Hot Saturday

"Hot Saturday" is a terrific little movie, and much better than its IMDb rating would suggest.

This was my first exposure to Nancy Carroll, and it's clear from her performance and screen presence why she was such a major star, if only for a short time. She plays a young woman living in a small town who becomes the subject of rumors when she's seen cavorting with a known rascal, played by Cary Grant, who likewise proves why he rocketed to stardom and stayed there. When Carroll realizes the small-minded people of the town are going to treat her like a floozy whether or not any of the rumors are true, she decides to make them true by giving the town (and Grant) what they want. This happens much to the dismay of her solid, down-to-earth beau, played by Randolph Scott.

I was not expecting this film to end the way it did, and was thrilled at the way it completely defied my expectations. Carroll doesn't see the error of her ways, apologize to her mom and dad and hunker down to a nice, sensible marriage with Scott. Instead, she hops in a car, essentially gives the entire town the finger, and rides off with Grant. Take that, Production Code!!

It was so refreshing to see a film that allows a woman her sexuality without forcing her to apologize for it by the film's end. Sure, she's going to be branded a slut by the town she's leaving behind, but the movie makes the town and the people in it so miserable that the viewer doesn't care any more for its opinion than Carroll does herself.

"Hot Saturday" is on a double DVD bill with "Torch Singer," and the two films together make a dynamite duo.

Grade: A-

Ruth (Nancy Carroll) is a bank clerk in a small town where the only diversion for young adults is a dance hall named Willow Springs outside of town. Ruth is pursued by a number of young men, including a wealthy playboy, Romer Sheffield (Cary Grant). She is very successful at keeping them all at arm's length, though she occasionally enjoys tempting them.

After Ruth returns home later than usual, the town's rumor mill--spurred by rival Eva--has a heyday. With her reputation ruined, Ruth makes some choices that are life-altering.

The music that accompanies the opening credits might lead the viewer to expect a madcap comedy. It is nothing of the sort. It is a scathing depiction of small-town society. However, the ending--which is, if nothing else, confusing--suggests that the film is (also) a cautionary tale. Whichever way you interpret it, this film is very interesting.

The acting is good. Nancy Carroll shines. Cary Grant and Randolph Scott are strong in their roles.

Hot Saturday (1932)

There are a few early Cary Grant movies where he has a small role, or where he isn't quite the "Cary Grant" we have come to expect (and which he always jokingly said he wanted to become himself). But this one is pure, true Grant, and very early, indeed. But even better, the plot, the mise-en-scene (including town scenes, domestic situations, and a range of outdoor stuff at the lake including a bohemian roadhouse on the water), and the photography are amazing. I mean amazing. There are a few stumbles in the acting, but you get so swept along, and so continually surprised, this won't matter much at all.

The director of all this gets a huge amount of credit, because William Seiter who pulls the best out of the cast and the crew, equally--and who presumably helped choose some terrific location shots as well as matching studio scenes. Seiter was a Hollywood working man director, doing lesser A-list films and making them decent, though none that I've seen (a small fraction of a huge output from the 20s to the 40s) has the energy and flair of this one. And this is an unsung one, definitely worth seeking out.

Likewise, Arthur Todd behind the camera did a dumpload of good if unamazing films, and so it was with the music and set design. But the leading lady is another story. Nancy Carroll really steals the show, even from Grant and the other leading male, the rather wooden and handsome Randolph Scott. She has a kind of live-wire, doll-face quality a little similar to Claudette Colbert, easily as amazing in this film. Carroll supposedly had more fan mail than any actress in this era of Hollywood, and was contracted with Paramount (which was the studio here). But she was so difficult to work with offscreen (rejecting many parts) they let her go, and her career slid, and she probably missed out on another higher kind of stardom.

But here she is alive, sympathetic, and complex on screen. If Cary Grant isn't enough to lure you in, give Carroll her due.

This is of course a pre-code film (widely advertised as such) and in fact the looseness of the events, the morality of the lead, and the suggestive scenes (never explicit) all help make this come alive. The dance and party scenes are so much fun you'll wish you were there, and the cave in the storm as well as the night scenes in the woods are pretty amazing, too. The end will prove, again, both the ability of pre-code films to touch on real life issues, and the need of even these kinds of films to have a moral compass by the end. The very last few seconds takes care of this.

Great stuff. A huge surprise for me.

Nancy Carroll shines as an innocent woman nearly destroyed by >gossip in this very unflattering portrait of small town America. >Now forgotten, Carroll brings sensitivity, depth, and humor to >her performance. An inexperienced but effective Cary Grant is a >man with charm and without conventional morals. The ending is a >surprise.

In small town America, everyone knows everyone else's business, and gossip flies fast. That's why bank teller Nancy Carroll is careful to go out in a big group and never stay out too late. She's usually glad to have a good reputation; but when she has a bad day at the office and her parents won't stop fighting, she doesn't care anymore. She goes out in a big group one Saturday night, but she openly flirts with notorious playboy Cary Grant. When her escort takes her out on the lake for some private time, she wiggles free and runs off to be with Cary instead! Do you think that'll send the gossip mill running?

Although he gets a higher billing, Randolph Scott has a much smaller part than Cary Grant. Cary is the "ungettable get" with tons of money and nothing to do. His pre-stardom makeup makes him look very weird, however, and if you look closely you can get a glimpse of his old teeth. When Scottie McScottie Pants comes on the scene, he's just gorgeous. Messy hair flopping in his face, smiles for miles, and a passion for geology even though there's no money in it. He's got my vote! But who would you pick? Watch this old movie for some pre-Code giggles and a very old-fashioned premise. Nancy Carroll is just as cute as it gets; I wonder why didn't become as big a star as her contemporaries like Carole Lombard or Jean Harlow.