This pre-Code film about the hypocrisy of small town life manages to deviate somewhat from it's conventional outline due to a surprisingly liberated lead character and convincing performances by the three principal stars. Nancy Carroll plays a rather independent young woman who is unfairly given a bad reputation around her hometown, which embarrasses her parents and even endangers her "rebound" engagement with one of her lifelong acquaintances, played by the very hunky Randolph Scott. Both Carroll and Scott are perfectly cast and play their roles flawlessly (Carroll, in particular, expertly handles some difficult scenes), but picture is stolen somewhat by a young Cary Grant as the third point of the love triangle. In what is largely considered his first leading role, Grant is already a sexy, charismatic presence in this film and I defy anyone to try taking their eyes off of him whenever he's on screen.
From a historical perspective, HOT Saturday is also highly interesting due to it's fair amount of surprisingly racy moments; the likes of which wouldn't be seen again in Hollywood until the late-sixties. The highlight is when Carroll forcibly yanks off Rose Coghlan's underwear, and there is even a later illusion to bondage when Carroll appears in gauntlet cuffs. The film also features a surprisingly free-wheeling nature that is uncharacteristic of the era; Carroll's character Ruth is woman who basically embraces her negative reputation and manages to find a degree of liberation in the process, a theme that wouldn't become very popular in movies until nearly four decades later. All of this, in addition to the combustible chemistry between Carroll, Grant, and Scott, render HOT Saturday as a delightfully unconventional film of it's era.
From a historical perspective, HOT Saturday is also highly interesting due to it's fair amount of surprisingly racy moments; the likes of which wouldn't be seen again in Hollywood until the late-sixties. The highlight is when Carroll forcibly yanks off Rose Coghlan's underwear, and there is even a later illusion to bondage when Carroll appears in gauntlet cuffs. The film also features a surprisingly free-wheeling nature that is uncharacteristic of the era; Carroll's character Ruth is woman who basically embraces her negative reputation and manages to find a degree of liberation in the process, a theme that wouldn't become very popular in movies until nearly four decades later. All of this, in addition to the combustible chemistry between Carroll, Grant, and Scott, render HOT Saturday as a delightfully unconventional film of it's era.