The Greeks Had a Word for Them (1932)

Sophisticated comedy: a trio of money hungry women who all have sugar daddies who keep them in the lap of luxury, even as they drive the men crazy. Each woman represents a different ... See full summary »

Director:

Lowell Sherman

Writers:

Zoe Akins (play), Sidney Howard (adaptation)

Stars:

Joan Blondell, Madge Evans, Ina Claire

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joan Blondell	...	Schatzi Sutro
Madge Evans	...	Polaire Quinn
Ina Claire	...	Jean Lawrence
David Manners	...	Dey Emery
Lowell Sherman	...	Boris Feldman
Phillips Smalley	...	Justin Emery
Sidney Bracey	...	The Waiter

Storyline

Sophisticated comedy: a trio of money hungry women who all have sugar daddies who keep them in the lap of luxury, even as they drive the men crazy. Each woman represents a different personality type, from sensitive, to kind-hearted, to difficult and untrustworthy. Set in the age of jazz, the twenties come roaring back with immorality and in-fighting.

---

Plot Keywords:

gold digger | based on play

---

Taglines:

No metal could touch them but gold...

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 February 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Greeks Had a Word for It

Filming Locations:

Samuel Goldwyn Studios - 7200 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The, Feature Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The failure of the original copyright holder to renew the film's copyright resulted in it falling into public domain, meaning that virtually anyone could duplicate and sell a VHS/DVD copy of the film. Therefore, many of the versions of this film available on the market are either severely (and usually badly) edited and/or of extremely poor quality, having been duped from second- or third-generation (or more) copies of the film.

---

Quotes

Jean Lawrence: A speakeasy that closes at two o'clock is practically a tea room!

---

Connections

Spoofed in The Greeks Had No Word for Them (1932)

User Reviews

A Girl-Girl-Girl Picture - Ask Me No Questions and I'll Tell You No Lies

I saw this on a Mill Creek DVD collection of 50 comedies. As with most cheap Mill Creek public domain film collections, the print was not in great shape. The black and white was muddy and the sound squeaky. I hope some one will release a good print on DVD some day.

I won't repeat what other reviewers have said about the plot. Although it is jumpy and confusing, one does have to give it credit for being fast-paced, original and surprising.

Joan Blondell and Ina Claire do a good job of providing the comedy. Madge Evans is really the straight woman here. She is quite beautiful and glamorous and manages to steal the picture.

Besides these three women actresses, the movie has a lot of witty lies and a nice air of frivolity to it. There are some nice, subtle innuendos here and you do have to pay attention to catch the cleverness of the script.

This is a solid woman's picture from 1932 and there really weren't that many made.

If you have to watch the Mill Creek print, turn up the volume a bit.