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Passion Flower

  • 19301930
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 19m
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
379
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Ray Milland, Charles Bickford, and Kay Francis in Passion Flower (1930)
  • Drama
A bored society woman invites scandal and heartache when she falls in love with her low-born chauffeur.A bored society woman invites scandal and heartache when she falls in love with her low-born chauffeur.A bored society woman invites scandal and heartache when she falls in love with her low-born chauffeur.
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
379
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • William C. de Mille(uncredited)
  • Writers
    • Kathleen Norris
    • Martin Flavin(adaptation and dialogue)
    • L.E. Johnson(additional dialogue)
  • Stars
    • Kay Francis
    • Kay Johnson
    • Charles Bickford
Top credits
  • Director
    • William C. de Mille(uncredited)
  • Writers
    • Kathleen Norris
    • Martin Flavin(adaptation and dialogue)
    • L.E. Johnson(additional dialogue)
  • Stars
    • Kay Francis
    • Kay Johnson
    • Charles Bickford
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 11User reviews
    • 4Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos20

    Kay Francis and Lewis Stone in Passion Flower (1930)
    Kay Francis in Passion Flower (1930)
    Kay Francis and Kay Johnson in Passion Flower (1930)
    Charles Bickford and Kay Johnson in Passion Flower (1930)
    Charles Bickford, Kay Francis, Kay Johnson, and Lewis Stone in Passion Flower (1930)
    Kay Francis and Kay Johnson in Passion Flower (1930)
    Ray Milland, Charles Bickford, and Kay Francis in Passion Flower (1930)
    Kay Francis in Passion Flower (1930)
    Charles Bickford and Kay Francis in Passion Flower (1930)
    Charles Bickford and Kay Francis in Passion Flower (1930)
    Charles Bickford and Kay Francis in Passion Flower (1930)
    Charles Bickford and Kay Francis in Passion Flower (1930)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Kay Francis
    Kay Francis
    • Dulce Moradoas Dulce Morado
    Kay Johnson
    Kay Johnson
    • Katherine Pringle 'Cassy' Wallaceas Katherine Pringle 'Cassy' Wallace
    Charles Bickford
    Charles Bickford
    • Dan Wallaceas Dan Wallace
    Winter Hall
    Winter Hall
    • Leroy Pringleas Leroy Pringle
    Lewis Stone
    Lewis Stone
    • Antonio Moradoas Antonio Morado
    Zasu Pitts
    Zasu Pitts
    • Mrs. Harneyas Mrs. Harney
    Dickie Moore
    Dickie Moore
    • Tommy Wallaceas Tommy Wallace
    Mary Carlisle
    Mary Carlisle
    • Blonde Party Guestas Blonde Party Guest
    • (uncredited)
    Jay Eaton
    Jay Eaton
    • Dancing Party Guestas Dancing Party Guest
    • (uncredited)
    Ray Milland
    Ray Milland
    • Party Guest with Letteras Party Guest with Letter
    • (uncredited)
    Herbert Prior
    Herbert Prior
    • Party Guest with Glassesas Party Guest with Glasses
    • (uncredited)
    C. Aubrey Smith
    C. Aubrey Smith
    • Man at Ferry Boat Pieras Man at Ferry Boat Pier
    • (uncredited)
    Jack Trent
    Jack Trent
    • Dancing Party Guestas Dancing Party Guest
    • (uncredited)
    Ellinor Vanderveer
    Ellinor Vanderveer
    • Party Guestas Party Guest
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • William C. de Mille(uncredited)
    • Writers
      • Kathleen Norris
      • Martin Flavin(adaptation and dialogue)
      • L.E. Johnson(additional dialogue)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    A bored society woman invites scandal and heartache when she falls in love with her low-born chauffeur.
    • children
    • b movie
    • lies
    • ball
    • letter
    • 23 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Wives Feared Her, Men Adored Her! (Print Ad- Larchmont Times, ((Larchmont, NY)) 29 January 1931)
    • Genre
      • Drama
    • Certificate
      • Passed
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The second and final film in which Charles Bickford and Kay Johnson appeared together after Dynamite (1929). Passion Flower and Dynamite share several of the same crew members, and the respective films were each directed by a deMille brother.
    • Goofs
      Although there is a five-year gap in the narrative, the ladies' clothes / hats are in the same late 1920s / early 1930s fashions throughout. This is particularly noticeable with Kay Francis.
    • Quotes

