Irene

This is the film version of a play that premiered more than twenty years earlier (1919), and boy does the story show its age! The title character is so good-golly-gosh wholesome you'll either want to laugh or just haul off and smack her. This being my first introduction to Anna Naegle, I can only hope it was the character and not a limited acting range. She's the anti-femme-fatale, and that could not have been good for her career in the coming years in Hollywood.

That being said, it's not such a bad little film with pros like Ray Milland and Billie Burke in the cast. The opening credits with marionettes flipping cue cards is cute, but it sets a more comedic tone than this film can deliver. I will say it is fun checking out the fashions of the era, not to mention the interior designs, and the story touches on class differences without the film really making any kind of statement about them. It may be a little too-cute for its own good, but it's worth a look if you're curious.