Cass Timberlane (1947)

Simply A Masterpiece

Perfect cast and a good story

As Good As It Gets

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Spencer Tracy was getting quite old when he made this one. He can still show some power here in his lead role as a stubborn judge with the young girl friend. He does a good job with a challenging script. Lana Turner as the love interest is very effective here. Considering the film's script, she does well too.There are sparks in the cast besides. I think in this case Tracy deserved better script. That seemed to hurt him in his last films. Are there better Tracy films? Yes, but this one is pretty good.Judge Timberlane may not chop down trees but he does Dispense Jusice with authority from the bench.

It's been many years since I read the Sinclair Lewis novel. I could be wrong, but I seem to remember some interesting observations about a middle-aged, upper-middle class man, confronting a woman of a younger generation and a different social and economic class, in the 1940's.In that rapidly changing world, she's more liberated, more independent than the girls he grew up with. There's a generation gap between men of Cass's era and young women like Jinny, in the postwar world. It's a reflection of the way the country had changed, over the course of a few decades.Obviously, if they had gotten any of this into the film, it would have been far more interesting than the soap opera that emerged. Jinny just seems to be bored and restless because she's immature and shallow, and Cass just seems to lack understanding of her predicament because he's older and set in his ways. Still, Cass Timberlane, as one of MGM's superior factory products, can almost be enjoyed for the production values alone: gorgeous black and white cinematography, stunning women's costumes, detailed sets, nice use of locations, expert use of rear projection (lush, atmospheric shots of Scott and Turner on a NYC penthouse terrace), etc. As good a film as money can buy. And as good a cast.Was Lana Turner a good actress? I don't know - but I like watching her. Not just because she's pretty (and here, she's very pretty) - she's also extremely charming - especially in the early scenes - and there really is a good deal of chemistry between her and Spencer Tracy. (Jennifer Jones, first choice for the part, turned it down). Tracy is of course, excellent. And immensely likable. The romance between them is always believable, because he is such a charismatic, charming, somewhat devilish, interesting, intelligent, and apparently loving person, how could she not love him? And she is so beautiful, delightful, and seemingly sensible, how could he not fall head over heels for her? Both seem like down-to-earth people, so it's not hard to understand how they relate to one another. And also why they clash.George Sidney - who usually directed fluff like "Holiday In Mexico", and "Anchors Aweigh", tries his hand at something serious, here, and while I don't know why he got this big project that probably should have gone to Clarence Brown, or Cukor, he does a pretty good job. Just scratches the dramatic surface, though, unfortunately. He does better in the first hour, which, as usual, is the lighter half.Later on, it just reads like magazine fiction.

"Cass Timberlane" is a film about unexpected love and the choices you have to make when you're in love. Directed by George Sidney and starring Spencer Tracy as Cass, a judge in small-town Minnesota who is part of the middle-aged country club set. He's generally living a comfortable and content existence when he meets Virginia (Lana Turner), a woman who is at first a witness for a small claims case and later runs into. They strike up a friendship and then a romance, culminating in their marriage. When their child dies while being born, Virginia finds herself more and more restless and spending more time with Cass' best friend, the younger and handsome attorney Bradd (Zachary Scott). The country club set sees them getting closer, and collectively send Bradd to New York under the guise that he is being transferred for his job, just as Cass is starting to wonder if something is up between Bradd and Virginia. Virginia convinces him that there is nothing going on, and eventually Cass offers to move them to New York so she isn't so bored. Cass is then forced to choose between the love he has for his town and his job, and his love for his wife and her needs.Spencer Tracy is excellent in this film, as he is in all of his films, and Lana Turner is also quite good. The scenes between she and Zachary Scott have enough heat in them to make us wonder if they are guilty of adultery as well. The story is a pretty straightforward drama, nothing special, but it is a good script and offers up enough conflict to satisfy without resorting to overload and ridiculous emotion. This is an average film that was well worth looking up. 6/10 --Shelly

As much as I love Spencer Tracy, there wasn't much he could do with this boring, predictable, overly preachy script. Not to mention how ironic it is to hear him expound the virtues of fidelity when he had numerous affairs, the most famous being Katharine Hepburn, while still married.Lana Turner is lovely, but I just couldn't get into the story line. I think it started out as a good idea: Cass Timberlane (Tracy) marries a younger woman (Turner) from the supposed "wrong side of the tracks", much to the chagrin of his snobby friends. Can they make the relationship work or not? If they would have developed the story more, and preached less, I think it may have worked. Instead it is just a two-hour sermon, more or less.Well, at least there is a cute kitty included in the picture.