Give Kay Francis some credit - she went where she could find work. After sticking out a Warners contract where all Warners wanted was to get rid of her, Francis did some films for Monogram, a few notches down from Warners, MGM and the like. "Divorce" was one such vehicle.
The story concerns a four-time divorcée, Diane Carter(Francis) who goes back to her home town. She meets an old beau of hers (Bruce Cabot), a happily married man, and she agrees to back him in a business opportunity. His wife (Helen Mack) feels threatened by Diane, becomes jealous, and when her husband lets her and their two children down a few times, they divorce. Then he really does take up with Diane.
I didn't think this film was good. For one thing, that marriage went sour mighty quickly, and the wife didn't fight for her husband at all. She just gave up. They have two small children who adore their father, and both husband and wife allow the divorce to take place. Ridiculous. Also, the wife tears up the alimony checks and goes to work. Fine, but again, what about the kids? She didn't need money for them? Pride can only be taken so far. The movie doesn't flesh anything out - was the guy just dazzled by Diane's glamor, flattered by her attention, so engrossed in business he let things slide at home? Or did he just no longer care for his wife? I think he was still in love with his wife and needed a kick in the rear. As for Diane's motives - well, it looked to me like once she saw an opening, she went for it.
I didn't like anyone in this film except those poor kids, and I didn't care what happened to Diane, her ex-boyfriend or his wife. No wonder Kay Francis retired.
