"I think love is like a wave; if it comes on you unawares, nothing can stop it from sweeping over you."
1930 sure was a big year for putting the word "sin" in a movie title. Here the setting is WWI Russia, and we get both virtue and sin served up, with an emphasis on the former (unfortunately, ha!). Kay Francis plays a woman who marries a scientist with the agreement that they'll share their most intimate moments in the laboratory only, not the bedroom. He's working to cure a disease, she doesn't mind being his assistant, but then the war breaks out, and he's drafted. Wanting to continue on with his research, he soon runs afoul of an ill-tempered General the soldiers call "Iron Face" behind his back (Walter Huston), and is sent to prison. His wife hatches a plan to cozy up to the General in order to secure his freedom, hence the "virtuous sin," but doesn't count on falling in love.
The construction of the plot, with the chaste marriage and the honorable affair, has the weakness that it's geared towards making everyone involved a good person, feeling artificial as a result. (Obviously, forget any type of reality to this feeling like Russia, but that probably goes without saying). The clandestine meetings between Huston and Francis held promise and I suppose it was amusing seeing them see-sawing under the stars, but the film lacked sizzle and the film began to lag a bit in the middle. The resolution to the love triangle is not surprising, and not very satisfying either.
The film was most interesting when Francis's character was just beginning to immerse herself into a cabaret that officers attend to carouse with chorus girls. At first she's told by the man next door that it's "no place for a lady," motioning his hands over his chest as if he had breasts, which was priceless. There is a noticeable skip in the film shortly afterwards, suggesting that further dialog was cut, either by a local censorship board at the time, or by Joseph Breen & Co. After the Code was being enforced, upon it re-release. She then talks to the Madame of the club (Jobyna Howland), leading to this exchange:
"I want to - to buy your, your backgrounds."
"Well, I have been told my back is rather fine."
Inside she finds women dancing around showing a lot of leg, and sitting in the laps of the officers. My favorite was the woman with a riding crop who sucks on the end of her cigarette seductively three times before having it lit (at 28:12, my goodness). Meanwhile, Kay Francis is adorned with her ornate headpiece, and looks fabulous, also briefly singing. The overall production quality is quite good too, as there are beautiful sets and outdoor scenery, and some pretty decent sound by the standards of 1930, background hiss notwithstanding. It fell short because of the story, but I thought it was worth seeing for its stars.
