Tuesday Nights at the Movies on April 7 presents “Dodsworth,” one of the most perceptive relationship dramas of Hollywood’s Golden Age. The story follows Sam Dodsworth, a wealthy yet down-to-earth, Midwestern automobile manufacturer who retires and — at the urging of his socially ambitious wife — embarks on what is meant to be a trip of a lifetime. What begins as a leisurely European grand tour soon becomes something far more unsettling: the gradual disintegration of the routines and assumptions that have kept their marriage in a fragile balance for two decades. As they make their way through Paris, the Riviera and London, their journey becomes less about sightseeing than about confronting the delicate architecture of their relationship.

Sam looks forward to the quiet, companionable life he believes he’s earned after years of hard work. Fran, however, is reckoning with a painful realization: She set aside her own ambitions while raising their children and now feels entitled to reclaim the excitement of her lost youth. Increasingly anxious to prove that time has not passed her by, she becomes driven to recapture a vitality she fears may be slipping away.

In an effort to bolster her sense of desirability, Fran pursues the attention of a succession of increasingly unsuitable suitors, played by David Niven, Paul Lukas and Gregory Gaye. Meanwhile, Sam finds unexpected comfort in a warm and companionable friendship with Edith Cortright, an American expatriate living in Italy, brought to life with warmth and quiet assurance by Mary Astor (“The Maltese Falcon”). It gradually becomes apparent that Sam and Fran are struggling to reconcile their radically different visions for this new stage of their lives. “Dodsworth” asks the question: Can love survive where respect has eroded?

At the heart of the film is Walter Huston’s deeply humane performance as Sam. Huston (“The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” “The Devil and Daniel Webster”) — who originated the role on Broadway — resists the temptation to play Sam as either a long-suffering martyr or a fool. Instead, he presents a thoughtful man slowly coming to terms with the realization that while he was building a successful business, he and his wife were quietly drifting apart. They are no longer suited to one another, if they ever truly were.

Opposite him, Ruth Chatterton (“Madame X,” “Female”) delivers perhaps the most nuanced performance of her career as Fran. Often exasperating in her attempts to hold on to youth at any cost, Fran’s behavior nevertheless feels earned. It’s not difficult to understand how she might want to make up for lost time, and while her increasingly rash behavior can be frustrating, it’s also recognizable.

When “Dodsworth” premiered in 1936, it stood apart from the glossy escapism or overwrought melodrama typical of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Unusual for the time was the film’s willingness to address themes like divorce and extramarital flirtation not as sensational plot devices, but as genuine moral dilemmas. The adaptation of Sinclair Lewis’ original novel and stage play, coupled with the restrained direction of William Wyler (“Mrs. Miniver,” “Roman Holiday”) produced a mature, unsentimental examination of marriage, aging and the search for a more meaningful life.

It was adapted from the acclaimed novel and stage play of the same name by Lewis, who had received the 1930 Nobel Prize in Literature “for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of characters.” Those qualities are evident in this film, which — despite being set in Europe’s most glamorous hot spots — makes it an intimate study of people who feel real, identifiable and grown up.

“Dodsworth” earned seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Director, and features an excellent supporting cast including Maria Ouspenskaya (nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role), Spring Byington, Odette Myrtil, Harlan Briggs and John Payne (“Miracle on 34th Street”) in his first film role.

Nine decades after its release, “Dodsworth” still feels uncannily modern. Offering a clear-eyed look at marriage as a living, evolving partnership subject to strain and change, it also suggests that starting over in middle age is possible only by shedding assumptions you didn’t even realize you were living by. That kind of upheaval isn’t always comfortable, and the film doesn’t pretend it is. Instead, it shows how moments of uncertainty can create unexpected clarity and, sometimes, a ground-shifting transformation that takes you on a journey you never imagined.

“Dodsworth” (101 min.) screens at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7, at Woodmere (9201 Germantown Ave.) in partnership with the Chestnut Hill Film Group. Light refreshments are available before the show. Screenings are free to the public, but donations are gratefully accepted. Please check Woodmere’s website (woodmeremuseum.org) on the day of the screening for weather-related cancellations.

Lily Williams is vice president of Chestnut Hill Film Group.