Sam Dodsworth (Walter Huston) sells his automobile company at great profit. But his success has come at the expense his dutiful wife, Fran (Ruth Chatterton). She persuades him to take her to Europe on the Queen Mary. Sam sits and watches while Fran dances with handsome Cyde Lockert (David Niven). Fran wants to prove she is still young. Sam just wants to relax--he watches the night sky and talks to an attractive divorcée (Mary Astor). To this point DODSWORTH could be a romantic comedy. But it takes a different tack, becoming a penetrating examination of a troubled marriage.