No More Orchids (1932) User Reviews

Orchids To All

[HarlowMGM · 7/10 · 9 August 2010]

NO MORE ORCHIDS is just a little programmer movie but it's an incredibly elegant one. Columbia studios in the early 1930's was thought of as something as a poverty row studio yet this film looks as slick and expensive as any potboiler the more uptown MGM or Paramount might have produced.

Carole Lombard stars as a spoiled society girl who is engaged to a prince in a marriage arranged by her controlling grandfather C. Aubrey Smith. On the ocean-liner back to America, she falls in love with white collar worker Lyle Talbot (who in her pampered world qualifies as "penniless") and eventually breaks his cool barrier. Lombard's pal of a dad, Walter Connally, and paternal grandmother Louise Closser Hale are crazy about Talbot but mean old grandpa Smith is not about to let his plans fall through, having seen his own late daughter marry "beneath" her.

Carole Lombard is superb as the frivolous but good-hearted socialite and she surprisingly is matched by Lyle Talbot, one of the era's reliable but usually bland leading men; in this picture, Talbot exhibits a sex appeal seldom tapped in the scores of bread-and-butter pictures he cranked out. Connally is very good in one of his first movie roles as father to a screwball romantic comedy queen (although this picture ventures more toward soap opera "women's picture" despite some nice comedy bits). Talented character player Louise Closser Hale seems a bit miscast, she's a bit too cutesy and lacks the saltiness a May Robson might have brought to the part. Smith essays a rare villainous part in a rather brief but pivotal role. Ruthelma Stevens and the very cute Allen Stevens have the only other somewhat featured parts as two of Lombard's good-time buddies in the society crowd; these small parts are among the larger ones for each of them, as they generally played bits.

Lombard is so strikingly beautiful and assured in her performance here it's hard to believe she was little more than a starlet at the time and not yet a major Hollywood star. She is sensationally photographed, although one scene makes her facial scar from an early car wreck more visible than I've ever seen it in one of her films. NO MORE ORCHIDS is just another Hollywood movie but it moves quickly and smoothly and is well worth your time if you love films from the 1930's.

Great Cast

[boblipton · 7/10 · 21 October 2008]

A wonderful cast of supporting character actors enlivens a soap opera about how Carole Lombard falls in love with reverse-snob Lyle Talbot and thwarts the plans of her grandfather -- played by the wonderful C. Aubrey Smith -- to marry his family into European royalty. In the meantime her father -- played by Walter Connolly -- is about to see his bank fail.

It seems apparent that the novel on which this book is based is a lot more complex than this movie. The dialogue is competent, but not great, and people tend to play types rather than individuals. But while this is not a great movie, the wonderful players make it far more enjoyable than anyone would expect it to be. Even Lyle Talbot, usually confined to a simple juvenile lead at his home base of Warner Brothers in this period, is excellent, if a tad declamatory.

"I beat women who tidy bureau drawers."

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 12 August 2014]

Spoiled rich girl (Carole Lombard) falls in love with poor boy (Lyle Talbot). But her father's financial troubles may force her to marry a wealthy prince. Pre-Code soaper features a scene of Carole Lombard in her underwear, which is as good a selling point as any. Carole's good in this and, of course, beautiful. Talbot does okay. Nice supporting cast. Louise Closser Hale is great as Carole's grandmother, Walter Connolly her extremely likable father, and C. Aubrey Smith fine in a villainous role. Enjoyable enough. It's not a bad movie of its type. Helps if you're a big fan of Lombard. The ending seems silly on paper but was surprisingly effective.

nice Lombard precode

[blanche-2 · 2 October 2011]

Carole Lombard is spoiled heiress Annie Holt - in the '30s, it seems like everyone was writing about spoiled heiresses. Anyway, she's engaged to a prince, but while on a cruise, she falls for Tony Gage (Lyle Talbot). He has no money, isn't impressed by hers, and pays no attention to her. He ultimately tells her that her values are shallow and he doesn't respect her. Lombard cleans up her act and the two fall in love.

