Young Bride (1932)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

William A. Seiter

Writers:

Hugh Stanislaus Stange (play)
Garrett Fort (screenplay)

Release Date:

8 April 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Pregnancy | Christmas | Drunkenness | Dice Game | Policeman

Cast

Helen Twelvetrees	...	Allie Smith Riggs
Eric Linden	...	Charlie Riggs
Arline Judge	...	Maisie
Roscoe Ates	...	Mike, the Pool Room Bartender
Polly Walters	...	Daisy
Blanche Friderici	...	Miss Margaret Gordon, the Librarian (as Blanche Frederici)
Cliff Edwards	...	Pete
Allen Fox	...	Skeets
Edwin Maxwell	...	The Doctor
Walter Percival	...	Master of Ceremonies at Dance Palace
Phyllis Crane	...	The Taxi Dancer
Edmund Breese	...	Mr. C. B. Chadwick, the Broker
Harry Stubbs	...	Mr. Perlman, the Promoter (as Harry O. Stubbs)

Also Known As:

Love Starved (USA) (original script title)
Veneer (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

76 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

RKO Pathé Pictures

Trivia:

The play opened in New York City, New York, USA on 12 November 1929 and had 31 performances.

Quotes:

Charlie Riggs: I hope you're a good dancer.
Maisie: Say, dancin's my business.
Charlie Riggs: Ever mix business with pleasure?
Maisie: What's your idea of pleasure?
Charlie Riggs: What's yours?
Maisie: [Doing a little shimmy in place] Boop-boop-a-doop!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The American Experience: The Battle Over Citizen Kane (#8.7)" (1996)

Soundtrack:

Whispering

Eric Linden is Wonderful

Young Bride is a simple story, a wonderful pre-code starring two who excelled during the time period. Allie (Helen Twelvetrees) is a recluse who spends all her time in her tiny apartment or at the library where she works. Her dancehall friend Daisy (Polly Walters) occasionally tries to drag her out for a date, but she refuses anything besides having dinner. One night, she's fixed up with a boastful but attractive man named Charlie (Eric Linden) who puts as many pick up lines over on her as he can in hopes of catching her attention. Allie isn't so easily fooled and refuses a date after dinner. However, she eventually comes around and soon the two are found lying together in the dark. In order to save her reputation, Charlie marries her and the two begin a difficult life together, constantly put at risk due to Charlie's "get rich quick" schemes and refusal to accept honest work.

Charlie is exceptionally played; Linden is a wonderful actor who knows just how much to let the audience in on. He certainly captures that attractive but dangerous larger-than-life personality that almost always ends up in the gutter. What is interesting is that he doesn't necessarily let the audience in on whether he loves Allie or not, adding to the drama of the events. The ending clears up the confusion and provides a satisfying ending.

Twelvetrees is a very beautiful woman and plays her part with subtlety and frailty. She seems so delicate even though her character is so strong. Also in the cast is singer Cliff Edwards as a friend of Charlie's.