For about the first third of the film, I wasn't unduly impressed by this film. However, as it continued, I found myself being drawn into it and was particularly intrigued by Bette Davis' great character. You see, at the beginning, she played a bit of a sap--and it was hard to care about her. But, as the film progressed, she grew in strength and this led to some wonderful scenes. So, if you sit down to see this one, hold on until the end--it surely gets much better as you watch.
When the film begins, Ian Hunter plays a man whose long-time girlfriend has just married another. So, he does what any reasonable man does--mope around and drink himself silly. However, with no end in sight to this self-destructive binge, a common working-class girl (Davis) comes to his rescue--keeping his from killing himself and giving him some needed stability. Now this, while interesting, also seemed highly unlikely. You see, Davis marries Hunter and agrees to make it sort of a "trial marriage". In other words, she'll leave as soon as he gets tired of her and wants to return to his high society friends. I said unlikely because Davis seemed almost too good--like a long-suffering martyr who was too perfect to be true.
Fortunately, into this odd marriage came some chaos to make it interesting. After a year of happy marriage, Hunter's old flame dumps her husband and comes panting after him like a dog chasing a pork chop! Now, is Davis to just sit back like this angel and let Hunter go or will she fight to save her man? This all leads to a few terrific scenes. I particularly loved Bette and her friend in the party-crashing scene as well as the big confrontation between her and Hunter towards the end. The emotion seemed much more real and I couldn't help but marvel at Miss Davis' talent--making this clearly one of her best early films before she skyrocketed to the top of her field.
In addition to a fine performance by Davis, the ill-fated actor Collin Clive (best known as 'Dr. Frankenstein' from the Universal films) is very good and plays a role very uncharacteristic of his usual roles.
Overall, a terrific love story that only improves the more you watch it. I just can't understand why this film isn't more famous.
When the film begins, Ian Hunter plays a man whose long-time girlfriend has just married another. So, he does what any reasonable man does--mope around and drink himself silly. However, with no end in sight to this self-destructive binge, a common working-class girl (Davis) comes to his rescue--keeping his from killing himself and giving him some needed stability. Now this, while interesting, also seemed highly unlikely. You see, Davis marries Hunter and agrees to make it sort of a "trial marriage". In other words, she'll leave as soon as he gets tired of her and wants to return to his high society friends. I said unlikely because Davis seemed almost too good--like a long-suffering martyr who was too perfect to be true.
Fortunately, into this odd marriage came some chaos to make it interesting. After a year of happy marriage, Hunter's old flame dumps her husband and comes panting after him like a dog chasing a pork chop! Now, is Davis to just sit back like this angel and let Hunter go or will she fight to save her man? This all leads to a few terrific scenes. I particularly loved Bette and her friend in the party-crashing scene as well as the big confrontation between her and Hunter towards the end. The emotion seemed much more real and I couldn't help but marvel at Miss Davis' talent--making this clearly one of her best early films before she skyrocketed to the top of her field.
In addition to a fine performance by Davis, the ill-fated actor Collin Clive (best known as 'Dr. Frankenstein' from the Universal films) is very good and plays a role very uncharacteristic of his usual roles.
Overall, a terrific love story that only improves the more you watch it. I just can't understand why this film isn't more famous.