This is the story of Laura Murdock (Constance Bennett), a woman from a poor family at the height of depression plays a kept woman for a wealthy businessman named William 'Will' Brockton (Adolph Menjou) to support her struggling family. A man controlling a woman's professional and personal life is still widely prevalent, but a woman may also use her beauty to gain access to wealth. This simple formula is well used in this story that may offend many feminists of today, but it was a fact of life during great depression when there was no safety net. The over-crowded housing, malnourishment, no social security and too tired and broke to keep working. Who are we to judge a woman looking for an easy street or help her family cope with financial stress? Hollywood managed to discuss controversial topics like this in the pre-code era without any interference from Hays office. It is gratifying to know that studio's like MGM dealt with stories like this in an open and honest way.
When Laura falls for young Jack Madison (Robert Montgomery), a press reporter, she abandons her lover, but when she finds herself in financial crisis, she finds no other alternatives but to go back to Brockton and in the process looses her true love, Jack. Finally she learns from an older kept woman, named Elfie St. Clair (Marjorie Rambeau) that if her lover dies; she would be penniless like Ms St Clair. She wakes up to the reality and looks for a way to redeem herself from her current living arrangement. Soon she will be spying on her married sister, Peg Murdock Feliki (Anita Page) who gets ahead the 'proper' way with a happy family of her own kids and husband, Nick Feliki (Clark Gable), a proud owner of his own laundry business.
I like the very end of the film where her sister invites her to stay with her family on a Christmas Eve when her son and husband are decorating the Christmas tree in the living room. What a wonderful way of ending this heart-warming story, a true Christmas gift for Laura. Clark Gable has a minor role in the movie when he was a virtual unknown. He's plays a self-righteous and dedicated husband. Constance Bennett doesn't sparkle in the movie and offers only a modest performance, but Adolph Menjou offers a splendid performance as a manipulative sugar daddy. This story was a play first written by James Walter for Broadway and produced by David Belasco in 1909. The film is well directed by Jack Conway who made big box-office hits for MGM that included; Red-Headed Woman, Untamed, The Girl from Missouri, Libeled Lady, Saratoga and A Yank at Oxford.
When Laura falls for young Jack Madison (Robert Montgomery), a press reporter, she abandons her lover, but when she finds herself in financial crisis, she finds no other alternatives but to go back to Brockton and in the process looses her true love, Jack. Finally she learns from an older kept woman, named Elfie St. Clair (Marjorie Rambeau) that if her lover dies; she would be penniless like Ms St Clair. She wakes up to the reality and looks for a way to redeem herself from her current living arrangement. Soon she will be spying on her married sister, Peg Murdock Feliki (Anita Page) who gets ahead the 'proper' way with a happy family of her own kids and husband, Nick Feliki (Clark Gable), a proud owner of his own laundry business.
I like the very end of the film where her sister invites her to stay with her family on a Christmas Eve when her son and husband are decorating the Christmas tree in the living room. What a wonderful way of ending this heart-warming story, a true Christmas gift for Laura. Clark Gable has a minor role in the movie when he was a virtual unknown. He's plays a self-righteous and dedicated husband. Constance Bennett doesn't sparkle in the movie and offers only a modest performance, but Adolph Menjou offers a splendid performance as a manipulative sugar daddy. This story was a play first written by James Walter for Broadway and produced by David Belasco in 1909. The film is well directed by Jack Conway who made big box-office hits for MGM that included; Red-Headed Woman, Untamed, The Girl from Missouri, Libeled Lady, Saratoga and A Yank at Oxford.
The Easiest Way – DVD, starring Constance Bennett
No comments:
Post a Comment