This is a bit of a sticky wicket - Annie's father (Walter Connolly) is in financial trouble and is planning on this marriage to help him out. And Annie's grandfather (C. Aubrey Smith), who set up this royal marriage, is looking forward to it as well. Put it this way - if she doesn't marry this guy, daddy's going to jail.

Good movie because of the wonderful cast, though the ending is a little bit of a downer. Lombard is gorgeous. She was a gal who could really turn a phrase. I wish that I could have met Lyle Talbot when he was alive - in a 56 year film career, he worked with everyone. The stories he could have told of his experiences in film, on stage, and on TV, where he did two series at one time.

Walter Connolly was a wonderful and sympathetic actor who died way too young, but he certainly made his mark. C. Aubrey Smith did an excellent job being mean as dirt, and Louise Closser Hale did a good job as the no-holds-barred grandmother.

A good film to watch but sad, too, to think that Lombard died so young. She was a true star, beautiful, radiant, funny, warm, and above all, an excellent actress. Always worth watching.

A very well made emotionally literate tragi-comedy

[1930s_Time_Machine · 6/10 · 17 May 2023]

Grace Perkins, the author of this story also wrote MY PAST and NIGHT NURSE which were both big impact, big juicy dramas for Warner Bothers around this time as well. This picture has that same strong narrative, a well-crafted sense of direction and an empathy with the charismatic leads. The characters feel like real people, they work well together and develop together. When however you stand back and look at the family to which Carole Lombard's character belongs you have to admit that such a family could only ever exist in fiction, they are a little ridiculous but because they're acted so well with such authenticity, you've abandoned your sense of reality ages ago. One of the reasons it all seems so believable is because for the first half of the film it's a kind of light comedy and the way your mind accepts such something like that is less critical than if it were a tough drama. By the time the film switches from comedy to tragedy (or rather something a bit more dramatic) your mind is fully engaged; a common but still clever little trick.

In essence, it's about a rebellious young heiress (yes, another one!) who rather unsurprisingly falls for the wrong guy (yes, it is that predictable). That's how the film hooks you in, using a familiar story peppered with good witty writing and convincing performances. About half way through it starts to get down to business but still retains that lightness and humour - mainly down to the Granma (played by Louise Closer Hale) who is brilliant...... and so is Walter Connolly (was it in his contract that every father in every Columbia picture of the early 30s had to be played by him?) and so is Carole Lombard (genuinely funny and lovely without doing all that annoying screeching she did in her later films). They're all so good - they're 'proper actors!' And I know I left Lyle Talbot out of that list..... he's not a bad actor he's just incredibly dull. Why would someone as bubbly and vivacious as Carole Lombard's Annie fall for the dullest man in America?

In summary, this is a really worthwhile way to spend an hour and a half if you enjoy a better than average early thirties drama with a splash of comedy thrown in. It's made by Columbia which was not known for its extravagant production budgets but this one feels as classy as anything MGM might have made. It's not got a deep message, it isn't one of those a Warner Brothers/Zanuck movies that will make you angry and want to change the world but it's engaging and good fun.

Nice try, Carole

[marcslope · 6/10 · 7 October 2010]

Rather schizophrenic comedy-drama from post-Prohibition but pre-Hays Code, meaning Carole Lombard gets to strut around in her flimsies, make prurient wisecracks, and be not the least timid about getting what she wants. She's a rich girl with a bumbling banker dad (Walter Connolly, playing virtually the same role as a year later in "It Happened One Night") and an aren't-I-adorable grandma (Louise Closser Hale, trying to be May Robson) who falls for unrich Lyle Talbot (a perfectly OK leading man, who looks a bit like the pre-mustachioed Gable, and has some of the Gable swagger). Why her awful grandpa would insist on her marrying somebody else isn't clear, nor is it clear why the sacrifice at the end makes everything all right. But ignore the plot and enjoy the ribald ripostes, and, especially, Carole looking gorgeous and wriggling around with great vivacity. She has star quality, but beyond that, she's a real actress, and you'll notice how carefully she's building and sustaining a not-always-likable character. Fine work.

