One of the more unusual things about The Hot Heiress (1931) is the opening - a sweet little ditty sung by a bunch of construction workers entitled "Nobody Loves a Riveter But His Mother." The opening makes you think that the movie is a musical; though it has a few songs, it really isn't. It's a sweet albeit rather tame pre-code movie about our titular heiress' love for an ordinary working guy, who happens to be a riveter. The film stars Ben Lyon as Hap Harrigan, our working stiff and Ona Munson as Juliette "Julie" Hunter, the heiress. It also features Walter Pidgeon as Clay, the man Julie's parents (Homes Herbert and Nella Walker) actually want her to marry. And in a very small part, Thelma Todd as Lola, one of Julie's friends. The plot is rather simple - Hap sees Julie sleeping in the morning while he is working (he's up high, and can see into the open window. A little pre-code deshabille in the scene!). Distracted, he misses a rivet as it is tossed to him; it lands on the floor of Julie's bedroom, starting a fire. Hap and pal Tom Dugan (Bill Dugan) climb in to put out the fire, and Julie immediately falls for her hero. The only problem? Her family, who wants her to marry longtime friend, Clay.
Much is made in the film of the class differences between Julie and
Hap. Even their vocabulary is different, with Hap, Tom and Margie very
oriented to slang, whereas Julie and Clay speak far more precisely.
This speech difference is emphasized in the scenes in which Hap, Tom and
Margie visit Julie's family home for a weekend outing. It can be a bit
disconcerting to the modern ear, but it clearly establishes the differences in the societies, and points out the snobbishness of the "upper" classes. This is not a film that is sympathetic towards the rich. Julie is the exception because she treats everyone equally. In fact, it often seems that she is trying to escape the burdens of her family's wealth - she is not interested in the life they have mapped out for her.
The songs in the film were written by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart. As the film didn't do particularly well, the duo was not eager to continue in the film industry, negotiated an end to their contract, and headed back to Broadway, where they would write such notable musicals as Pal Joey, Jumbo, and Babes in Arms (all of which would eventually be made into films). This TCM article goes into more detail on their departure from Hollywood. And while this is perhaps not their best work, we enjoyed the song "Nobody but You" in particular. The YouTube video below features the first scene with the song. You also get nice views of our two couples: Juliette and Hap, and Tom and Margie:
It was quite enjoyable to see Walter Pidgeon in a supporting role, as well as a role in which he is rather a heel. Though never stated, it sometimes seemed that Clay might only be interested in Julie for her money. He associates with the right circles, and nothing is ever said, but could his family have lost their fortune in the Depression? Regardless, Clay doesn't seem to love her; the marriage is one that he just assumes will happen. Her rejection seems more of an inconvenience to him than anything else. At first glance, we did not recognize Ona Munson as the actress who would go on to play Belle Watling in Gone With the Wind. She's lovely here - cute and pert, with a sweet singing voice. Munson had a respectable career, appearing in 20 films and three television episodes between 1928 and 1953, and 8 Broadway plays, beginning in 1919. Her life, however, was a complicated one. She married three times, but was also rumored to have had affairs with Dorothy Arzner, Marlene Dietrich. and Alla Nazimova. This brief article from Film Comment provides more detail. She committed suicide at age 51, after a long illness.
Inez Courtney who played Margie, was perhaps our favorite character. Margie is someone who, despite her lower class upbringing, fits in anywhere. Julie's affection for her is transparent, and, when she is a guest at the Hunter home, it is Margie who has all the male guest crowded around her, and they all obviously are enjoying her visit. Courtney also started our on Broadway - she played Babe in the original staging of Good News, among other things. Between 1930 and 1940, she made 58 film appearances. At the end of her contract, however, she decided to retire and move to Rome with her husband, an Italian nobleman. (She opted to not use her title of Marchessa) She died in 1975, aged 67, in Neptune, New Jersey. Nella
Walker, who plays Julie's mother, seemed to have been playing mothers and society matrons from the time she was young. From 1929 to 1954, she appeared in 117 films, primarily in supporting parts. Included in her list of excellent films is Stella Dallas, in which she was the future mother-in-law of Laurel Dallas; and In Name Only, as Cary Grant's mother. Her final film would have her playing the mother to Humphrey Bogart and William
Holden in Sabrina (she was 13 older than her senior "son", Bogart). At the end of the filming of Sabrina, she decided to retire She died in 1971 We'll leave you with a trailer from the film. As you can see, the noise created by construction has not changed very much in 85 years. And for New York City people like us, the vision of a construction site right next to our bedroom window is nothing new either:
Several years ago, our group began our quest for pre-code films. We viewed the wonderful Barbara Stanwyck in Night Nurse (1931) at that time. Recently, I re-watched the film with a newer member of the group, and here share some of our thoughts. Stanwyck plays Lora Hart, a young woman who passionately wants to be a nurse. We meet Lora as she applies for a position in a hospital nursing school. However, Lora does not have a high school diploma - her mother's illness forced her to withdraw from school shortly before graduation - and the nursing matron will not accept her. As she leaves the hospital, she literally runs into Dr. Bell (Charles Winninger) who, it turns out, is the hospital administrator. Bell is quite taken with the attractive young woman, and decides to support her application. Lora becomes friendly with her roommate, Nurse Maloney (Joan Blondell), and Mortie (Ben Lyon), a bootlegger whom she assists (after he is shot). After graduation, she finds herself in a conundrum - her nursing oath demands that she obey the orders of the doctor in charge, but Lora quickly realizes that Doctor Ranger is in cahoots with Nick, the Chauffeur (Clark Gable) to murder two little children for their trust fund.
