Her father's sudden death forces Kitty Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) to take a job in a hamburger joint in the city. One of her customers is David Livingston (Regis Toomey), a medical student. He and Kitty gradually fall in love, but David's snooty mother, Helen Livingston (Clara Blandick) has other plans for her son than a Shopworn (1932) girl. This post is part of The Queen of Sass: The Barbara Stanwyck Blogathon hosted by Pale Writer. Shopworn is a mixed bag. On the one hand, you have a dynamic performance by Barbara Stanwyck, but other elements of the film fall into the banal. Perhaps the key culprit is the final film itself. There are huge gaps (probably the result of censorship) (TCM article), that make the movie feel helter skelter. In the latter section of the film, we are told that six years have elapsed - it takes a while to find this out - and in the meantime, we are wondering why the sweet Kitty suddenly seems to be such a notorious woman. With almost no transitions between the major sections of the film, one finds oneself bemused by the changes. Regardless, Ms. Stanwyck makes the change easily to accept, and the audience accepts the change because of her skill. Lila Lee was initially considered for Kitty (AFI Catalog); Ms. Stanwyck evidently was sorry the part was not given to Ms. Lee. It probably didn't help that her marriage to comedian Frank Fay was starting to disintegrate. (A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True, 1907-1940 by Victoria Wilson).
The casting of Regis Toomey as Kitty's love interest is another problem. Mr. Toomey is fine as a character actor; he also was a good fit for television. He is a more intimate actor, which makes him ideal for the small screen, but opposite a dynamo like Barbara Stanwyck, he seems insignificant and unworthy of her attention. You spend most of the movie wondering what Kitty could possibly see in this momma's boy. Only when he finally stands up to Judge Forbes (Oscar Apfel) do we finally have any regard for David, but it is perhaps too little too late.
Our villains in the piece are David's nightmare of a mother, and her strongman, Judge Forbes. Given this is a pre-code film, no punishment is meted out. In the long run, we longed for the Judge to get his just deserts. There's no question Helen is a horror, but Forbes is a man of the law, and he misuses his position horribly. He's a despicable man, and the only comeuppance his gets is pitifully inadequate. A lurid trial, and the image of him being disbarred would have been a nice conclusion (but that is probably another movie).
ZaSu Pitts is adorable as Kitty's aunt and best friend, Dot. It's a small, but memorable role, and we looked forward to seeing her reappear on the screen. Her polar opposite is Clara Blandick, who creates the ultimate monster mother in Helen Livingston. It's the women who dominate in this film; but the only woman we really care about is Ms. Stanwyck's Kitty.
While the reviews for the film were not great - Variety called it "the clumsiest kind of literary hoke..." (A Life of Barbara Stanwyck, 1907-1940: Steel-True by Victoria Wilson) and Mordaunt Hall of the New York Times said "It is beyond the powers of such capable players as Barbara Stanwyck,
Regis Toomey, Clara Blandick and Zassu Pitts (sic) to make their actions in
this film convincing or even mildly interesting" - in the long run, the film did well at the box office (Starring Miss Barbara Stanwyckby Ella Smith). If you are a Stanwyck completest, you should watch it for her performance. We'll leave you with a scene in which Kitty shows her strength of character:
Glory Eden (Ginger Rogers), America's "Purity Girl" has had it. She's been on the radio for a year. She's popular, she's making plenty of money, but she is banned from going ANYWHERE. She wants to go out and dance in Harlem, she wants to wear makeup and date. But under her present contract, she is forbidden from doing anything that might compromise her image of innocence. When she threatens her boss, Sam Ipswich (Gregory Ratoff) with leaving his employ, he agrees to get her a Professional Sweetheart (1933) - and potential husband - that will allow her to date discreetly.
Though at times a fairly silly movie, Professional Sweetheart is enjoyable. Ginger Rogers is very cute as a girl who just wants to have fun, and while Norman Foster (as Jim Davey) is perhaps not the most dynamic actor in the world, he is convincingly sincere. Add a group of excellent character actors, including Gregory Ratoff (playing a part not dissimilar to his role in All About Eve), Frank McHugh (as Speed Dennis), and Allen Jenkins (as O'Connor), and you have a film that is fun and ever so slightly titillating (as you can see from the still below!)
