Alicia I love this movie so much

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

jfarms1956 This is a movie for the over 45 crowd. Only us 'oldies' would appreciate these actors-- Errol Flynn, Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Robert Young, Janet Leigh, and Harry Davenport. This is one movie whereby Errol Flynn does not play a swashbuckling hero is well known for in many of his other movies. However, although the storyline is typical and plot predictable, I found the movie to be entertaining. It is not a highly memorable movie, but for its block of time was pleasant and enjoyable -- just what a movie should be. I enjoyed the movie for its actors, not for their performances, but just for them being in this film. This movie is for a quiet, relaxing movie night for us "oldies." It brings back memories of many of our favorite actors and why we love them so.

pninson I originally saw this in the early 70s, after having seen THE FORSYTE SAGA on TV, and reading the first three books. Shoehorning two books' worth of story into a two-hour movie makes mincemeat out of the plot, but the essential details are preserved.It was a crackup for me to see Robert Young, then widely known as Marcus Welby M.D. I was used to seeing him as an old man; but then he looks old for the part anyway, and overacts to compensate for it.However, Errol Flynn is excellent as Soames, and Walter Pidgeon brings the necessary gravitas to the role of Jolyon. Harry Davenport is fine as Old Jolyon, although I can't quite erase the image of Dr. Meade from Gone With the Wind.It's not a very good adaptation of Galsworthy's story, but on its own merits, it's well acted and edited, with handsome production design and nice pacing. It's fun to watch just to compare it with the more successful TV version.

bkoganbing According to the Citadel Film Series book, The Films Of Errol Flynn, MGM and Warner Brothers did a swapping of stars for the services of the other. Errol Flynn went to MGM for a picture in return for Warner Brothers getting the services of William Powell for Life With Father. I think Powell made out far better in the deal than Flynn did with an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his film.Not that Errol Flynn was bad in That Forsyte Woman, in fact his casting as the proper and stuffy Soames Forsyte was quite a revelation. But the movie-going public simply wouldn't buy it. Errol, not the dashing hero with sword in hand and cape over the other shoulder was not accepted. If That Forsyte Woman had been made a decade earlier and for Warner Brothers, Flynn would have been perfect to play Robert Young's role of Philip Bossiney.Flynn is married to Greer Garson and is guardian of niece Janet Leigh. Leigh is the daughter of black sheep brother in this proper Victorian family, Walter Pidgeon. Pidgeon years ago ran away with his niece's governess after the family did not permit the recently widowed Pidgeon to marry her. Back in those days proper English families did things like that.Anyway the rather staid marriage of Flynn and Garson gets a jolt when opportunistic Robert Young who Leigh has been keeping company with, falls for Garson and she, him. In modern times it would be a no fault divorce, but things aren't done that way in Victorian England.If there is a weakness in casting it's that of Robert Young. I'm surprised that MGM did not use someone like Peter Lawford whom they had under contract and was British besides. Greer was British, but the rest of the cast had two Americans in Young and Leigh, a Canadian in Pidgeon and Flynn was Australian. Young was older than Errol Flynn and just doesn't come over as the young opportunistic lover.Garson of course is the perfect English lady who usually wan't allowed dalliances by MGM, but she's fine here. Greer wrote the introduction to the Films Of Errol Flynn and she says that she found Flynn to be a perfect gentleman and anxious to prove himself a serious actor.He did in many ways in That Forsyte Saga. He was a prisoner of his own legend at this point.

MartinHafer First I need to point out that I have NEVER seen the British Forsyte series, so I cannot possibly compare this movie to it. I have heard that the British series is better and fuller, but I just have no idea if this is true.Second, this movie has among the strangest casting I have seen in some time! Errol Flynn, well-known as a party-animal and womanizer, is cast as the incredibly dull and loveless Soames Forsyte! And, oddly, Walter Pidgeon plays the nice Jolyon Forsyte. Logically, Flynn SHOULD have played the other role and vice-versa, but perhaps the powers that be at MGM couldn't allow "Mr. Miniver" and "Mrs. Miniver" to have a loveless marriage (roles that Pidgeon and Garson were very famous for). Regardless of the reasoning, it actually worked pretty well.As far as Flynn goes, this casting was probably a good decision, as his role was by far the most interesting and enigmatic in the film. While Garson and Pidgeon play likable people and Robert Young plays an ardent suitor, Flynn must play a very cold and cynical man. The expression "he knows the price of everything and the value of nothing" is a great description of him--a fool who might be rich but can't appreciate love or things cash can't buy him. It must have been tough for the dashing Flynn to play such an overly restrained type of character and it was one of the best roles of the later half of his career.Greer Garson essentially plays the stereotypical "Greer Garson" role--you know, the nice and sweet lady you naturally love. And Pidgeon plays essentially the same nice guy role he usually played in the 1940s as well. As far as Robert Young and Janet Leigh, they were important to the plot, but their characters weren't really all that important to the plot--they just helped the story along.Essentially, the story is about very rich and boring old Soames Forsyte (Flynn) pursuing Irene (Garson) very, very ardently. However, his passion and love seems to completely vanish once he marries her--almost like she's a financial acquisition, not a loving wife. Later, Irene meets her niece's boyfriend (Young) and they somehow fall in love. In some ways this is very, very unconvincing--after all, Irene is nice and the idea of her stealing her niece's beau is a bit hard to swallow. But, considering what a cold fish Soames is, I could certainly understand her jumping at the first chance for passion. I just would have liked the movie a little more if the object of her affection were better defined or if this infatuation seemed a bit more believable.Anyways, what exactly happens next, I'll not explore further, as I don't want to spoil the film. So how all this is resolved is just going to have to wait until you see the film. However, I will say that the very best line in the movie was the final one given by Irene. Speaking of now ex-husband Soames, she says "I feel sorry for him,...he's a very poor man". What a fantastic line--a marvelous way to wrap up this excellent film.PS--On a sad note, you might want to compare the Errol Flynn in this film to the same man in movies from just three or so years earlier. I saw this movie as well as OBJECTIVE, BURMA! (1945) and NEVER SAY GOODBYE (1946) all a day or so apart. Despite being made about the same time, Flynn was a lot fatter and puffier in THAT FORSYTE WOMAN due to the effects of alcoholism. Sure he was supposed to be older in this film, but the effects I am talking about were not created by the makeup department. His drinking had finally taken its toll and he looks at least 15 years older just in three years! It's very depressing, really, that he did this to himself--going from a very handsome leading man to a bloated soon-to-be has-been (his films of the 1950s were, for the most part, third-rate messes).