Kay Francis stars in the melodrama "The House on 56th Street," also starring Gene Raymond, John Halliday, Ricardo Cortez, Margaret Lindsay, and Frank McHugh.
What a soaper. Francis plays a chorus girl, Peggy, who is being wooed by two men -- Monty van Tyle (Raymond) and the older Lyndon Fisk (Halliday). She marries van Tyle. They move into a beautiful house on Park Avenue and E. 56th Street in New York City. They have a daughter, named Eleanor, after Monty's mother.
So far, so good. Then Lyndon contacts her, begging to see her, as he's not a well man. Reluctantly she does visit. She rejects his advances, and he reaches for a gun to kill himself. They fight over the gun; it goes off, and Peggy goes to prison for 20 years.
While in prison, Monty dies in action during World War I. When she is released, she learns her mother-in-law left her a decent amount of money and assumed she was not going to contact her daughter. Peggy promises she is out of her daughter's life.
Peggy has an amazing makeover and goes on a cruise, looking for a fresh start. Her father was a gambler, and on the shop she meets Bill Blaine (Cortez), another card shark. She knows he's cheating and takes him to the cleaners. They fall in love and go to work in a speakeasy, running the gambling concession. The speakeasy happens to be located at the House on 56th Street.
Peggy hasn't come full circle yet; but she's about to.
Kay Francis is fabulous, giving a strong portrayal of a woman who has suffered a great deal, yet carries on. And as usual, her clothes are gorgeous. In fact, when Monty comes to see her in jail before they ship her off to the prison, she's in black with sequins.
I have to admit I'm fascinated by the type of woman Kay Francis played in the '30s - strong, independent, smart, and vulnerable. She was perfect for these roles, which later would be played by people like Barbara Stanwyck and Bette Davis.
What a soaper. Francis plays a chorus girl, Peggy, who is being wooed by two men -- Monty van Tyle (Raymond) and the older Lyndon Fisk (Halliday). She marries van Tyle. They move into a beautiful house on Park Avenue and E. 56th Street in New York City. They have a daughter, named Eleanor, after Monty's mother.
So far, so good. Then Lyndon contacts her, begging to see her, as he's not a well man. Reluctantly she does visit. She rejects his advances, and he reaches for a gun to kill himself. They fight over the gun; it goes off, and Peggy goes to prison for 20 years.
While in prison, Monty dies in action during World War I. When she is released, she learns her mother-in-law left her a decent amount of money and assumed she was not going to contact her daughter. Peggy promises she is out of her daughter's life.
Peggy has an amazing makeover and goes on a cruise, looking for a fresh start. Her father was a gambler, and on the shop she meets Bill Blaine (Cortez), another card shark. She knows he's cheating and takes him to the cleaners. They fall in love and go to work in a speakeasy, running the gambling concession. The speakeasy happens to be located at the House on 56th Street.
Peggy hasn't come full circle yet; but she's about to.
Kay Francis is fabulous, giving a strong portrayal of a woman who has suffered a great deal, yet carries on. And as usual, her clothes are gorgeous. In fact, when Monty comes to see her in jail before they ship her off to the prison, she's in black with sequins.
I have to admit I'm fascinated by the type of woman Kay Francis played in the '30s - strong, independent, smart, and vulnerable. She was perfect for these roles, which later would be played by people like Barbara Stanwyck and Bette Davis.