Dodsworth

Mary Astor has always left me kinda cold. Not cool, not reserved, but cold. (If you were to take Myrna Loy, and remove every last bit of sex appeal from her? You'd have Mary Astor.) I dunno, she just seems to lack an essential vulnerability and warmth I've found in most other actresses of the 1930s, even in similar roles. Those qualities that seemed so perfect for a "scheming temptress" in The Maltese Falcon didn't serve her as well in other films, at least not the ones I've seen. But I knew if I waited long enough I'd find Mary Astor in a genuinely sympathetic role where she was really well-suited.