User reviews

23 year old Barbara Stanwyck became a leading film star in 1930 with the release of LADIES OF LEISURE, after having starred in two flops in 1929. This is a very slender story of a good time girl who falls in love with a millionaire's son who basically is just interested in her as a model for a painting he wants to do. Given how free-wheeling and blunt most early talkies were on morality, this movie is surprisingly discreet about Stanwyck's character's past. We are supposed to read into the story she's a prostitute (or more accurately, a former mistress) - but in her first scene she is fleeing a yacht party that's too risqué for her!! Stanwyck rings honesty out of a cardboard script and she's got good support from three second-tier silent stars who are quite good in talkies - Ralph Graves as the object of her affection, Marie Prevost as her wisecracking, less prudish pal, and especially Lowell Sherman as Graves' drunken buddy who is very open to being Stanwyck's next sugar daddy yet the best scene is the confrontation being Stanwyck and Graves' mother, superbly played by a somewhat unsung character actress, Nance O'Neil.

The movie's minor fame today rests on it being Stanwyck's first screen success and an early hit for director Frank Capra yet Capra's direction is rather dull and often awkward and the movie is very badly edited with some scenes conspicuously made up of different takes with shot angles and acting rhythms off among other giveaways (to say nothing of the scene where Graves answers the phone and says "Hello" way before the receiver is anywhere near his mouth!!) As mentioned by another reviewer, a "silent" version of the film was also shot (the smaller studios like Columbia were still making silent versions of some of their films up to 1931 for the ever dwindling number of movie theaters that were still not wired for sound), I don't know anything about the silent version being available on video and not the sound film, possibly the silent version fell into public domain and that's why that version alone is on tape, however the sound version still exists and was shown on American Movie Classics in the early 1990's back when that channel actually showed classic movies. Turner Classic Movies, on the other hand, has so many MGM and Warner Bros. films at their disposal they hardly need to go elsewhere for films so it's not likely they will bother to pick up rights to this movie from Columbia. I wouldn't be surprised, however, one day to see it and a number of other early Capra talkies together in a boxed DVD set given his legend as a director.

It's the old hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold story but Barbara Stanwyck and director Frank Capra make it shine. Not only is Stanwyck great but there isn't a bad performance by anyone in the film, even down to the minor characters. Capra attains a naturalness from his actors rare at this point in the talkies. The only complaint might by that Ralph Graves' accent is more convincing for a cowboy than a son of the upper crust, but that's a quibble. Other pluses are Jo Swerling's smart dialogue with hardly an unnecessary line and John Walker's cinematography, the best of its time (the night scene as Stanwyck spends the night on Graves' couch is a marvel of lighting, pacing and atmosphere).

Frank Capra directed this Pre-Code romance from Columbia Pictures in which Jerry Strong (Ralph Graves) is a high society scion who has grown bored with the hard-partying ways of his contemporaries. He prefers to focus on his passion for painting, and he asks Kay Arnold (Barbara Stanwyck) to be his latest model. Kay is a good-time girl who earns her living as a "companion" to high-rollers. As the two develop a growing romantic bond, Jerry's parents grow disapproving.

I thought this was very good, and that Stanwyck was fantastic, and not only should have been nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress, but should have won (over Norma Shearer in The Divorcee). I've read that many people disliked Graves in the male lead, but I didn't think he was that terrible, although I think the film would be better remembered and acclaimed if Stanwyck's co-star had been someone more noteworthy. Lowell Sherman, as a tipsy party regular, and Marie Prevost, as Stanwyck's roommate and fellow party girl, are wonderful, and perfect examples of great supporting performances. Capra's camera is also very mobile, moving in and out of the shots, creating a heightened sense of activity. I really enjoyed this one, even if the ending rang a bit false. Recommended.

