Mary Turner (Joan Crawford) is sentenced to three years in prison after being unjustly convicted of theft by her employer, store magnate Edward Gilder (Purcell B. Pratt). When Mary is released, she is unable to find a job, and so begins a blackmail racket with Joe Garson (Robert Armstrong). She has returned from prison with three goals in life: make money, stay out of prison, and revenge herself on Gilder. Gilder’s son Bob (Kent Douglass) presents an easy target for the last goal. This week, we’ll discuss Paid (1930). This is a film that begins well. It starts at a good pace; the story is clearly laid out, and the scenes flow easily from one to the other. And then we get to the end, which is slow to the point of inertia. Scene after scene tell the same story, and there is no good reason why we need to see every character questioned by the police over and over. The film manages to cover Mary's prison time concisely. We wished that the conclusion had done the same thing. Mary Turner uses the knowledge she gained about the law to fulfill her first two goals - to make money and stay out of jail. The schemes that Joe and Agnes Lynch
(Marie Prevost) devise work just this side of the law - have Agnes
become the paramour of an older, rich man; get plenty of evidence in the
form of love letters; inform said man that Agnes is under-age and
expects marriage. The money flows in, and they are technically not
blackmailing the man. Joan Crawford is excellent as a woman who goes from a poorly paid clerk, to an inmate who uses her prison time to read up on the law; to a sophisticated criminal. Her training in silent films serves her well; with just a hint in her eyes, she is able to convey all the information the audience needs.
Ms. Crawford badly wanted this part - she'd been making a career playing flappers, and she wanted a role with meat on it. But producer Irving Thalberg intended the part for his wife, Norma Shearer. Luckily for Ms. Crawford, Ms. Shearer became pregnant just before filming began, and Ms. Crawford actively pursued the role again, convincing Mr. Thalberg to give her a chance. She even insisted on doing the prison scenes without makeup to make them more convincing. It paid off - the success of the movie assured her of continued dramatic parts (TCM article). We've had mixed reactions to Kent Douglass (aka Douglass Montgomery) in two other films of his that we've viewed. This was his first film, and he is so much more comfortable here than he was in Waterloo Bridge(1931). Certainly, Bob is far less naive than Roy Cronin, and perhaps that is the issue. Bob is a more realistic character, and Mr. Douglass plays him that way. Sure, Bob is a tad innocent, but he deals with the issues forced on him truthfully and with determination.
Joe, however, is really more caricatured. He's a loose cannon and prone to violence, making him his own worst enemy. Quite frankly, he doesn't really have the nerve to be a swindler. Without Mary there to calm him, he would blow the scheme and end up in prison. Robert Armstrong does a decent job with the character but he's not given a lot to work with. Mr. Armstrong is best remembered as Carl Denham in King Kong (1933). He had served in the army in World War I, and returned to take up acting, first in London and then in silents. He transitioned to sound films easily, though he primarily worked in character parts, westerns, and B films. By the 1950s, he moved to television, appearing in shows such as Cheyenne, Have Gun - Will Travel, and Wagon Train. Married four times, his last marriage, to Claire Louise Frisbie lasted from 1940 until his death (from cancer) in 1973. His lifelong friend, Merian C. Cooper (the producer of King Kong) died 16 hours after Mr. Armstrong.
The McGuffin concerning the Mona Lisa in the latter half of the film is actually based on truth (AFI catalog). The painting was stolen from the Louvre in 1911 and not found until 1913. That the painting now back in the museum is not the original (and that the real Mona Lisa is in some wealthy collector's private room) has been posited on more than one occasion.
This was the fourth version of Within the Law, the play on which the film is based. It started as a stage play on Broadway in 1912. In 1916, it was a short, starring Muriel Starr and a full length version starring Alice Joyce in 1917. This was followed by a 1923 version (with Norma Talmadge); in 1928, the play was revived on Broadway, with Claudette Colbert as Agnes. Following our version, the story was filmed again in 1939, with Ruth Hussey as Mary. The story was also done twice in India (as Intaquam (1969) and Pagabattina Paduchu (1971).
