Honor Among Lovers (1931)

Director:

Dorothy Arzner

Writers:

Austin Parker (screenplay)
Austin Parker (story)

Release Date:

21 March 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Fredric March, a businessman, is in love with his secretary (Claudette Colbert) but she deserts him for another man; when she realizes her mistake...

Plot Keywords:

Secretary | Girlfriend | Affair | Beautiful Woman

Cast

Claudette Colbert	...	Julia Traynor
Fredric March	...	Jerry Stafford
Monroe Owsley	...	Philip Craig
Charles Ruggles	...	Monty Dunn
Ginger Rogers	...	Doris Brown
Avonne Taylor	...	Maybelle Worthington
Pat O'Brien	...	Conroy
Janet McLeary	...	Margaret Newton
John Kearney	...	Inspector
Ralph Morgan	...	Riggs
Jules Epailly	...	Louis, Headwaiter
Leonard Carey	...	Forbes, Butler
Grace Kern	...	Party Guest
Winifred Harris	...	Party Guest
Roberta Beatty	...	Mrs. Fleming, Party Guest

Also Known As:

Another Man's Wife (USA) (working title)
Sex in Business (USA) (working title)
Strictly Business (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Movie Connections:

Version of Paid in Full (1914)

Marvelous acting - ponderous plot

Another ponderous example of Arzner's apparent disdain for men and marriage. (Either good men turn bad or bad men reform only through the love of a good woman.) The film does contain a few, as Billy Wilder would say, "drop the popcorn bag" moments, to its credit; but overall, it's a dark, unimaginative story, painted with the very broad strokes and heavy hand of the director.

A virtue, since Pre-Code, it treats illicit love and extra-marital affairs with a refreshing boldness; yet pre-1960s, it manages to retain that "Golden Era" emphasis on romance to the extent that its plot allows.

But the acting here is the redeeming feature. Claudette Colbert, true to form, quietly smolders as a private secretary-cum-wife caught between the romantic propositions of two businessmen. Fredric March is surprisingly convincing as both a jilted playboy and the turned-better hero. One of the most fantastic pieces of acting I've seen involves a scene between them, where married Colbert again rejects -- though with great desire to do otherwise -- his now-honorable, but extra-marital advances. The film is worth seeing just for this scene.

The supporting cast ranges widely. Owsley delivers a snicker-worthy portrayal of the "other man", but Charlie Ruggles and Ginger Rogers take in his supporting slack with hilarious style.