Only, and I mean ONLY for Lombard

[lvovacampos · 6/10 · 13 September 2021]

Ok, listen Talbot is good too, and although I hate seeing my 30s films with too much screen time for old dudes and grandmas, Lombard was so sexy, witty and hot that it is definitely worth checking out.

Solid acting--solid writing

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 7 November 2010]

I liked this film mostly because the cast was at their best and the story exceptional. But when the film began, it looked like a bit of fluff--fortunately I stuck with it.

The film begins with a spoiled young lady (Carole Lombard) demonstrating that she is indeed spoiled--as she makes an entire cruise ship wait until she feels like arriving. After all, she's rich and the family owns the cruise line. She soon meets a young man (Lyle Talbot) who is not at all impressed by her money or looks and this intrigues her. Yet, after trying repeatedly to get his attention, he continues to ignore her. Finally, he admits he's attracted but wants nothing to do with her because of her screwed up values. But, while at first she wants him only because he is unobtainable, eventually they both fall in love and she agrees to settle down to a conventional life with him--no more party-girl.

All looks good--especially since her father (Walter Connolly) and grandmother (Louise Closser Hale) like this man and think he's a good match. However, her rich grandfather (C. Aubry Smith--who controls the family fortune) is NOT impressed, as he picked out a member of some royalty for her--and he could care less if she likes this royal twit or not--she MUST marry this royal twit!! And he informs her that she WILL do as he says or he'll have her father (his son-in-law) jailed for mismanaging the family's bank. The father is a nice guy but clearly doesn't have a head for business--plus it looks like grandpa pulled some strings to insure the bank will fail. The only way out is for Carole to spurn Lyle's love and marry the twit--then her father can avoid the pokey! But Connolly learns about this threat and is determined to see her happy--regardless what happens to him--leading to a dandy finale.

The film really worked well because of the great supporting cast--though of course Talbot and Lombard were excellent. Walter Connolly is wonderful as always--too bad he died so young. And while Louise Closser Hale is not exactly a household name, she was magnificent as the feisty grandma. As for Smith, he was great as the stern grandfather (much like the guy he played in "Little Lord Fauntleroy") but was simply overshadowed by Connolly and Hale--no small feat, as Smith was a dandy actor himself.

I also loved the film because it at first looked rather shallow and vacuous--as Lombard played such an unlikable lady. However, instead of things magically working out, her settling down seemed reasonable and Talbot stuck to his guns--he was not willing to marry someone he could not respect. I liked this, but what I loved was the ending. In some ways, it was expected but the bittersweet tone the writer worked out made the film much deeper and memorable than just having the two leads marry and live happily ever after. Well worth seeing.

Reality hits her hard and soon

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 20 June 2019]

Carole Lombard was loaned from Paramount to Columbia to star in No More Orchids in which she plays a spoiled heiress, not unlike the one she played in her later classic My Man Godfrey.

She lives pretty high on the hog, but the pig is about to be slain as this is the Great Depression and the bank that her father Walter Connolly heads is about to go belly up. Her grandfather C. Aubrey Smith does not like his son-in-law.

But he does like his granddaughter and he wants Lombard to marry some empty suit with a title. He fancies being in-laws to nobility. He's got the empty suit picked out. but Lombard wants to marry lawyer Lyle Talbot.

In the end it's Connolly who makes the sacrifice so that Lombard can live her life with whom she loves. Won't say how.

Good performances all around. The revelation here is C. Aubrey Smith who usually plays stern but upstanding upper crust types is a real no good in this one. Good but way off type for him.

