 25 years. Most recently he was executive editor for McGraw-Hill’s The Learning Group Division. A long-time amateur student of film, Reginald hosts “Chicago Film Club,” a monthly movie event held in the South Loop, for the past two years. Reginald has also taught several adult education film classes at Facets Film School, Chicago.

Irene Dunne Goes "Wild" and Reaches New Heights in Comedy Role

A Forgotten Comedy Classic
After almost a decade of starring in popular melodramas, Irene Dunne reluctantly starred in the comedy Theodora Goes Wild (1936). Dunne had established herself as a dramatic actress with great success and she wasn’t inclined toward comedy. When Theodora Goes Wild was released, it was an instant hit with the public and launched a new phase in Dunne’s film career. Overnight she became one of the movie’s top comic actresses, surprising not only the movie-going public, but Dunne herself.

Two-Picture Deal
Theodora Goes Wild was the first of two movies Dunne was committed to making at Columbia Pictures after she left RKO. As an independent movie star, not under exclusive contract to a major studio, she was reluctant to star in a comedy and perhaps risk her standing as a top movie star. So reluctant was Dunne to star in Theodora Goes Wild that she stayed an extra month on a European vacation hoping the executives at Columbia would cast another actress. When Columbia threatened legal action, Dunne relented.

She Sings, She Dances, She Romances
As Theodora Lynn, Dunne gets to utilize all her talents. Before heading to Hollywood, the actress graduated with honors from the Chicago Musical College (now Roosevelt University). As Theodora Lynn, she gets to sing, play the organ and piano, all skills she obtained while studying music.

Small Town Girl
Theodora hails from Lynnfield, Connecticut, and was raised by two maiden aunts who just happen to be the town’s leading citizens. Unbeknownst to her aunts and the town is Theodora’s secret life as bestselling author Caroline Adams. The Lover, written by Theodora is too hot for the town’s Literary Circle, of which Theodora and her aunts are members.

The Artist As A Young Man
Theodora meets artist Michael Grant (Melvin Douglas) who challenges her to break out of her shell and to get out from underneath the town of Lynnfield. Grant has his own problems, however. Stuck in a loveless marriage because of his family’s position and political connections, he’s hardly the person to tell anyone how they should live their life. When Theodora learns about Michael’s predicament, she puts a plan in motion to free him.

Wild Success

Irene Dunne and Melvin Douglas

When released, Theodora Goes Wild was a critical and box office success, propelling Dunne to even greater popularity. The film earned Dunne her second Best Actress Academy Award nomination, five years after her first for Cimarron. Nineteen thirty-six was a very competitive year for screwball comedy films. The classics My Man Godfrey and Mr. Deeds Goes To Town were released that same year to similar acclaim and box office success.

Holds Up Well
Although not as well known as other screwball comedies today, Theodora Goes Wild holds up remarkably well. The more I view it, the more impressed I am. Director Richard Boleslawski, who passed away a year after the film was released, expertly paced Theodora Goes Wild and got great performances out of the more than competent cast. Go “wild” with Theodora. You won’t be disappointed. 


This post corresponds with the class Elegant and Madcap: The Incredible Versatility of Irene Dunne—Class starts November 16, 2011. Meets on Wednesdays from 7p.m. - 10 p.m. for six weeks. Classes are held at Facets Film School on Fullerton Ave. in Chicago, IL.

Go “Wild” with Theodora this Saturday at Facets Night School

Looking for something “wild” to do this Saturday? Look no further than this week’s midnight screening of the screwball comedy classic, Theodora Goes Wild (1936), starring Irene Dunne at Facets Film School, 1517 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago, IL.

Drama Queen
Irene Dunne took a leap of faith by starring in a comedy after she was dubbed “Queen of the Weepies” by the film trade publications in the 1930s. Having made her mark in the western epic Cimarron (1931), Dunne carved out an enormously successful career as the heroine of a string of popular melodramas.

Comedy Rules
When she reluctantly accepted the role of Theodora Lynn in the film directed by Richard Boleslawski, Dunne was an instant comedy sensation. So popular was the film and Dunne’s performance, that she earned her second Academy Award nomination for Best Actress (Dunne’s first nomination was for her role in Cimarron). The year 1936 was a great year for the screwball comedy. That same year saw the release of Frank Capra’s Mr. Deeds Goes to Town and Gregory LaCava’s My Man Godfrey.

The Peyton Place of Lynnfield!
The plot surrounds Dunne, a small town woman who is the best-selling author of a scandalous romance novel. Writing under the name of Caroline Adams, her secret is safe. That is until she meets a New York illustrator played by Melvin Douglas. He decides Theodora needs to break out of her small-town existence, all the while he’s trapped in a loveless marriage to please his politically connected father. So who really needs to go wild?

Theodora Goes Wild is a highly entertaining comedy that borders on comic genius. It deserves to be in the same class as Capra’s Mr. Deeds Goes to Town and LaCava’s My Man Godfrey. It fact, it's in a class all by itself.