FREDERIC MARCH

Movie fans who only remember the late Frederic March (1897-1975)  from Inherit The Wind (1960), where he played a pompous bible-thumping William Jennings Bryan, might want to look further. Sternly handsome and with great range, Mr. March had a distinguished film and stage career which peaked in the 30's and 40's.
Frederic March’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932) is one of the best of a slew of attempts at the famous Robert Lewis Stevenson tale of double identity. Mr. March mines the nuances of the story extremely well and won his first Oscar for it. If it’s not quite up to the 1920 John Barrymore silent, it’s close.
Mr. March is at his romantic best as Robert Browning in The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934), a fine edition of the affecting love story between poets Browning and his eventual wife, Elizabeth Barrett (Norma Shearer). Charles Laughton as the imperious father is also excellent, but this is ultimately March’s movie.
Playing opposite Greta Garbo was always a challenge, but Mr. March was up to it in Anna Karenina (1935). He is the dashing, irresponsible Levin; Garbo the smitten, doomed Anna and Basil Rathbone the cold and hateful husband. This version is by far the best of the four made so far. 
In Les Miserables (1935) Mr. March is the relentless, merciless Inspector Javert who chases Jean Valjean (Charles Laughton) across the years to enact the full vengeance of the law in revolution-torn France. This stirring version is superior to others and the principals are uniformly excellent. The 2012 version, based on the Broadway musical, has good music. 
Frederic March is the has-been actor and Janet Gaynor the meteoric actress in the 1937 version of A Star Is Born. It is the compelling story of the hopeless marriage of two Hollywood actors rushing in opposite career directions. Mr. March was nominated for the Oscar but lost to Spencer Tracy for Captains Courageous. The Judy Garland-James Mason edition of this film, made in 1954, is almost as good. And the Bradley Cooper-Madonna version from 2018 though nominated for a truckload of Oscars only won for a couple of minor tech categories. 
Mr. March won his final Oscar for William Wyler’s monumental The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946). It is the perfectly pitched story of the GIs returning from World War II to civilian life, and claimed seven Academy Awards including Best Picture. Frederic March is a businessman who finds that the home folks just don’t get it, and his somewhat irascible character is convincing and moving. 
All of the movies in this column are available on DVD.  All are suitable for kids 10 and up.