LADIES OF LEISURE, adapted to the screen from a play, is another in a long line of Frank Capra-directed films that pits the lower orders against the upper through the device of a romantic entanglement. In this case it's "lady of leisure" (read: prostitute or good time gal) Barbara Stanwyck against the slightly bohemian scion of a wealthy banking family (Ralph Graves). The theme of the movie is set right away as we see a bustling Manhattan street at night. Suddenly bottles fall from the sky and explode on the sidewalk, narrowly missing pedestrians. They are coming from a group of drunken young women who are tossing them over a penthouse terrace balcony for kicks. These party girls have been hired by dissolute swell Lowell Sherman, a friend of Graves, who, offended by the crudity of the party scene, hops into his roadster for a drive into the country. He stops by a lake where he sees a young woman (Stanwyck) dressed in an evening gown rowing herself ashore in a canoe. It turns out she too is a party girl and is also escaping a wild party, this time on a yacht. He finds her attractive and offers her a ride back to the city. As is her habit, she picks his pocket while he's driving. Thus the plot line is set. We know what will happen by the end. Along the way we are treated to a beautifully etched characterization by Stanwyck who covers a wide range of acting territory from crude and lowdown to transcendentally idealistic. The equally inventive Marie Prevost provides generous support as her overweight roommate. Lowell Sherman, playing the same type of hard-drinking, pleasure-loving sophisticate as he often did in other movies (Bachelor Apartment, What Price Hollywood), is also excellent.

For whatever reason, Ralph Graves cannot perform like a flesh and blood human being. His movements are stiff and unmotivated, his emotions seem forced and sudden. Even the expression on his face looks pasted on from some other character in some other movie. All wrong. One is not surprised to see that within a few years he was playing uncredited bit parts in third-rate movies. His silent film credits are numerous and go back to the teens so one can only wonder what his appeal was. He is not bad looking, so one must assume that his substantial silent film career owed a lot to his appearance.

Considering that movies only began to talk in 1928, this early sound film starring BARBARA STANWYCK as a girl of ill repute (she calls herself a party girl), and RALPH GRAVES as an artist who wants to use her as a model, is not bad at all. It's certainly one of the better jobs in sound recording for a film made in the early '30s. As usual with films of this period, there is almost no music on the soundtrack except for the moment when "The End" is flashed on the screen. In the TCM print I watched, the screen then fades to black while some "exit" music is played against a dark screen.

Stanwyck is the prostitute with a heart of gold who finds a good man and doesn't want to let him go, even when his family objects to their union when he proposes marriage. She is convinced by the mother to give him up--but circumstances change after she makes a rash decision.

Stanwyck is excellent at conveying the brassy qualities of the character, but then reveals the softer nature of the girl as she falls in love with the man who only wants to paint her portrait. The tenderness of the romance that develops is full of nuances that one wouldn't expect from a Frank Capra film. The sentimental ending is more in keeping with his usual style.

RALPH GRAVES gives a quiet, assured performance as the man who finds that he does really love Stanwyck. LOWELL SHERMAN does his usual schtick as an inebriated friend who flounces around making wisecracks. MARIE PREVOST has some good moments as Stanwyck's roommate and NANCE O'NEIL does a good job as Grave's well-meaning mother.

Stanwyck fans will appreciate her well modulated performance.

Reviews of this film do not make clear that it apparently is available in both sound and silent versions. The version of this film borrowed from our local library was the silent version as apparently this film was Capra's 2nd talkie and last silent (per Moviediva web site). It had a very distracting soundtrack that did not match the moods on the screen at all. Still, if you are a Capra or Stanwyck fan, the silent version is better than none at all and worth the time. Hopefully, I will be able to see a sound version on Turner or AMC.

This is the first Barbara Stanwyck and Frank Capra collaboration, and it's obvious that while both have yet to perfect their craft, they already possess the raw talent that indicates great things to come.

It's a melodrama, with perhaps a unique enough story to stand out. A professional party-attendee (i.e. a pretty girl to paid to pad the attendance) mets an artist and heir at the party, who decides to paint her and they fall in love, but their differences in status threaten to tear them apart.

Already in 1930 Stanwyck was portraying one of her trademark hard-outside- soft-inside-sassy-all-over roles, even though she was a tad too smushy in this one - probably because the script demanded it. It's not the most sparkling of screenplays, but the highlight here is Stanwyck anyway, and Capra captures her magnificently.

The creative team of Barbara Stanwyck and director Frank Capra makes its debut in Ladies Of Leisure which casts a young Barbara as a party girl who falls big time for artist Ralph Graves after he hires her to model for him. They did a total of five films together, the last one Meet John Doe is considered a classic.

Ladies Of Leisure is far from that, but you can see why it helped make Barbara Stanwyck the star she became. Their are hints of her later Oscar nominated part in Stella Dallas in her performance here.

Ralph Graves isn't just any artist, he's the son of railroad tycoon George Fawcett and Nance O'Neil, but business just doesn't interest him which displeases dad. Fawcett wants him to forget this art kick and join the family firm. But that's nothing compared to how he and O'Neil feel about their son when he brings Stanwyck home after he's fallen for her.