Almost One of the Best!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 19 August 2012]

Who once said that Walter Lang was a ruthlessly routine director? Me! But that was before I saw some of his early work, made before his journeyman days at 20th Century Fox. Another classic example of an "almost best", "No More Orchids" is absolutely brilliant, almost right up to its fade-out. That, alas, is where the movie seriously comes to grief. The writers paint themselves into a corner from which there is no escape. A pity! Almost to the end title, the writing is first-class, the dialogue catchy, the principal characterizations brilliant. In fact, even some of the minor roles – the callow prince, for instance – are indelibly etched. Before it comes to grief just sixty seconds from the fade-out, the punchy plot itself – unrelentingly served up by C. Aubrey Smith who, for a change of pace, enacts a really nasty villain in this one – is totally captivating and intriguing. Given a script of this class and a sympathetic director, the players cannot help but be charismatic. In fact, Lyle Talbot gives a really engaging performance here – one that he never bettered in his entire career. Carole Lombard is also at the very top of her form. So are Walter Connolly, Louise Closser Hale and the aforesaid C. Aubrey Smith. Production values are superb. The movie often looks as if it were lensed on an extraordinarily lavish budget that allowed for enormously lavish sets, attractive costumes, hordes of extras

glad i didn't turn it off

[HandsomeBen · 4/10 · 1 January 2024]

One of those movies that seemed to have a predictable ending so i almost turned it off because i grew bored of the story. The storyline revolving around the character bill and him butting heads with cedric over money was the most intriguing part of the movie. If it wasn't for that i would have given up completely, and it would have been another generic romantic drama, although without this romantic drama, the character bill would not have had as much of an impact. This story took a dark turn towards the end, and the film won me over. Getting into spoilers, i was hoping bill would fake his own death, since he mentioned he would be at the wedding, but sadly no.

Well-made, worth seeing

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 10 August 2014]

This is one of Carole Lombard's best early films. It goes a long way to sort of proving that it was Harry Cohn and Columbia Pictures, not the actress's home studio Paramount, that gave her the chance to shine most. The casting in this picture is flawless-- Lyle Talbot turns in a surprisingly good performance as the romantic interest and generates a lot of chemistry with Lombard; C. Aubrey Smith is letter-perfect in his villainous role as the tyrannical grandfather; and both Louise Closser Hale as the charming grandmother and Walter Connolly as the financially- troubled father give the story its heart and soul. Even the smaller roles (the catty rival, and the European prince) are filled by capable performers. But it's the story that captivates the viewer. An opposites-attract romance, it combines elements of comedy and melodrama, moves briskly and is very entertaining. For a product from a then-poverty row studio, this Columbia Pictures release is as sharp and polished as anything that came out of MGM or Paramount at this time. Highly recommended and worth seeing!

"No More Orchids" Hands Us a Memorable Film!

[glennstenb · 8/10 · 25 March 2022]

"No More Orchids" is a pleasure to watch, mainly for seeing Carole Lombard in another role as she continued to climb into the star she would soon become, and to see Lyle Talbot in a well-handled role where he was given ample screen time and in a role that didn't make him suspect or heel-like. Since I was a kid I have had an interest in Talbot's old movie appearances, which stemmed from my having known him so well from his being the innocently gruff and lovingly manipulative neighbor Joe Randolph in the "Ozzie and Harriett" adventures from the late 1950's and early 1960's.

I liked very much the direction and stage setups and the lovingly-lit and thoughtful photography afforded Ms. Lombard. I was impressed during a recent viewing of "Lady by Choice" (1934) where the director never lost a chance to require the audience to gaze at Lombard's figure, especially when she would walk away from the camera. In this film her undressing scene, although brief, is quite suggestive; it becomes even more than that if and when one slows down to half speed the motion of her body stepping into her silken robe.

The route the film is taking us is pretty obvious from fairly early on, but for me the ending of "No More Orchids" was over the top and just went needlessly too far. I was hoping the last scene would have simply shown the airplane floating off into the horizon, maybe after a peek at Connally's knowingly satisfied expression. That would have been sufficient and a bit more poetic and artistic.

