MovieChat Forums > The Awful Truth (1937) Discussion > How did this get by the Hays code?

How did this get by the Hays code?

posted 14 years ago by beegeebright
8 replies | jump to latest

I've watched this movie a dozen times and I always really enjoy it, but only today when on TCM it followed "One Hour With You" (in which Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette Macdonald cheat on each other) did I think, I know how that got by the code (1932) but how did this one (1937) get by. Certainly Jerry cheated, and possibly Lucy as well. Neither are punished (as required by the code) and like Maurice and Jeanette (presumably) forgive each other and get (or stay) married.

[–] joes119-1 14 years ago

It's not certain at all that either cheated. Jerry wasn't where he said he'd been but nothing was said that implied he was 'cheating'. Lucy might have caused some talk but, again, nothing implied. The story from which the film was made had Jerry gambling with his pals.

[–] hodie 13 years ago

I also think Jerry was away gambling; two weeks is not THAT long a time; Lucy had known he would be SOMEWHERE away for two weeks, and was apparently okay with it before he left. There is no indication that Jerry was a "ladies' man"; Lucy certainly would have said something about that in the film.

It's interesting to speculate. My feeling was that they had reached a point in their marriage where the novelty of married life had worn off, and and suddenly each one's insecurity was sparked by innocent things that perhaps LOOKED bad.

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[–] Leafawn 12 years ago

"It's interesting to speculate. My feeling was that they had reached a point in their marriage where the novelty of married life had worn off..."

I agree. In fact I think they even quite liked the possibility that the other had cheated, just to liven things up again, and then found it got out of hand and had to do anything and everything they could to find a way back.

...I never thought Lucy had cheated with Duvalle (she was married to Cary Grant for crying out loud!), I was less sure about Jerry, he could've been gambling, he could've been drinking, he might even just have been out drinking, dancing and flirting without actually being unfaithful... Either way, I agree they were smart to leave it up in the air (and not just because of the Hays code either).

[–] hodie 11 years ago

" In fact I think they even quite liked the possibility that the other had cheated, just to liven things up again, and then found it got out of hand and had to do anything and everything they could to find a way back."

That never occurred to me! Good point.

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[–] mikeclaw 14 years ago

The key is that it is handled subtly. It is clear that both Jerry and Lucy *suspect* that the other has cheated. But we don't know for sure. Is it possible that Jerry was out gambling and playing poker for two weeks but remained celibate? It's possible, sure. Is it possible that Lucy and Armand were nothing but platonic? Sure.

But the screenplay makes it a point not to answer those questions definitively. This helped get through the Hays Office. It also made it a better movie - if we found out for sure that neither one cheated, it loses a bit of the sexual tension, and if we find out that either or both *did* cheat, then they are less likable and it is less of a happy ending.

My own thoughts?

I think Jerry likely was cheating. This wasn't a weekend - it was two weeks. Two weeks away is a long time for a guy who is clearly a ladies' man. I find it hard to believe he was celibate. When he is out dating the society debutante, they seem far more "intimately familiar" than Lucy did with Daniel. Also, if Jerry feels guilt about his own cheating, he's more likely to read suspicious behavior into Lucy's actions.

I'm less convinced that Lucy was cheating. If she and Armand truly were having an affair, when they walk in the door together they would have made up a story that *didn't* involve spending the night together in a country inn. When she is engaged to Daniel, it is clear that they haven't even kissed, let alone gotten intimate.

[–] sonomagirl2120 12 years ago

Not too sure about Lucy....the maid told Jerry the she was *out*, obviously not worried that Lucy had never made it home the night before. Jerry also noted that the mail (his letters, I think) had been sitting on the side table for a few days.

[–] hodie 10 years ago

I think it would make the film too dark if Jerry had actually been cheating. The film wouldn't make sense then, because we the audience would know that there was a very good reason why Jerry and Lucy should not be married after all, other than their own stubborness.

People can't read a 21st century sensibility into this film. In the world of TAT, good men are faithful to their spouses. And Jerry is a good man.

Honestly, I don't see any indication at all in the film that Jerry was a ladies' man. He started dated one woman exclusively while waiting for his divorce to be final. He wanted to be a married man.

[–] marckymarc71 9 years ago

Nothing to punish because it was never proven that either of them cheated. That's how it got by the code.

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