Virtue (1932)

A relationship gradually develops between a savvy New York street girl and a good-hearted cab driver, but other matters keep getting in their way, including financial problems and a murder.

Director:

Edward Buzzell (as Edduie Buzzell)

Writers:

Robert Riskin (screen play), Ethel Hill (story)

Stars:

Carole Lombard, Pat O'Brien, Mayo Methot

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Carole Lombard	...	Mae
Pat O'Brien	...	Jimmy Doyle
Mayo Methot	...	Lil Blaine
Jack La Rue	...	Toots
Shirley Grey	...	Gert
Ward Bond	...	Frank
Willard Robertson	...	MacKenzie
Lew Kelly	...	Magistrate
Fred Santley	...	Hank
Arthur Wanzer	...	Flanagan
Jessie Arnold	...	Landlady
Edwin Stanley	...	District Attorney

Storyline

Taxicab driver Jimmy Doyle (Pat O'Brien) marries a girl of the streets, Mae (Carole Lombard and, overlooking her past, sets out to make a honest woman of her. But, during the reformation period, Mae returns to a hotel of ill repute to collect the $200 she once loaned to a street-walking girlfriend. Jimmy mistakenly thinks she has turned pro again and her situation worsens when she is implicated in a murder and jailed awaiting a court trial.

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Plot Keywords:

deception | pre code film | street walker | proibition era | 1920s | 

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Taglines:

Man men filled her life...but she wanted ONE man! (original poster)

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 October 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

Unbescholten

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the last films to feature prostitution as a major theme before the rigid enforcement of the Hays Code.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Flanagan: [at the ticket window at a train station] Pretty soft for you, sister, getting the city to pay your fare to Danbury.
Mae: Pretty soft for the city I don't live in Australia. C'mon, grandpa.
Flanagan: [on the train, placing Mae's luggage on the rack] There y'are.
[to the conductor]
Flanagan: The lady goes to Danbury, chief.
[to Mae]
Flanagan: Now take my advice, sister, and keep out of New York.
Mae: [snidely] OK, grandpa. I'll remember all your advice: I'll watch my diet, go to the dentist twice a year, keep my nose clean, ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Hist-o-Rama: Carole Lombard (1961)

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Soundtracks

My Gal Sal
(1905) (uncredited)
Written by Paul Dresser
Played on a phonograph in Lil's room, twice

User Reviews

Love in conflict with reality; or ones perception of it.

I liked this little movie quite a lot. It has a substance and quality that some of Lombard's other early movies lack. It is obvious that some care was taken with this screenplay. I would say that the key word for this film is "misunderstanding". It explores the question of whether someone can escape their past and whether love conquers all. This is the first of five pictures that Lombard would make for Columbia Pictures.

The chemistry is good between Pat O'Brien who plays "Jimmy" the cabdriver and Carole Lombard who plays "Mae" the street-girl. Mae's sentence has been suspended by the Judge on the condition that she leave New York City. Of course she refuses. On her way home she takes a cab, but has no money to pay. She stiffs the cabdriver. Later she goes back to square things and a relationship develops between the two. We watch these two grow closer and more dependent on each other, we root for Jimmy as he struggles to fulfill his dream to become a business man, and we cry as a financial crisis and murder come between them.