There's a difference between sexual attraction and sexual compatibility insists the wealthy Ruth Chatterton, telling her husband's obvious mistress that in spite of the fact that she is keeping company with another man. It is obvious that these wealthy sex games are like toys for tots and that tragedy will certainly strike one of them. As far as pre-code movies go, this has the plot, if not the sass, of most of Warner Brothers' pictures of this era. What is lacking also is a sparkling cast with John Miljan as the husband, George Brent as the other man and Adrienne Dore as the vindictive other woman who gets a star for her bitchiness if not her cleverness.
Newcomer Bette Davis shows some spark as one of Brent's admirers and is allowed to be a bit more gracious for the most part than usual roles of this nature. Her character seems to go from being Chatterton's confidante to obsessed with Brent yet still standing on Chatterton's side when Dore begins to get too nasty. Missing from her performance is her usual clipped speech which is a refreshing change. But this is Chatterton's film all the way, and she eats up the scenery every chance she gets even though her character is lacking in the morality she seems to be demanding in everybody else. While Warner Brothers had its share of decent society dramas, Paramount (Chatterton's former home) did them better than any other studio so in comparison, this one seems a lot less substantial than the others and almost lifeless in comparison.
Newcomer Bette Davis shows some spark as one of Brent's admirers and is allowed to be a bit more gracious for the most part than usual roles of this nature. Her character seems to go from being Chatterton's confidante to obsessed with Brent yet still standing on Chatterton's side when Dore begins to get too nasty. Missing from her performance is her usual clipped speech which is a refreshing change. But this is Chatterton's film all the way, and she eats up the scenery every chance she gets even though her character is lacking in the morality she seems to be demanding in everybody else. While Warner Brothers had its share of decent society dramas, Paramount (Chatterton's former home) did them better than any other studio so in comparison, this one seems a lot less substantial than the others and almost lifeless in comparison.