marcslope Adapted from, and probably not that different from, a Rachel Crothers stage play of the previous season, this marital trifle wants to be a sophisticated comedy, but isn't that comedic and isn't that sophisticated. The tale of a writer (Loy) pursued by a playboy (Montgomery) but having an affair with her publisher (Morgan) in front of his wife (Harding)'s eyes, it's agreeably pre-Code in that there's much unapologetic drinking and much fairly frank discussion of adultery, but the jokes are mostly variations on somebody's-in-bed-with-somebody-they-shouldn't-be-in-bed-with, and Alice Brady, as the ditsy socialite meddling in everybody's affairs, is one-note, the same note she plied in many similar performances. We're supposed to root for Montgomery, but he's rather smirky, and Loy, while beautiful and accomplished, is a little hard to believe as having the wit and thoughtfulness to pen one bestseller after another. Harding's intelligent and feminine, as always, but she's played this part before and isn't adding anything new to it. It's stagy and static (and where, oh where, did they get the idea that that's what a Lower East Side apartment would look like?), and the ending's unsatisfyingly ambiguous--so, do they end up together or don't they? Not that one cares much.

moonspinner55 1933 comedy isn't too creaky, despite its age. Droll adaptation (the first of two) of Rachel Crothers' play about a female writer who has penned a fictional account of an affair she had with a married man, later unknowingly befriending the jilted wife at a dinner party. Some very tart lines and smart performances by Ann Harding, Myrna Loy and Frank Morgan, but the direction (reportedly troubled) is somewhat sluggish. Robert Montgomery is an acting casualty, and the 85-minute film takes a good 45 minutes to warm up. Later remade in 1941 with Joan Crawford, and perhaps was the starting point for Allan Burns and Mary Tyler Moore's "Just Between Friends". ** from ****

overseer-3 I was so prepared to fall in love with this film, after hearing glowing remarks about it from other people. So I sat down to watch, expecting a real precode treat, and what I saw was a very unrealistic and rather silly scenario of two women appearing to like each other, one who is married and has children (Ann Harding) by the other lady's publisher (Frank Morgan), while he conducts a secret affair with the writer (Myrna Loy). Sound complicated and sleazy already? You're starting to get the picture.Bob Montgomery plays a real airhead here and I had no patience with him. He is in love with the Myrna Loy writer character who is having the affair with the married man, and is low down enough to bring the publisher's unsuspecting wife to the trysting place of her husband and his paramour, knowing that eventually there will be a major confrontation and people he supposedly likes will be hurt. I usually love Bob Montgomery, but he really tried my patience here with this character. He behaves like a spoiled kid who whines because he can't have a lollipop he's always wanted. I also usually love Myrna Loy, but her character here was an idiot. I kept talking to her through the screen, "Wake up! You know you don't really believe all this 'live and let live' nonsense you're spouting." (Yes, I know, I'm losing it, talking to dead actors on a screen, but hey, it takes all kinds to make a world). ;)Ann Harding was the only one who showed some dignity in this story, and I enjoyed her performance. One wonders how her character was so stupid to marry this publisher in the first place though.Comic relief was also supplied by fruitcake Alice Brady and her ever-present, obvious lover, the piano player Walter (played delightfully by an actor named Martin Burton, who had me giggling like crazy; would love to see more of his work).7 out of 10.

Kalaman I had a blast watching this sparkling and affable MGM classic - the first and best adaptation of Crothers' luridly sophisticated play, beautifully shot in black and white with some stylish Cedric Gibbons art direction. Elegant and effervescent, this pre-Code film is a triumph of casting: Myrna Loy, Ann Harding, Robert Montgomery, Alice Brady, and Frank Morgan all in top form. Loy is surprisingly enjoyable as the lady novelist Mary who is deeply in love with the publisher Rodge (Morgan). I agree Ann Harding steals the show; she never looked beautiful and radiant as the wife of the publisher. Alice Brady is a revelation as the whimsical society matron Bridget. The film sometimes feels too gabby but it is aided by the stars' charisma and a tremendously witty dialogue.