bkoganbing Shopworn was one of those films that was old fashioned immediately upon release. I doubt we'll see a remake of it. If it wasn't for Barbara Stanwyck no one would give it any notice.Stanwyck plays a poor but honest hash house waitress who attracts the attention of medical student Regis Toomey. Toomey is from proper society and he's tied rather neatly to mother Clara Blandick's apron strings. Blandick might well have been the inspiration for Jane Wyman's character in Falcon Crest, a troublesome meddler in people's lives who does it because she can. Nobody's cutting mom's apron strings on her darling boy.Really I'd have taken the money and run and had a clean conscience. I sure would have not wasted any more time on mama's boy Toomey. But Stanwyck doesn't and you have the rest of a soggy story.She was a great actress Barbara Stanwyck to make this drivel sound somewhat plausible. Zasu Pitts is strangely subdued as Stanwyck's best friend. Why the director kept her in check is a mystery, Pitts's eye fluttering antics might have added something desperately needed for this film.For Barbara Stanwyck fans only.

CJBx7 Barbara Stanwyck stars in SHOPWORN (1932) as Kitty Lane, a young woman who has to move to the city when her father dies after a work accident. She is taken in by her aunt Dot (ZaSu Pitts) and works in a diner frequented by college students who are always hitting on her. Unfairly, she acquires a reputation as an "easy" girl, and this complicates things when she falls in love with David (Regis Toomey), a wealthy young man whose selfish mother (Clara Blandick) will stop at nothing to prevent the two from marrying. The plot of SHOPWORN is standard melodrama – boy loves girl from "the wrong side of the tracks", the good girl with an undeserved bad reputation, the overly possessive mother, the uppity disapproving blue bloods, etc. As such, there are very few surprises here and the peripheral characters are very one-note. The ending is rather predictable. There is also a misunderstanding (based on a lie) between Kitty and David that causes them to separate for a long time, and Kitty finds success as an actress in an unlikely plot twist. It does have some pre-Code innuendos that I found rather surprising, especially when the college students at the diner hit on Kitty. There are some witty exchanges between Kitty and David that make the movie livelier in spots as well. The film is redeemed somewhat by the caliber of the performances. Barbara Stanwyck is always worth watching, and her charm, fire, wit and charisma help to bring some life to the rather cookie-cutter plot. Regis Toomey is good as David, sometimes a little cloying during the love scenes but effective when he defends his love and stands up to his mother. Clara Blandick plays the mother about as well as her character could have been played, revealing an unhappy, self-centered woman whose "love" for her son is mostly obsessive fixation and a desire to control him. The cinematography and editing are professional, if not outstanding, except for the first part where Kitty's father is killed as the result of an explosion. Overall, SHOPWORN isn't really a great movie, but fairly serviceable and not very long (1 hour 12 minutes). Worth seeing mostly for Barbara Stanwyck's performance. SCORE: 7/10

Michael_Elliott Shopworn (1932) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Barbara Stanwyck plays Kitty Lane, a poor waitress who one days meets David Livingston (Regis Toomey) who is of course rich and comes from a respectable family. The two fall in love and decide to get married but his rather evil mother (Clara Blandick) will stop at nothing to keep them apart. Thinking he has left her, Kitty goes out to make something of herself. SHOPWORN is pretty predictable from start to finish but the attractive cast makes the film worth sitting through and especially since it runs a very fast 68-minutes. There's no question that the screenplay could have used a little work because everything that happens seems rather predictable and unoriginal even for 1932 standards. The poor girl being looked down upon by rich people is something we've seen many times and there's really nothing new done with it here. Even what happens to the character after she becomes famous is pretty standard stuff. What keeps the film moving along so well are the performances and especially the one from Stanwyck. She delivers a really well rounded performance as she perfectly nails both the tough and tender side of the character. Toomey is also quite good as the love interest and there's no question that Blandick does a very good job as the snake-hissing villain. Zasu Pitts is wasted in a supporting role but she's got one funny scene towards the start of the picture. The ending is one you'll see coming from a mile away and at times it gets so silly that I couldn't help but laugh but there's still enough going on here to make it worth viewing.

sg9038 Stanwyck is angry, funny, and sweet in this movie. Also she's looks beautiful and doesn't wear much makeup. I never thought of her as a beauty before. The photography is great as well. The story is routine, but I saw it at a theater in San Franciso and the audience applauded enthusiastically afterwards. It was a surprise since all the reviews from the past said the movie was was below average. It had some great dialog, too. I don't think this movie is on TV video or DVD, but see it if you get a chance. Zasu Pitts acts like a human being and has a real role in this movie. At the end of the film, though, she becomes Stanwyck's assistant