There is a lot of rowdy goings-on in this film. We have our heroine in a state of undress several times (and Ms. Maloney joins her in one of these slip-teases once). We have a bootlegger, who is not above asking his friends to take someone for a ride (we won't tell you who). We have a dipsomaniac mother, a doctor who may be on drugs, and a murderous chauffeur. And we possibly have an off-screen rape (see the TCM article for more on that). Want to see more, here is a clip of Stanwyck in one of the slip scenes:
We also have some outstanding performances. Joan Blondell as the gum-chewing Maloney is a hoot. She's not really interested in nursing - it's just the only job that will pay you to go to school! However, you like Maloney, who is quite good at her job, and a true friend. It's Maloney who first recognizes that the children are being mistreated, and her concern is real.
Clark Gable is very menacing as Nick - this was a breakthrough role for him, and it is understandable. Director William Wellman uses this up-and-coming star to good effect. In the TCM article we previously referenced, there is a discussion of Stanwyck and Blondell's reaction to this new man on the block. It's quite humorous. Finally, there is Stanwyck herself - her Lora truly wants to be a nurse. Watch the scene where the nurses take the Nightingale oath, and watch Stanwyck's eyes. Her idealism radiates (as opposed to Maloney, who keeps cracking her gum!). Also, watch her when she meets Dr. Bell, and later when she discusses him with Maloney. How DID she explain her predicament to him? Lastly, there are her interactions with the children - her tenderness is moving.
Join us next time for another film - the first of two versions of the same story.
Venice Muir (Constance Bennett) is a wealthy young woman. Her parents are dead; she is quite alone in the world. Much as she wants to meet someone, she can't seem to get a man interested in her. The men in her circle are much more attracted to the merry widow who was suspected of poisoning her husband. Finally, Venice meets a man who seems to be interested in her. Donnie Wainwright (David Manners) gets a bit inebriated, and proposes. He asks Venice to travel to Europe with him, and marry him on the ship. But morning brings sobriety and a better offer from the widow, and Venice finds herself alone, bound for Europe. Once there, Venice decides to change her image - she hires a young man (Ben Lyon as Guy Bryson) to pose as a gigolo, and finds that men are now pursuing HER. Thus begins Lady with a Past (1932), a pre-code film which puts forth the premise that men don't make passes at good girls.
Constance Bennett is fantastic here. Her Venice is sweet, kind, and innocent of the ways of the world. But she has a great sense of humor, especially about herself. She is alone so much, she finds that she spends a lot of time talking to herself. "I talk so much to myself that I'm all worn out when I meet people", she bemoans. Yet, she retains her sense of humor, in spite of feeling that she is inferior to everyone else.
While David Manners makes an interesting object of Venice's affection, the character that was by far the most interesting is Guy Bryson. He, like Venice, has a wicked sense of humor. And he genuinely likes her. Though she is paying him, it is evident that he is there because he likes her and wants to help her. In the clip below, we are introduced to Guy; we rather hoped that he was the man of Venice's dreams. He is a sweetie who doesn't "even mind that she is a good girl".
A TCM article which discusses this film is well worth a read. Especially interesting is the review that is included, in which the reviewer says that Bennett's Venice "gives hope to shy bookworms everywhere". We heartily recommend this under-appreciated little gem.
I'll just start out by saying that this movie was a big
disappointment. We were all so pleased to find another early Claudette
Colbert movie, but she has so little to do here that it was just a waste
of her great talents. I Cover the Waterfront follows reporter
Joe Miller (Ben Lyon) as he tries to get the goods on Eli Kirk (Ernest
Torrence), a smuggler who deals in illegal Chinese immigrants. The
beginning is pretty horrific - about to be trapped by the authorities,
Kirk throws his "cargo" overboard (bound with chains to make absolutely
sure he sinks), with a shrug and the comment that "He knew what he was
getting into." The big complication here is that Kirk has a daughter,
Julie (played by Colbert), and our hero Joe falls in love with her. In
the end, Julie must choose between Joe and her father.
The
meeting between Julie and Joe IS rather funny. Joe receives a report of a
nude woman swimming in the ocean. It's Julie, and it seems she does it
all the time. She doesn't like swimsuits (then again, if one thinks of
the suits at THAT time, one can understand why!). Joe camps himself
beside her clothing, so she is unable to get dressed, and of course, he
won't leave until she agrees to meet him again. Here's a later scene, with Julie and Joe:
We can't really recommend this one, though it is nice to see Claudette in just about anything. Better yet, get Torch Singer!
