Directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Olivia de Havilland in an Academy Award-winning performance, To Each His Own (1946) is a sweeping drama that spans nearly three decades. The story begins in London during the Blitz of World War II, where an aging, hardened woman named Jody Norris works as a fire warden. As she waits for a train, the film transitions into an extended flashback, revealing the poignant, secret history of her life in a small American town during the First World War.
In the flashback, the young and spirited Jody falls deeply
in love with a dashing pilot, Capt. Bart Cosgrove (played by John Lund). Their
brief, intense romance results in an unplanned pregnancy, but Bart is
tragically killed in action before they can marry. To avoid the social scandal
of the era and protect her child's future, Jody devises a plan to leave her
infant son on a doorstep, intending to “find” and adopt him legally. However,
the plan goes awry when a wealthy neighbor adopts the boy first, forcing Jody
to watch her son grow up from a distance.
As the years pass, Jody transforms from a heartbroken girl
into a cold, successful businesswoman, driven by her singular obsession with
being near her son, Griggsy. She eventually moves to New York and becomes a
high-powered executive in the cosmetics industry, providing for the boy
financially through anonymous “commissions” while remaining a family friend he
barely knows. The emotional weight of the film rests on Jody’s internal
struggle: the agony of a mother who cannot claim her own child and the
sacrificial love required to let him believe he belongs to another family.
Mitchell Leisen (1898 – 1972) was a master of
Hollywood’s “Golden Age,” uniquely known for blending a sophisticated visual
aesthetic with deep emotional sensitivity. Before moving into the director’s
chair, he began his career as an architect, set designer, and costume
designer—most notably for Cecil B. DeMille—a background that gifted his films
with an unmatched level of style and glamour. While he excelled in the
screwball comedy genre with hits like Easy Living (1937) and Midnight
(1939), he was equally revered for his “woman’s pictures” and lush melodramas,
such as To Each His Own (1946) and Hold Back the Dawn (1941).
Often overshadowed by the writers he worked with, such as Billy Wilder and
Preston Sturges, Leisen is now remembered as a director’s director whose
meticulous attention to detail and ability to elicit nuanced, Academy
Award-winning performances defined the Paramount Pictures house style of the
1930s and 40s.
Olivia de Havilland (1916 – 2020) was a
British-American actress and two-time Best Actress Academy Award winner. De
Havilland’s career spanned more than five decades. She was one of the leading
actresses of the 1940s and was the last major surviving star from Hollywood’s “Golden
Age.” Some of de Havilland’s classic films include The Adventures of
Robin Hood (1938), Gone with the Wind (1939), Hold
Back the Dawn (1941), To Each His Own (1946), The
Snake Pit (1948), and The Heiress (1949).
John Lund (1911 – 1992) was a versatile American
actor who rose to prominence during the post-war era of Hollywood, initially
carving out a career as a writer and stage performer. Before his film debut,
Lund showcased his creative range on Broadway, not only acting in productions
like The Hasty Heart (1945) but also writing the book and lyrics for the
revue New Faces of 1943. His transition to the screen was immediate and
prestigious, starring in dual roles as both the father and son in Mitchell
Leisen’s To Each His Own (1946). This debut established him as a
reliable and sophisticated leading man, leading to a decade of high-profile
collaborations at Paramount and MGM. He famously held his own against
powerhouse stars like Marlene Dietrich in Billy Wilder’s A Foreign Affair
(1948) and Barbara Stanwyck in No Man of Her Own (1950). Though he
eventually moved into character roles—most notably as the straight-laced fiancé
George Kittredge in the musical High Society (1956)—Lund remained a
respected figure in the industry, serving as a vice president of the Screen
Actors Guild for nearly a decade before retiring from the screen in the early
1960s.
Olivia de Havilland and John Lund
Too Each His Own trivia
- The “De Havilland Decision” Catalyst: This was the first film Olivia de Havilland made after her landmark legal victory against Warner Bros. She had been blacklisted for two years while fighting a studio system that extended actor contracts indefinitely. Her performance—and subsequent Oscar win—proved she could still command the screen despite the long absence and industry hostility.
- Sequential Storytelling: Unusually for a major production, director Mitchell Leisen insisted on filming the movie in chronological order. This was done to help de Havilland naturally portray the character’s physical and emotional aging over the film's 27-year span, allowing her to gradually adjust her voice, posture, and energy.
- Olfactory Method Acting: To further distinguish the three different eras of her character's life (youth, middle age, and older age), Olivia de Havilland wore a different perfume for each section of the shoot. She famously chose Chanel No. 5 for the final World War II sequences to help her inhabit the persona of a sophisticated, successful businesswoman.
- The "Human" Oscar: On the final day of filming, Mitchell Leisen and producer Charles Brackett were so impressed by de Havilland’s performance that they presented her with a “living Oscar” as a wrap gift: a man painted entirely in gold body-stocking material, mimicking the famous statuette.
Olivia de Havilland and Griff Barnett
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Olivia de Havilland received her Best Actress Oscar from Ray Milland.
Discussion questions
- The Burden of Social Morality: Jody Norris makes the agonizing decision to give up her son to avoid a scandal in her small town. In the context of 1917 America, was her choice an act of maternal sacrifice or an act of cowardice? How does the film portray the community’s judgment as a character in its own right?
- The Duality of John Lund: Director Mitchell Leisen made the deliberate choice to cast John Lund as both the father (Capt. Bart Cosgrove) and the grown son (Gregory). How does this double-casting affect the audience’s emotional experience? Does seeing the father’s face on the son make Jody’s obsession more sympathetic, or does it make her inability to move on feel more tragic?
- Professional Success vs. Personal Loss: As the years pass, Jody becomes a wealthy and powerful executive in the cosmetics industry. To what extent is her professional drive a substitute for her missing motherhood? Does the film suggest that her success is hollow without her son, or does it present her as a trailblazing woman of her time?
- The Final Recognition: In the film’s famous climax, Gregory finally acknowledges Jody with the line, “I think this is our dance, Mother.” Why do you think the film waits until the very last moment for this revelation? Does this happy ending make up for the twenty-seven years of separation, or is the resolution bittersweet given the time they lost?
