Expensive Women

Warren William isn't getting anywhere with his painting, so Dolores Costello goes out into the world to see what she can make of it. She soon makes Anthony Bushell and vice versa. His father, H.B. Warner doesn't approve, so she agrees to give him up. However, Joe Donohue, who wants her, catches her saying goodbye.

It's a surprisingly stiffly acted bit of drama; perhaps it's simply because the situation arose so much in dramas this period, that no one could think of anything fresh. Certainly H.B. Warner is surprisingly stiff, and everyone is stagebound in their overwritten lines.

This was Miss Costello's last movie under her Warner Brothers contract. She was retiring to raise her children from her marriage to John Barrymore. She would not return to the screen for another five years.

I don't need to repeat the other favorable reviews - I agree with most everything favorable, including the assertion that the movie is not a "hack job." I think the plot does make sense and it kept me relishing just how much "free love" was in the air among young people of the late 20s/early 30s. But old man Raymond is the voice of fascism and his success in the movie is a grim foreboding of the repression that would soon sweep northern European societies (of which I include the US) in the early 30s, where the Democrats ascent to power in the US was accompanied by the "sexual fascism" of the production code. So I think this movie holds up well and is loaded with both wistfulness and chills.

This is the first movie I have seen of Dolores Costello and her facial expressions are delicious even if her verbal delivery is a little wooden. I agree with the favorable assessments of Polly Walters (what a fabulous Betty Boop voice!) and Warren Williams, but disagree with the generally negative takes on Jack Donohue, playing Bobby Brandon, which I read as successfully and self-consciously "rich Irish," right down to the Brooklyn way Jack says "paehty." And yes Anthony Bushell is despicable as the young lover, but somehow I found his performance right, like the repressed bisexual son of a powerful father, doing everything Dad says as a result of his own confused sexuality. Of course, that read puts pressure on his love affair with Dolores, and that's not very convincing, though it won't be the first time I've seen a woman throw herself at a sexually confused young man, attracted to his vulnerability and refreshed by his lack of machismo, so ultimately I was convinced of their love, and the scene where he sleeps on her breast is truly touching, and a beautiful symbol of his weakness.

The Raymond father/son relationship is one of the best illustrations I have seen of how "conventional Protestant morality" was foundering among the Anglosphere "elite" of the late 20s/early 30s. Here's a fellow, ol' man Raymond, who insists he is the soul probity and yet finds himself committing ghastly deeds, and getting away with them. A fine portrait of the corruption of power and the impending death within a generation of conventional Anglosphere morality.

Maybe the Warner Brothers didn't know how radical they were being, but they knew what it took to tell a good story, and they succeeded here, even if you can feel the furies descending on this celebration of "pre-code mores," where murder goes unpunished, the clown gets to laugh at New Year's Eve debauchery (don't miss that image - truly powerful), and promiscuity is rewarded.

So it's a 7 because it is too short at 1 hour and too many characters are left hanging, especially the Raymond father/son/daughter-in-law triangle, which really needs a 5-minute wrap-up scene where their eternal misery is nailed. But watch it and see if you too don't find yourself satisfied with the meatiness of the story.

In one of the early talkies, Connie (Dolores Costello, who will be the real life wife to John Barrymore) meets Neil (Warren William) at a dinner party. William was "The Lone Wolf" for years, and was able to play the good guy or the bad guy with equal skill. It takes until ten minutes in, to find a storyline for this film. We can see why its rated 5.9, but to be fair, that's based on only 95 votes so far. Keep an eye for HB Warner, who played "Chang" in Lost Horizon. you MUST see it, if you haven't already. Versatile actor. Polly Walters is in here, and seems to be a cross between Mae West and Jean Harlow. That screechy little voice! Next Connie meets "Arthur" (Anthony Bushell), but that may or may not work out. From First National/Warner Brothers, it's a film about relationships, chance meetings, and the pre-code morals and standards in the 1930s. This was one of the last films directed by Henley. He had been around for YEARS, acting and directing silents. This one isn't any Shakespeare play, but probably interesting historically, for the actors in it.

Rich bored socialite Connie Newton (Dolores Costello) falls for Neil Hartley. Bobby Brandon is her drunken party friend. She next falls for the married Arthur Raymond. Arthur tries to get a divorce but fails.

Apparently, Costello was a silent film star who faded after the transition into sound for various reasons. Her voice is fine and her acting should be good for the talkies. She supposedly retired as wife of John Barrymore until that marriage ended. She's the grandmother of Drew Barrymore. She has some of that screen presence although not quite as bright. I just don't like the character. It's not that appealing and her romantic journey is not compelling. I'm not rooting for anybody.

These depression era romantic romps served a real purpose. They took the audience out of their depressing existence into a world most of them would never know. They are frequently naughty and sexual innuendo and double entendres are everywhere - especially in pre-code entries like this one. In most of them, the male principals pretend to have some kind of vague position such as broker, banker, or sometimes they are just "in business", whatever that means. In this one, they don't even make the attempt. Nobody works. In fact, you rarely see the men in anything but tuxedos. They all live in swanky apartments, have country homes, use white telephones, and live on cocktails and snacks. Just like my well to do brother. Well, it's a short movie and ignoring all that annoying background saves a lot of time.

Still, it's a fascinating movie in it's own way. Pre-code allows the female lead, played by Dolores Costello to bounce from lover to lover without having to apologize for it. It also allows the irrepressible, outrageous, Polly Walters to get away with some of the snappiest, naughtiest dialog one could imagine. When she tells Warren Williams the taxi is waiting, he tells her to compensate him. She says: "I already compensated him - now he wants to be paid." Scrumptious. Another line worth noting. She tells him Bobby Brandon was evicted from a speakeasy for calling the doorman "a pansy". Pre-code also allowed Dolores Costello, by anybodies definition, a loose woman, to find happiness in the end - without paying a penalty.

As I watched this, I thought about how much talent went into this dialog. Compared to a lot of the visual filth we are subjected to today, it is amazing that anybody could have objected to the wit and humor that this movie and others like it gave us. Watch it with relish.