We were pleased to also see Theresa Harris (Vera) in a small role. She's relegated to playing a maid, of course, and is not even billed in the credits, but she is again (as she was in Baby Face) intelligent and attractive, and more of a confidant to the unhappy Glory than a mere servant. Unlike Ginger Rogers, Ms. Harris actually gets to do her own singing (Etta Moten sings for Ms. Rogers; why, is a big question). Ms. Harris has a lovely voice, and is an excellent actress: with 99 film and television credits to her name, Ms. Harris SHOULD be better known. She was the inspiration for a play, By the Way, Vera Stark, which performed off-Broadway in 2011. Married from 1933 until her death, to a physician, Ms. Harris retired from acting in 1958. She died at age 79, in 1985. Normally, we enjoy ZaSu Pitts (Elmerada de Leon), but her vagueness gets annoying after a time. Of course, Elmerada is supposed to be annoying, but she is also supposed to be funny. The film really carries the act a bit too far, so we found ourselves groaning when Ms. Pitts started to open her mouth.
Norman Foster is okay as the romantic lead, but not much more than that. He would continue acting until 1938 (he returned to acting in the 1970s in a few television shows and movies), but he is best known as a director. He directed several of the Mr. Moto films, 1948's Rachel and the Stranger (starring his sister-in-law, Loretta Young), and the noir classic Woman on the Run (1950). He also did much television directing (including 39 episodes of Ms. Young's television shows). He was married for 7 years to Claudette Colbert; after their divorce in 1935, he married Sally Blane; they had two children and were married until his death from cancer in 1976 (age 72).
This was Ms. Rogers' first film under a three picture deal with RKO (TCM article). All three pictures (Rafter Romance, also co-starring Norman Foster, and Chance at Heaven were the other two) were released in 1933, as was her next film, under a new seven-year contract - Flying Down to Rio, her first film with Fred Astaire. They didn't dub her singing voice after that!
Original titles for the film include Careless and Purity Girl, (AFI Catalog) but we felt the release title was the best choice - after all, but Jim AND Glory turn out to be professional sweethearts! Besides the character actors mentioned above, there are brief glimpses of Betty Furness (as a reporter) and Akim Tamiroff (as a waiter). The New York Times liked the film (which premiered in Radio City Music Hall), as did my colleague at Pre-code.com (for an outline of some of the pre-code naughtiness, please to visit his posting). You can see some of that naughtiness in this clip from the film. A good opportunity to see Ginger Rogers early in her career, Professional Sweetheart is a pleasant romp.
Robert Montgomery stars as Lieutenant Wally O'Brien in War Nurse (1930). The film opens at the outbreak of the First World War. American women from all parts of the country and all walks of life daydream about becoming a war nurse. Each has their own reason, and their own view of the mission. The film follows the lives of Barbara (Babs) Whitney (June Walker), Joy Meadows (Anita Page), Cushie (ZaSu Pitts), Rosalie "Brooklyn" Parker (Marie Prevost), and Marian "Kansas" (Helen Jerome Eddy) as the women venture to France to nurse the wounded. Though Mr. Montgomery is given top billing, this film really is about the nurses - all of them. Sure, Babs is our "heroine", but each of the women has an interesting backstory and a distinct personality. We grow to like all of them, and to admire their dedication to an awful and dangerous job. The men in the story are the window dressing; the women are its heart. Some movies are eternal, and it doesn't really matter when they are filmed. Some are time capsules of their era. In a sense, War Nurse is both. This film looks back 12 years to "the War to end all wars," yet we know what the characters and filmmakers do not. That, in a scant 8 years, the world will be at war again. And though the technology may change, the effects of war and the work of the nurse do not. We can empathize with the characters because their struggle represents the struggle of all nurses in a war zone.