The production values aren't the greatest, remember this is Columbia Pictures while it was still a poverty row studio like Monogram. Still Capra and Stanwyck show traces of the movie legends they became.

Nothing terribly special about Ladies Of Leisure other than these two people coming together for the first time.

I'm contributing this mainly to comment on what most of the other reviews say that I disagree with: Ralph Graves was perfect in this role. Yes, he's wooden, but that's what works so perfectly with Barbara Stanwyck. Where it really matters is in their romantic scenes: first on his balcony, then at breakfast and particularly after his father leaves and they really get together for the first time. I'm not saying he's a good actor in general, but they had great chemistry in this film, and that's worth a lot. He's a realistic type of man, very focused and businesslike; some people think an artist couldn't be like that, but that's not true. It's frustrating to see everyone remarking on the clever performances of Marie Prevost and Lowell Sherman and denigrating Graves. The picture hangs together very well precisely because all the roles are ideally cast. Doubtless Stanwyck and Capra supply the magic. It's a film that's new to me, and I keep going back to it.

Although this is not the type of film I'd usually watch, I was blown away by its intensity and depth of emotion. It's a fabulously made picture about hope: finding hope when it seems impossible, finding hope when it's not being looked for, finding hope when it's felt that it's not deserved.

Unlike a lot of films from around 1930, time is taken for proper character development which is essential to a picture of this nature. Each person is allowed to evolve into someone real, three-dimensional and believable. The care in creating such authenticity isn't just confined to the leads, the supporting characters, even their two friends, who aren't quite comedy relief but do lighten the mood are proper rounded characters. Unlike your typical Warner Brothers quickie in which a hundred things happen at quickfire machine gun speed, there's hardly any action in this at all. Scenes are used to tell the story and build the tension. It's a relatively long film but it most certainly does not drag.

What is also incredible is that this was made in 1930 - have you seen most of the absolute rubbish that was made in 1930? Why is this so good? Is it because of Frank Capra's direction or because of Barbara Stanwyck? The technical professionalism, the acting and the overall feel of this is light years ahead of most of the output from that year. If you didn't know any better you'd probably guess that this was made in the 1940s. The question is, if a film from 1930 could be made this good, why were most films from that year so dreadful! Frank Capra doesn't use any particularly obvious gimmicks, fancy techniques or wacky camera angles, just perfect filmmaking, perfect photography, perfect acting and above all, perfect storytelling. He distils the story with razor-sharp focus directly on the emotions and mental anguish of Stanwyck's character, 'Kay.' The world outside of her relationship with 'Jerry' is made to seem fuzzy and unfocused in comparison with the intensity of what she is experiencing. It takes skill to make a story so entertaining in which there's so little action, one where the characters themselves rather than what they're doing, is what we're watching but Capra manages it.

It's equally refreshing that a film which garners its drama from the inequality of society that it manages to criticize the system without condemning it, the rich aren't the typical lazily written pantomime moustache-twirling villains exploiting the poor often seen in films about the haves and the have-nots but are treated with some sympathy. Had this been made a year later when The Great Depression had properly started however, this might have been handled differently?

Capra enforces the feel is isolation experienced by Kay as she becomes part of that alien high-society world with some beautiful imagery. There are the long shots to the exclusive penthouse suites showing how far away from the real world they are. When Kay stays over in Jerry's apartment for the first time she's not sure she's meant to be there, she knows she doesn't really belong and the way the camera films this from an outside window surreptitiously makes us the viewer also a little uneasy as well, are we supposed to be watching this? We're outsiders as well, we're not meant to be there either. The us and them motif is even used in the edge of the seat climax: when Kay's friend has to find Jerry she has to struggle up the stairs to the top of the skyscraper where he lives because she's not allowed the easy ride up in the elevator.

It's not a fantastic film but it is a proper film and I can't help again just being amazed how this could possibly have been made when most films in 1930 were sheer dross. I am also amazed that this was only Barbara Stanwyck's third talkie because she's impossibly good. There's probably a Star Trek episode where a movie made in the 1940s slipped back to 1930 through some time vortex, can't think of any better explanation.

