This Fox melodrama is about the ups and downs of a married couple's life. The two spouses (Warner Baxter & Myrna Loy) seem to experience less ups and more downs than other couples do. The story starts with a flashback to the day they were wed back in 1925. We can guess that the next ten years of this union will be filled with considerable heartbreak and other problems.
The biggest problem is in how they take their relationship for granted. Baxter's character is a successful architect who places more value in the money he makes at his prestigious design firm than he does in being a decent husband to his wife. Loy is a stay-at-home type who places more value in standing by her man, no matter what, than she does in herself. They both feel that as long as they can keep up appearances with family, friends and business acquaintances, they have a 'good' marriage. But at every turn, the relationship is falling apart.
Baxter and Loy had already made several other hit films. This would be their final screen collaboration. Previous entries included a horse racing drama with Frank Capra at Columbia- BROADWAY BILL; as well as a precode drama at MGM- PENTHOUSE. By this point, the duo's very much in tune with each other; so we do believe them as a couple, even if the script does make both their characters act a bit unrealistic in spots.
Supporting roles are played by Ian Hunter, on loan from Warner Brothers; and Claire Trevor, a Fox contractee who at this point of her career was usually assigned leads in B programmers. Hunter's character is an attorney that Baxter and Loy go to for advice over the years. He is loyal and helps them, but he also has unrequited feelings for Loy. In a nicely understated scene, he finally voices those feelings to Loy during a crisis involving one of Baxter's unfaithful moments.
As for Trevor, she's a hanger-on who always seems to bump into Baxter when he's weak and ready to give in to temptation. In one scene Trevor has the audacity to give Baxter the name of the hotel she's staying at, as well as her phone number, right in front of Loy and Hunter. She plays it coy, as if she doesn't mean it. Yeah, right, she means it. Trevor's bold and breezy style is fun to watch; she practically steals the picture from the leads.
Despite some anachronisms with the fashions (the leads are in mid-30s garb during the flashbacks to the roaring 20s); and some incredible bits where Loy seems too willing to forgive her cad of a husband; this is still an engaging melodrama. It's interesting to see Loy on a loan out from MGM, where she was in the middle of a series of costarring roles with William Powell. A lot of her work at Metro was comedic; but here, we get to see her do a full-fledged tearjerker. She's especially excellent in a scene where her character learns that the son she just gave birth to didn't make it.
Baxter is a touch too theatrical in his portrayal. You can still see traces of his silent film acting. But one thing he is very good at showing is the anguish that his character faces. And there is plenty of anguish during the picture's 90 minute running time. His infant son dies; he loses a fortune during the stock market crash; he drinks too much; and he is nearly divorced by his loving wife. Baxter does successfully convey the sorrows, so that by the time he gets a happy ending, it seems to have been earned.
The biggest problem is in how they take their relationship for granted. Baxter's character is a successful architect who places more value in the money he makes at his prestigious design firm than he does in being a decent husband to his wife. Loy is a stay-at-home type who places more value in standing by her man, no matter what, than she does in herself. They both feel that as long as they can keep up appearances with family, friends and business acquaintances, they have a 'good' marriage. But at every turn, the relationship is falling apart.
Baxter and Loy had already made several other hit films. This would be their final screen collaboration. Previous entries included a horse racing drama with Frank Capra at Columbia- BROADWAY BILL; as well as a precode drama at MGM- PENTHOUSE. By this point, the duo's very much in tune with each other; so we do believe them as a couple, even if the script does make both their characters act a bit unrealistic in spots.
Supporting roles are played by Ian Hunter, on loan from Warner Brothers; and Claire Trevor, a Fox contractee who at this point of her career was usually assigned leads in B programmers. Hunter's character is an attorney that Baxter and Loy go to for advice over the years. He is loyal and helps them, but he also has unrequited feelings for Loy. In a nicely understated scene, he finally voices those feelings to Loy during a crisis involving one of Baxter's unfaithful moments.
As for Trevor, she's a hanger-on who always seems to bump into Baxter when he's weak and ready to give in to temptation. In one scene Trevor has the audacity to give Baxter the name of the hotel she's staying at, as well as her phone number, right in front of Loy and Hunter. She plays it coy, as if she doesn't mean it. Yeah, right, she means it. Trevor's bold and breezy style is fun to watch; she practically steals the picture from the leads.
Despite some anachronisms with the fashions (the leads are in mid-30s garb during the flashbacks to the roaring 20s); and some incredible bits where Loy seems too willing to forgive her cad of a husband; this is still an engaging melodrama. It's interesting to see Loy on a loan out from MGM, where she was in the middle of a series of costarring roles with William Powell. A lot of her work at Metro was comedic; but here, we get to see her do a full-fledged tearjerker. She's especially excellent in a scene where her character learns that the son she just gave birth to didn't make it.
Baxter is a touch too theatrical in his portrayal. You can still see traces of his silent film acting. But one thing he is very good at showing is the anguish that his character faces. And there is plenty of anguish during the picture's 90 minute running time. His infant son dies; he loses a fortune during the stock market crash; he drinks too much; and he is nearly divorced by his loving wife. Baxter does successfully convey the sorrows, so that by the time he gets a happy ending, it seems to have been earned.