Based on the book 1930 book War Nurse: The True Story of a Woman Who Lived, Loved and Suffered on the Western Front (AFI Catalog), this is an excellent and compelling story. We only had one minor complaint with the film, the levity that was
inserted into the script felt forced and flat. Not that one wants the film to be oppressing,
but often the wisecracking just didn't belong. It sometimes seemed to
interrupt the flow of the action, and we were eager for the story to continue.
June Walker, in the role of Babs, is just wonderful. Her scenes with Mr. Montgomery have a real feeling of truth. We were especially impressed by the scene in which Wally visits her in her small flat. Their interplay is excellent, and you come out of the scene sympathizing with both of them for different reasons. Ms. Walker had a long career, in both television and theatre. In 1926 (after making one short silent and one silent feature), she married writer/actor Geoffrey Kerr. They had one child, actor John Kerr. The marriage lasted until 1942, after which Ms. Walker made a few movies, but primarily appeared in television, working until 1960. She also had a long career
on Broadway, beginning in 1919, and working until 1958. She appeared in 34 plays
including Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1926, as Lorelei Lee), Waterloo Bridge (1930, as Myrna), and The Middle of the Night (1956). Ms. Walker died in 1966. Hedda Hopper is appealing in the small part of Matron Townsend, an
experienced, no-nonsense nurse, who looks over both the male patients and her
nurses (see this TCM article).
Robert Ames as Robin Neil is also good. Ames died the year after this
film was released. A severe alcoholic, Ames was trying to recover, but
it is suspected that his sudden withdrawal from alcohol resulted in his
death (which was attributed to delirium tremens).
We were especially intrigued with ZaSu Pitts as Cushie (her work in the film is briefly noted in this New York Times review). With her sad face and voice, Ms. Pitts sound career was frequently in comedies. In the early 30s, she was often partnered with Thelma Todd, in what has often been referred to as Hal Roach's feminine version of Laurel and Hardy (like Stan and Ollie, Thelma and ZaSu also used their real names in these films). During the silent era, Ms. Pitts received much deserved praise for her work in Greed (1921); in the sound era, a film to not miss is her performance in Ruggles of Red Gap (1935). She worked steadily, easily moving into television in the 1940s (she was a regular on The Gale Storm Show - also known as Oh, Susanna); her last film was released after her death from cancer in 1963: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Ms. Pitts was also an author: she penned a book Candy Hits by ZaSu Pitts, which was published just after her death. Her unusual name was a combination of her two birth names EliZA SUsan (pronounced "Zay-soo"). Though a precode film, the characters of Joy and Robin are both punished for their sins (for more on the plot, and an interesting discussion, visit this Pre-code.com review). For a modern audience, the lack of background music and special effects (a bombing sequence is very clearly backscreen projection), can be surprising. Regardless, you are still seeing a grim picture of the war, without viewing a lot of blood and gore.
We'll leave you with this clip from the film. We highly recommend it.
Sin Takes a Holiday (1930), stars Constance Bennett as Sylvia, secretary to the wealthy Gaylord Stanton (Kenneth MacKenna). Stanton has been seeing a married woman. He is perfectly satisfied with the situation, since he has no intention to marry, and Grace's (Rita La Roy) husband is not interested in a divorce. But, to his surprise, Grace decides she is ready for husband #3, and intends to divorce her husband, with Stanton as corespondent. To circumvent this (and continue his affair), Stanton convinces the shy Sylvia (who loves him) to marry him. It will be a one-year (we assume he thinks he will be done with Grace by that time), marriage in name only, with Sylvia safely ensconced in Europe, and Stanton sewing his wild oats in New York. However, complications ensue when Sylvia, while in Europe, meets Stanton's friend Durant (Basil Rathbone), who is quite impressed with the young woman, and determines to marry her himself.