      Mrs. Harney: Of course it did seem kind of funny at first not having a man about the place. They're kinda handy in the daytime and they're sorta entertaining in the evening. But as far as I'm concerned, I'd just as soon have a good radio.

    User reviews11

    Review
    Top review
    6/10
    Is there no honor among cousins?
    This is technically a precode, although you never see anything happen that is precode, just some precode ideas.

    I loved Charles Bickford and Kay Johnson in Dynamite, and I guess that's because there you had two people from different worlds thrown together while their feelings for one another slowly build. Here Bickford plays Dan Wallace, a chauffeur, who falls in love with the daughter of a wealthy man, Cassy Pringle (Kay Johnson). When the film opens they are already in love, so there goes the chance to see the chemistry build again. When Cassy's father finds out, he orders Dan out of his house, and Cassy goes with him, with them marrying the next day. Dan has no trade, so the entire family lives in a cheap attic apartment while Dan works as a stevedore and in five years only rises to assistant supervisor of the other stevedores. Meanwhile he and Cassy have had two children who have no place to play in their cramped apartment that has been their home for the entirety of their marriage. Then Dan loses his job at the beginning of the Great Depression. Cassy's cousin is Dulce (Kay Francis), who married a much older but wealthy man whom she does not love, played by Lewis Stone. Dan and family move to a farm that Dulce wanted to give to them five years before on their wedding day, but now Dan's pride is all gone and he accepts the gift for the sake of his family. Dan is a man feeling like a disappointment as a provider and needing a boost to his pride, Dulce is a woman who has plenty of money but no passion in her loveless marriage. Complications ensue. I'll let you watch and find out what happens.

    Everybody does a splendid job in this film. Kay Francis is great as a spoiled brat who thinks she should get everything she wants without actually coming out and saying that. Charles Bickford effectively portrays a man who is torn and who feels like a disappointment to his family. He often acts because he feels he "owes" people, and in the end his actions just make everybody unhappy. He didn't want material charity, why would he think the women in his life would want emotional charity? Kay Johnson gives a very subtle portrayal as the rich girl just happy to give it all up and stand by the poor man she loves, come what may. Winter Hall plays Cassy's dad, and he doesn't have much time on screen, yet he is a perfect portrait of pre-Depression Calvinism - he believes that rich people are intrinsically better than working people, and looks down upon them. The Great Depression is about to teach them otherwise - for awhile. Zasu Pitts is the comic relief as first Dan and Cassy's landlady and then when they move to the farm, their housekeeper? That is a transition I could never figure out, but she is needed comic relief for what is almost completely a heavy melodrama.

    Just some background, Charles Bickford hated this film, calling it "melodramatic claptrap" in his autobiography. He felt he had been somewhat baited and switched by MGM, starting with the interesting "Dynamite" and then being forced to make this film instead of being loaned out to RKO, where he was wanted to play the leading role in "Cimarron". Also, the director of this film, William de Mille, brother of the great Cecil B., did not like directing sound films and only did a couple more after this. Also, Kay Johnson had been and maybe still was infatuated with Kay Francis at the time this film was made. So if things seem a bit awkward between the players, and if the direction seems a bit stilted, there is probably good reason.

    Still, it's a pretty good study in human nature, so I'd recommend it.
    helpful•6
    1
    • AlsExGal
    • Nov 14, 2015

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 6, 1930 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Kathleen Norris' Passion Flower
    • Filming locations
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 19 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.20 : 1

    Contribute to this page

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    Ray Milland, Charles Bickford, and Kay Francis in Passion Flower (1930)
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    By what name was Passion Flower (1930) officially released in India in English?
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