Ted, Jerry, Paul, and Dorothy are part of the New York in-crowd. Jerry's decision to marry Ted crushes Paul. He gets drunk and drives, causing an accident that leaves Dorothy's face disfigured. Out of guilt, Paul marries Dorothy. Ted and Jerry have been married for three years when, on the evening of their third anniversary, she discovers that he has had a brief affair with another woman. Ted tells Jerry it did not "mean a thing". Upset, and with Ted away on a business trip, Jerry spends the night with his best friend, Don. Upon Ted's return, she tells him that she "balanced our accounts", withholding Don's name.
Ted is outraged, and they argue, which ends with Ted leaving her and the couple filing for a divorce. While Jerry turns to partying to forget her sorrows, Ted becomes an alcoholic. Paul and Jerry run into each other, and she discovers he still loves her and is willing to leave Dorothy, with whom he is in a loveless, resentful marriage, to be with Jerry. They spend two weeks together and plan for a future together.
Dorothy comes to speak with Jerry at her home but Paul is coincidentally meeting Jerry for dinner and the three have an awkward exchange. Despite good arguments from Paul, Dorothy’s desperation not to lose him forces Jerry to reevaluate her decision to leave with Paul. Ultimately, Jerry admits she regrets giving up on her first marriage. She decides to see if her husband will reconcile, disappointing Paul bitterly a second time.
Weeks later, on her third attempt to locate Ted in Paris, Jerry finally finds him at a New Year's Eve party. After a polite exchange, Ted expresses his regret at how he reacted before the divorce. Jerry tells Ted her true feelings, and the two kiss at midnight to begin the new year, and presumably their new lives, together.
MGM production head Irving Thalberg bought the rights to Ex-Wife in the summer of 1929. Thalberg's original choice for the role of Jerry was Joan Crawford.[2]
Norma Shearer, Thalberg's wife, originally was not in the running for the lead role in The Divorcee because it was believed that she did not have enough sex appeal. Only after Shearer arranged a special photo session with independent portrait photographer George Hurrell, and Thalberg saw the result, did he relent and give her the role.[3]
Release
Warner Home Video released The Divorcee (along with A Free Soul, also starring Norma Shearer) as part of a DVD box set of five pre-Code films called the Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 2 on March 4, 2008.[4][5]
^Wayne, Jane Ellen (2003). The Golden Girls of MGM: Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, and Others. Da Capo Press. p. 51. ISBN0-786-71303-8.