The movie audiences of the early 1930's must have really sopped up the idea of a wealthy Depression-era victims of financial trouble getting their just desserts, as there were certainly plenty of movies like that. But at least in this film, someone cashed in all of his chips for something more than just selfish reasons. "No More Orchids" should certainly be seen by pre-code film fans, fans of Carole Lombard, and fans of many others in the cast, particularly Lyle Talbot and C. Aubrey Smith. It is a very good film.

I'm Not a Believer

[view_and_review · 2/10 · 12 February 2024]

Anne Holt (Carole Lombard) was a spoiled rich girl who fell in love with a middle class lawyer of strong character and I don't believe it.

I'm not a believer.

She wasn't in love; nor was Constance Cummings in "Night After Night," or Miriam Hopkins in "Fast and Loose," or Dorothy Mackaill in "Kept Husbands," or Jean Harlow in "Platinum Blonde" or, again, Carole Lombard in "I Take This Woman." No, in all of these cases the woman was either intrigued and excited by something different, or they wanted what it looked like they couldn't have, and they all called it love.

"Kept Husbands" (1931) was the most identical to "No More Orchids" (NMO). In "Kept Husbands" Dorothy Mackaill's character was a spoiled rich girl who always got what she wanted and she wanted Joel McCrea, a man with too much integrity to go for a rich brat like Dorothy.

In NMO Anne Holt is a spoiled rich girl who gets everything she wants and she wanted Tony Gage (Lyle Talbot), a man with too much sense to be Anne's plaything which made her want him more. And like Dorothy in "Kept Husbands," Anne got her man--even though there was some additional drama.

The thing about NMO for me is that it's just another high society romance movie. There were soooooo many of them in the '30's they all start to blend together. What makes NMO special? What distinguishes it? Nothing really. Carole Lombard was OK and Lyle Talbot held his own, but the characters were weak.

A Movie That Deserves a Bigger Crowd

[Michael_Elliott · 19 November 2010]

No More Orchids (1932)

*** (out of 4)

Interesting, if a tad bit strange, drama about a rich brat (Carole Lombard) who falls in love with an average guy (Lyle Talbot) but her greedy grandfather (C. Aubrey Smith) forces her to marry a rich Prince so that her father will be saved from his debt. NO MORE ORCHIDS isn't a very well known film and even fans of Lombard seems to have never seen it. That's a shame because it turned out to be a pretty good gem even if the final ten-minutes are extremely bizarre and in the end they really don't work. The film benefits from a very strong screenplay as well as some strong performances. The actual story of this thing is the type of melodrama that had been going on throughout the silent era and would continue throughout the 30s as we have the bad girl falling for a good guy only to be forced into the arms of someone else. What makes it seem so fresh and original here is that the screenplay is smart enough to actually make for some nice dialogue scenes where everything plays out in a believable fashion. This includes several scenes of Lombard having to really think through her decision and this makes for some very good drama. The screenplay is smart enough to make her character more than just a single note and the viewer certainly benefits from this. Lombard does a very good job as she was perfectly capable of playing the brat side of this woman but we also believe her when the character slowly starts to change due to her feelings for Talbot. As for Talbot, he too turns in another winning performance as does Walter Connolly as the father and Louise Closser Hale nearly steals the film as the fast-talking grandma. Smith turns in his typical fine performance as well. Fans of pre-code will be happy to see some rather risky dialogue about Lombard not being a virgin and we even get a sequence where she takes her rob off and is standing around in her bra and panties. Not too shocking in today's age but this was 1932 after all. The film takes a rather obvious twist towards the end and I think what the father does, which I won't ruin, doesn't work at all. The screenplay tries to milk this sequence for everything it's worth but I felt it fell flat on its face and didn't pack the punch it was going for. Even so, NO MORE ORCHIDS is still a fine little film that deserves to be seen by more.