In many respects, Sin Takes a Holiday is reminiscent of Lady with a Past. As in that film, Constance Bennett is considered plain and dull (hard to believe), and while abroad, develops the confidence to take control of her appearance and her life. Of course, in this film, her "marriage" has given the bankroll to assist in the metamorphosis. The major difference here is the motivating factor for the change. While Venice in Lady with a Past decides to make a complete change in her image, Sylvia's emergence as a fascinating beauty occurs because of the attentions of Durant, the first man who has ever seen her as an attractive woman.
For those of us used to seeing Basil Rathbone playing a cad, Durant is a revelation. When we first meet him at Stanton's house, he seems, to all intents and purposes, to be that bounder that Rathbone plays so well. But Durant is actually a good man. He loves Sylvia deeply; he is charming and kind. And, unlike Stanton, he can see below the surface to the inner Sylvia. Stanton never does, and we ended up rooting for Sylvia and Durant to end up as a couple.
We also enjoyed ZaSu Pitts as Syvia's roommate, Anna. Having seen a bit of the silent film, Greed a few days earlier, it is interesting to see change in her career in talkies. She continued to work, even appearing in television shows (like The Gale Storm Show) until her death in 1963, usually (as she does in this film) as the best friend of the lead actress. EliZa Susan Pitts also wrote a candy cookbook: Candy Hits by ZaSu Pitts - it seems she collected candy recipes!
We were less impressed with Kenneth MacKenna. It didn't help that Stanton is such an unlikeable character, but MacKenna does not (in this film) have the dynamic screen personality of his foil, Rathbone. MacKenna's career was relatively short, though he did return to films briefly in the early 1960s, playing one of the judges in Judgement at Nuremberg. In the early 1930s, he even played Bullldog Drummond (a role that would later be played by Ronald Colman and John Howard) in 1930's Temple Tower. MacKenna died in 1962.
We really enjoyed this film. The characters are well developed, the scenery and settings are lovely, and, as always, we have Bennett wearing some wonderful clothing. In an article on theTCM website we find the following quote from Constance Bennett: "I'm a lot more sartorial than thespian. They come to see me and go out humming the costumes." We disagree; while we love the costumes, we really left this film humming Constance Bennett.
This week, we look at a very pre-code (though it was released in
December of 1934, after the code was being enforced) Lombard film The Gay Bride.
Released in 1934, Lombard plays Mary, a woman determined to land
herself a wealthy husband, even if his "job" is not exactly legal. Her
"mark" is Shoots Magiz (played by Nat Pendleton), a rather dopey,
but deadly bootlegger, who is feeling the results of the repeal of
Prohibition. Shoots' assistant, Office Boy (also known as Jimmy, and
played by Chester Morris), takes an immediate dislike to the
gold-digging Mary, but still tries to warn her that a marriage to Shoots
has no prospects, either financially or health-wise. Mary, however, is
convinced that she can amass enough money in the marriage to set
herself up for life (and if Shoots' life span is shortened, all the
better).
Let's just start by saying that, wonderful
as Lombard always is, her Mary is hard to like. She is involved with
the mob for the money, and does not care how Shoots, or his inevitable
successor GETS that money. She is constantly warned of the dangers, by
Office Boy and by her best friend Mirabelle (ZaSu Pitts), but ignores
them until she is in so deep that it seems there is no way out. And
while Shoots is a blithering idiot who is easily manipulated by the much
smarter Mary, her relations with Dan Dingle (Sam Hardy) and Mickey the Greek (Leo Carillo) demonstrate that she is going from bad to worse to HORRIBLE.
Much
of the comedy comes from ZaSu Pitts' rather mournful countenance, as she
watches Mary get deeper into trouble. But, Lombard holds her own
comedy-wise, as she flits from man to man, in search of her fortune. Of
particular note is a scene in which Mary decides to get rid of her
ill-gotten gains. Clearly, this is a film that
must have squeaked by the censors, for certainly Mary is a prostitute,
living with criminals, yet is not punished for it. Take a look at the
costuming in the movie - it has some marvelous dresses designed for
Lombard by Dolly Tree. Of particular note was a "mourning dress" that
she wears in the middle of the film. Take a look at this clip for a glimpse into the film:
