The Easiest Way (1931)

Director:

Jack Conway

Writers:

Edith Ellis (adaptation)
Eugene Walter (play)

Release Date:

7 February 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Growing up in a poor working-class family, Laura decides not to marry the boy-next-door and instead accepts wealthy...

Plot Keywords:

Male Female Relationship | Family Relationships | Billiards | Christmas | Colorado

Cast

Constance Bennett	...	Laura 'Lolly' Murdock
Adolphe Menjou	...	William 'Will' Brockton
Robert Montgomery	...	Jack 'Johnny' Madison
Anita Page	...	Peg Murdock Feliki
Marjorie Rambeau	...	Elfie St. Clair, Brockton Model
J. Farrell MacDonald	...	Ben Murdock
Clara Blandick	...	Agnes 'Aggie' Murdock
Clark Gable	...	Nick Feliki, Laundryman

Runtime:

73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The original play opened in New York on 19 December 1909.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Easiest Way (1917)

Soundtrack:

Jingle Bells

Constance Bennett plays a shopgirl who finds an easier way...

Pre-code films are always fun to watch although they do seem primitive by today's standards. But as a measure of what Hollywood was able to do despite film censorship that had to downplay the more censorable aspects of the original story, this is pretty risqué for its time.

Bennett, of course, was the Joan Crawford of her era, always playing a put upon heroine in sob stories that never had too much credibility. Here she pines for Robert Montgomery (singularly lacking in the big romantic star department, even then), while her disapproving brother-in-law (Clark Gable in an early role), frowns on her unorthodox behavior as a kept woman (Adolphe Menjou is the rich sugar daddy).

Enjoyable only as a relic. Bennett does a passable job, no more, her false eyelashes and peroxide blonde hair making her look a little harsh under those kleig lights. But the most natural performance, as well as the most charisma, is clearly Clark Gable's. He comes across as a handsome newcomer who steals a scene by his mere presence. He has the final Christmas scene with Bennett, and it's a touching one.

He would later become the big romantic male star that Robert Montgomery failed to develop into.