If you are willing to put up with the boring bits of the second act to see Joan Crawford, we recommend this - you can always fast forward through some of the police interrogation. In the meantime, we'll leave you with this scene from the film's opening:
Peter Penrose (John Mills) arrives at a military base, prepared to take on duties of an RAF flyer during World War II. He meets David Archdale (Michael Redgrave), his new roommate, and the two become fast friends. David is courting "Toddy" Todd (Rosamund John), while Peter is dating Iris Winterton (Renee Asherson). But what will be the effect of the war on their relationships. Our film this time out is The Way to the Stars (1945) [titled Johnny in the Clouds in the United States]. This is a quiet film, which portrays the work of the RAF pilots with sympathy and dignity. It opens after the war has ended. The barracks are deserted; there is a sadness and desolation in the abandoned airbase. Did we not know better, we might assume that the war was lost (you can view the opening in the clip below). This scene reminded us of the moment in The Best Years of Our Lives when Fred Derry finds the airfield of derelict planes. There is the same sense of a lost past. We then fade back to 1940, and the arrival of our protagonist, Peter. At this juncture in the film, there is some joy. These men are committed to what they need to do, and look at it as the great adventure of their lives. It's not long before Mr. Mills is showing us, primarily through his reactions, that there is no adventure in their duties - just pain and loss. Sure, this is an English film, and there is a bit of "stiff upper lip" but it is clear that this stoicism is required to do the job, not because Mr. Mills or Mr. Redgrave are unaware and unafraid.
The film uses the arrival of Americans as a contrast to the English soldiers. Joe Friselli (Bonar Colleano) begins as the original ugly American. He is the epitome of phrase "over-paid, over-sexed, over-fed, and over here." His friend, Johnny Hollis (Douglass Montgomery) is more sedate, and is embarrassed by his friend's bravado. But like their British counterparts, the American soon discover that their boasts of taking the German's down quickly are just that - idle talk. They begin to take on the sobriety of their UK colleagues, and even apologize for their vainglory. We've seen Douglass Montgomery before; we was using the name Kent Douglass in Waterloo Bridge (the studio didn't want him confused with Robert Montgomery), but when he left America to live in the UK, he went back to his own name. We were not impressed with him in his earlier film, but he is quite good here. Johnny has a dignity and ease that Mr. Montgomery makes apparent. He loves his wife and son, he also cares about the people he meets in England. He becomes the symbol of the caring American that Joe Friselli will need to emulate.
The credits make it clear that the film is written with some experience behind it. Terrence Rattigan, the screenwriter, was himself an RAF tail gunner. Scenario writer Richard Sherman was a Captain in the military (assumedly, the US as he was American). But all the participants had experienced the war firsthand. This TCM article describes an incident in which Mr. Rattigan and director Anthony Asquith experienced a bombing raid. The Way to the Stars introduced two future stars: Jean Simmons and Trevor Howard both have small roles in the film. Also new to film was Bonar Colleano; he too was introduced in the film, but his career ended prematurely with his early death in 1958 in an auto accident. The film also features appearances by many notable English actors, including Stanley Holloway (Mr. Palmer) (who would become best known to American audiences as Mr. Doolittle in My Fair Lady (1964)), Felix Aylmer (Reverend Charles Moss), Basil Radford (Tiny Williams) (probably remembered as the cricket aficionado Charters in The Lady Vanishes (1938)), Joyce Carey (Miss Winterton) and Renee Asherson (Iris Winterton).
The film is also exceptional in that it is a war film that never shows you the war. We see the aftermath of the battles, not the battles themselves. And the only scene that really shows the machinery of war at all is one of Johnny in his airplane. Even the romances of the piece focus on them within the context of the war. The Way to the Stars is careful to not lose the focus. This is about men at war - it is not about the war, nor is it about their love-lives. It is a story of survival, pure and simple. Though the film was not successful in the U.S. (and is mostly forgotten here today), it is well regarded in the U.K. (See his BFI Screenonline discussion for the British view of the film today) and did well there on its release. We really recommend that you give this The Way to the Stars a viewing. As promised, here is the opening of the film, with the abandoned barracks of 1946 and the arrival of the troops in 1940:
England is under siege from the Germans in World War I. As civilians scramble for cover during a raid on Waterloo Bridge (1931), prostitute Myra Deaville (Mae Clarke) assists, and then attempts to seduce a young soldier, Roy Cronin (Kent Douglass). Roy, an innocent if ever their was one, is immediately attracted to Myra, not comprehending what she does to pay her rent. He pursues her and brings her to his parents' home. Myra, however, resists - she loves him deeply, but knows her past will be a barrier to their happiness. Before we started this blog, we viewed this version of Waterloo Bridge with a group of other Pre-code films. We decided to revisit it, but will be pairing it (next week) with the 1940 remake starring Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor. Given the conclusion of this film, it's almost hard to believe that it is a pre-code film, as there is a sense of cosmic punishment being visited on Myra for her actions. Since Myra is a good person who has made some really poor decisions in her life, the ending is quite shocking and unexpected.