This was different type of role for Stanwyck: As opposed to her earlier (and later) roles as the "in your face" disenfranchised young rebel, this one is a toned-down version of that character and we see the beginnings of her true talents as a a great dramatic actress. The story itself is rather droll and lame, mostly forgettable, but Stanwyck stands out as the real star of the picture. Unfortunately, that "young punk" persona she portrayed in those early films stayed with her as the overbearing, bitchy matriarch for the remainder of her career. This one is a rarity of that period where we get to see her in a semi-dramatic role: We sympathize with her not for her harshness in others, but as a shopworn, downtrodden working girl, used mercilessly by Graves and the others. Quite good, in the opinion of this '20s flapper fan like her and Joan Crawford, who also went on to become one of the great dramatic stars of the era.

One reviewer here complimented the whole cast of "Ladies of Leisure." Well, I must respectfully disagree. I found Ralph Graves' performance to be rather wooden. Graves had been in films since he was teenager just after Word Ware I had ended, but clearly he found it difficult to deliver a natural performance in the sound medium.

I do recommend the film for historical purposes if nothing else. It was released in the Spring of 1930 and may have been filmed in late 1929. That would definitely qualify "Ladies of Leisure" as a member of that first generation of sound films dating from 1928 to 1930.

One thing I wondered about is whether a boom mic was used. I think someone else opined that hidden mics, placed here and there around the set were still used in this production. I do know from my reading that sound film technology was making progress just about on a week by week basis in those early days.

Well, this is an interesting little change of pace. Another melodrama, but much more female focused and the film that saved the ailing career of Barbara Stanwyck, Ladies of Leisure seems like a frothy little bit of predictable nonsense for its first half, and then it steps things up to be a much more interesting and touching bit of predictable drama. If this had been made a couple of years later, it'd be slathered with an overbearing score, but much like Howard Hawks' Today We Live, the lack of score helps tamp down on the potential overblown feeling and delivers the final moments in much more subdued tones that really help the film connect more naturally.

Kay Arnold (Stanwyck) is one of those titular ladies of leisure, a party girl who goes from party to party in and around New York, always looking for a man to hook her claws into, working alongside her roommate Dot (Marie Prevost). If the man isn't interested in one, they tend to be interested in the other. When Kay abandons a party one night, she runs into Jerry Strong (Ralph Graves), the heir to a fortune who is allowed to spend all of his time pursuing a career as a painter. He finds her interesting and wants her to be a subject to a new painting, she quickly figures out that he's rich and could pay for a life for her, and they both figure each other out pretty quickly.

The first half or so of the film is the pair finding their feet in this odd little relationship that we all know will turn out to be love because, you know, movie. It's a meet cute where they don't seem to like each other very much, but they get to know each other, shed some flaws, and decide that they can come together in the end. The turning point is one night where she stays at his apartment, and they stare up out at the New York City night. She looks down below to the antlike people beneath them while he stares up at the stars far above them. He says something kind of wonderful about how it's better to look up at the stars because even if they're out of reach they're so beautiful rather than down on the people beneath you and lord over them.

This discussion creates the dramatic turn between the two characters so that they're suddenly realizing that they love each other. Is it unpredictable that they fall in love? Not in the least. Is it well done? Yes, it very much is, and a lot of that has to do with the two central performances, especially from Stanwyck. Stanwyck's film career was floundering after her first two films flopped, and Capra almost didn't cast her after their first meeting (only changing his mind after an angry call from her husband and a review of her previous performances), and she's really good. She has this great inner vulnerability that she covers with this playgirl persona to mask it. When she gains these feelings while being confronted with the harsher realities brought upon her by Jerry's parents, the governor John (George Fawcett) and his mother (Nance O'Neil).

They have plans on him marrying someone else, though Jerry's protestations mean nothing to them, and they play Kay's feelings towards Jerry against her, creating a bit of tension as they split with different intentions, wondering if they're going to end up together. It's not unpredictable at all, but the character work into the two makes it a worthwhile journey.

The early sound era is largely a bumpy road for established directors (Lubitsch seemed to have the best time of it), and Capra seems to have managed better than most from a technological point of view. However, he seems to have struggled a bit more narratively in these earliest years, having found some good footing in the late silent period before his stumbles became a bit more prevalent. It's nice to see him recollect with the kind of simple, star-driven storytelling that he seemed to be working through. Also, it's nice that it saved Stanwyck's career.

It's last interesting to note that the failure to secure any Academy Award nomination for Ladies of Leisure (Capra convinced he's get nominated for director and Stanwyck for actress) led to Capra and Harry Cohn becoming major players in the Academy itself.