Based on a play by Robert Sherwood (which was based on an encounter in his own life in London during the WWI. See this TCM article for more on the story) that ran for 64 performances on Broadway, Waterloo Bridge has been on the screen three times - this film, the Vivien Leigh version we'll discuss next time, and Gaby (1956), starring Leslie Caron. It was also done as a radio play in 1941 with Brian Aherne and Joan Fontaine, in 1946, with Robert Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck in the lead roles; and in 1951 with Norma Shearer as Myra. Mae Clarke is quite good at Myra. Ms. Clarke does not try to whitewash the character a bit. When we first see Myra, she is quitting her job in the chorus of a West End play to take up with a wealthy man. He's given her a fur wrap, and she expects more gifts from him, as well as support in the style to which she would like to become accustomed. But, in the next scene, we see that play that she left is still running, but Myra's affair is not. Unable to get a job in another show, she has turned to the streets to support herself. Ms. Clarke plays Myra as selfish and ignorant. She doesn't like working the streets, but primarily because she wanted wealth and leisure for herself and doesn't have either. The morals - or lack thereof - of working as a prostitute does not bother her until she falls in love with Roy. And Ms. Clarke makes that transformation realistic and understandable; we watch the Myra lose her gold-digging instincts to become the person that Roy envisions her to be. Ms. Clarke was not the first choice for Myra - Rose Hobart was originally considered (AFI Catalog); to our thinking, the right casting choice was made.
That we believe Ms. Clarke's love for Roy is a credit to her ability as an actress. Kent Douglass, however, is not a great actor, and we have to believe that Roy is so obtuse he can't see what Myra does for a living. Mr. Douglass would later change his name to Douglass Montgomery, the name he'd used on the New York stage (MGM didn't want him using Montgomery to avoid confusion with Robert). With 32 credits to his career, he did not have a wide range of roles, though he is remembered today as Laurie Little Women (1933). In 1934, he was the victim of an attempt on his life, when someone sabotaged his car; no suspects were ever found. Following service in the Canadian infantry during World War II, Mr. Montgomery relocated to the UK. He returned to the US in the 1950s, to do some television. In 1966, at the age of 58, he died of spinal cancer (he was living in Connecticut at the time). He was survived by his wife of 14 years, British actress Kay Young.
Bette Davis has a small part (this was her third film appearance) as the generous Janet Cronin, Roy's sister. The whole Wetherby/Cronin family are shown as loving, caring people - not only towards Myra and Roy, but for each other. Though we are informed early on that Mrs. Wetherby (Enid Bennett) remarried and moved with her children to the UK to be with her husband, Major Wetherby (Frederick Kerr), there is no wicked stepfather here. The affection between the Cronin children and their loving - and rather dotty - stepfather is apparent immediately. It makes a nice touch, and helps to explain Roy's rather innocent attitudes. At one point in the film, allusion is made to the practice of women marrying several times to collect the salaries (and hopefully death benefits) of their soldier husbands. We found it interesting that the practice would be discussed regarding both wars, as we saw in Allotment Wives.
The New York Timesreview was complimentary of both Mr. Douglass and Ms. Clarke, and enjoyed the story. Danny at Pre-Code.com did not; however we agreed wholeheartedly on Ms. Clarke's inspired performance. As promised, next week we will look at the Vivien Leigh version of the film, which you'll find has a lot more exposition. We'll leave you with this scene from the start of the film, and hope you will join us again next time.