Anyway, it's a pretty good little predictable romance. It's well-performed, has some very nice moments, and it shows Capra further reclaiming his technical prowess with some fun tracking shots that he had been doing in the final films of the silent era. It may not be major Capra, but it's solid and entertaining.

Saw 'Ladies of Leisure' for two reasons. One was Barbara Stanwyck, one of cinema's greatest actresses of her generation, in just her fourth film and third with sound (tending to be called talkies). In even her weakest efforts, she very nearly always rose above her material and was amazing at her best. The other for Frank Capra, a great director specialising in feel good and sentimental films and unsurpassed in those in his day perhaps ('It's a Wonderful Life' being a prime example.

Both are done justice in 'Ladies of Leisure' and come off really well. Stanwyck's performance and Capra's direction are better generally than the overall film itself, though the photography and supporting cast also come off well. The story though is patchy and the leading man does not really impress. 'Ladies of Leisure' is not a great film by all means, but it is to me an entertaining and moving film with many fine merits and definitely worth watching.

'Ladies of Leisure' has its drawbacks. Its biggest one being Ralph Graves, who is far too stiff and vacuous as a character that never becomes properly developed. His chemistry with Stanwyck doesn't have enough warmth.

The film could have been better in the story department too, which can have its dull and not eventful enough stretches and it can be pretty stage-bound too.

However, 'Ladies of Leiusre' is a lovely looking film. Very elegantly produced and costumed, made even better by the beautifully dream-like images the photography evokes. The lighting is also very atmospheric, with a standout image being Stanwyck on the couch. The dialogue is smart and amusing, with some nice sophistication, and while the story is patchy it benefits from its charm and a very poignant and not overly-sentimental ending. The supporting cast are fine, Lowell Sherman is appropriately caddish, Marie Prevost relishes her amusing wisecracking and Nance O'Neill is sincere. Only Graves doesn't convince.

Alongside the photography, what were particularly good here were Capra's direction and Stanwyck. Capra's direction, even in just his fifth sound picture, has his distinctive touch and he approaches the material delicately and not with a heavy hand and he does generate some momentum. Even better is Stanwyck, who is stunning. Luminous and she delivers the emotional moments heart-rendingly with no signs of overacting, actually very restrained.

On the whole, didn't blow me away but with a lot of note-worthy things. 7/10

Kay (Barbara Stanwyck) and Dot (Marie Prevost) are a couple of slags who share an apartment. They are the gold-digging type of prostitute - not the decent type who do it for the love of their career. Anyway, Kay meets a wealthy painter Jerry (Ralph Graves) who asks her to be his model. She agrees and they fall in love. Jerry has another girlfriend Claire (Juliette Compton) who his parents approve of. However, while Jerry does not see eye-to-eye with his father (George Fawcett), his mother (Nance O'Neill) is more sympathetic to him and his wishes. But even she does not approve of a union between her son and a slut. She visits Kay to warn her off............

The film is interesting and has a few good scenes, eg, the confrontation between Barbara Stanwyck and Nance O'Neill and the scenes with Marie Prevost. She provides some funny moments as does Jerry's playboy artist friend Bill (Lowell Sherman). However, there are also drawn out scenes of melodrama that can get quite dull and I didn't think much of Ralph Graves as a leading man.

Overall, the film was watchable even though I fell asleep during a melodramatic bit, although this may have been as a result of a large pizza that I had just eaten. It's interesting as a slice of 1930 and the film is OK.

...which makes us ask the question: why??? In 1930 Columbia Pictures produced Ladies of Leisure in both sound and silent form; probably a way to satisfy audiences who either preferred one or the other. Barbara Stanwcyk was a hot item by this time and was heavily marketed by both Columbia and later by First National, Warner Brothers. Frank Capra directed this early Stanwyck vehicle which gives it more credence to have this tape available to all who wish to see it. I saw this film only once, back in 1974 and to the best of my knowledge, this gem has never surfaced again.

I checked TCM to see if this movie was available on tape and only the silent version is. For some reason (litigation?) this film has not been shown, yet deserves to be. I know that another Stanwyck vehicle, (So Big - 1932) was embroiled in litigation for decades, finally making it's "premier showing" on TV just a couple of years ago! Is this the same problem with Ladies of Leisure? Ladies of Leisure is a great movie for those who are interested in Stanwyck's early career in films. It should be available on VHS/DVD or even televised again.