Friends and Lovers

Lili Damita plays an exotic temptress married to vicious Von Stroheim, who uses her to lure rich men, in order to blackmail them later...He's sort of a higher class pimp, 'cos the guy sort of sells her wife's favors.

Adolphe Menjou and Larry Olivier are two of these men, who happen to be friends. Man-of-the-world Menjou does very well with his role of Captain Richards and a very young and dashing Laurence Olivier, is good as well as the more "naive" guy.

Von Stroheim's short moments on the screen are excellent, because he can portray at very close perfection, that sort of middle european aristocratic decadence. Kudos too, for Hugh Herbert's sympathetic performance as Menjou's valet.

Miss Damita (later to be Mrs. Errol Flynn) has poise but lacks acting talent, but is anyway alluring as the tempting lady.

If you like pre-codes, watch it.

This film gets off to a great, weird, very racy Pre-Code start. In the first couple of minutes we are introduced to an adulterous young wife (Lili Damita) and her slimy, sadistic, blackmailing husband (Erich von Stroheim). You can't take your eyes off von Stroheim; his over-the-top performance is not exactly what you'd call great acting, but it gives the film its only real juice. Once he's—literally—out of the picture, we're left with a static, conventional, and uncompelling love triangle.

Others have already commented on Miss Damita's strengths (beauty and sex appeal) and weaknesses (no real acting ability), which I believe is a fair assessment of her contributions. Despite her physical charms, I found it difficult to believe that men would be driven to extremes of jealousy over her... which seriously undermines the main premise of the story. And when she chooses Adolphe Menjou over Laurence Olivier... well, that's REALLY straining the bounds of credibility!

Speaking of hard to believe, there's Hugh Herbert, making a pathetically inept attempt at a Scottish accent. (He went on to become a repeat offender, once again inflicting his bogus burr as Detective John McTavish in 1934's EASY TO LOVE). Herbert's recurring "business" about the women in his life gets very tiresome very quickly.

The biggest liability in the film is Adolphe Menjou, woefully miscast as the man who wins Damita's heart over all her other lovers, including a very young, very handsome Laurence Olivier. Scrawny, pinch-faced Menjou was over forty at the time (he looks even older); ludicrously, he is repeatedly referred to by various characters as "young man." It's obvious that the part was written for a younger, sexier actor. Had they cast someone more appropriate, the story would have had a lot more sizzle.

Though I rated the film only four stars, I'd recommend it to die-hard film buffs. Besides von Stroheim's memorable characterization, it's got a nuanced performance by the young Olivier, the lovely Miss Damita (and her equally lovely wardrobe), and some appealingly quirky scenes and performances. It's not great art, but it's good entertainment.

A bit of a twist on the average love triangle story, this early American film adds in something to think about in terms of coincidences in life. Everything that happens, with characters meeting who have all been seduced by the same woman, is so reliant on convenient coincidences that it would almost be contrived, if it were not for the fact that the film is indeed about stories that sound contrived but are real, a point made clear by the discussions at the dinner table scene. The film is very talky, without much room set aside for establishing atmosphere, but the dinner scene is so intense that the lack of atmosphere elsewhere is almost forgotten, and there are a few stylish bits, such as a door opening slowly so that it cannot be seen who is opening it.

In a supporting role, Erich von Stroheim plays a central European porcelain collector who manipulates his wife into seducing British gentlemen so that he can later blackmail them. It seems a shame that he was not given a bigger part, because he has by far the most interesting character and he gives off the liveliest performance in the film, speaking slowly to toy with Adolphe Menjou, and moving about the place in such a cool, leisurely manner that one is constantly hanging on edge. Unbeknown to him, his plans go awry when it turns out that two of the men that his wife has seduced are old friends; this coincidence is obvious and too slowly played out, but the resulting initial resentment followed by acceptance that occurs between the two men is interesting to track.

The film looks like it may have been intended to be a satire, and the coincidences are sort of funny, however there's nothing comical as such about the film other than von Stroheim's appropriately domineering performance and the way that he talks - how he says "passion" with his accent comes out rather humorously. The film does not quite work as a satire, presenting more so things to think about then any definite message, and the transformations and motivations of Lili Damita's seductress character are never clear and seem a bit awkward. Damita herself is not exactly excellent in her role - she is visually striking, but never as charismatic as a femme fatale should be. The rest of the cast are generally fine, as is the overall production. It just falls a little short of being anything really special.

Despite my low rating I must admit to really enjoying this creaky melodrama. The vote is because it's all very formulaic, stilted and stiff. Concepts of love and honor reflect Victorian morality which in itself was utterly unrealistic or even very real. I suspect that even today some people might be shocked to find a woman in a man's bedroom after hours and icily ask her to leave the house even though they were fully clothed but such mastodons were and luckily still are few and far between. But I digress. In the film it was necessary to spur our protagonists into yet another display of manly brotherhood and selflessness and to bring this sad example of bad movie-making to its not altogether unpredictable conclusion.

So what's to like? How can one not enjoy Adolphe Menjou, the epitome of the suave knave, paired off with Laurence Olivier in his fourth film, both doing their best with the weak material to steal their common scenes. It was delicious! Both were magnificent, both were divine and it was so much fun to watch. Especially memorable are the scenes where Olivier describes the cut of coat collar with a swoop of his hand that is pure Sir Laurence. And lets not forget Lili Damita who made up for her utter lack of talent by sensuously gliding through her scenes in her tight fighting, low-cut dresses, seemingly barely able to keep herself from devouring her next male victim.

Oh what a fun way to spend 68 minutes!

...in this pre-code drama from RKO and director Victor Schertzinger. Adolphe Menjou stars as Army Captain Geoffrey Roberts. He's been having an affair while on leave with married socialite Alva Sangrito (Lili Damita). Her aristocratic husband Victor (Erich von Stroheim) blackmails Capt. Roberts for money in exchange for keeping the scandal quiet. When Roberts returns to active duty at a dangerous outpost, he is happy to see his friend Lt. Ned Nichols (Laurence Olivier), only to later learn that Ned is in love with someone: Alva! The two nearly come to blows over her, but circumstances may make her the least of their worries

This aims for an adult sophistication but often comes across more sensationalist and juvenile. Damita's character is barely more than a prostitute, and she gets a nude shower scene and some lingering dressing scenes. Olivier hasn't found his voice yet (this was made during his initial attempt to become a screen star, and before he became a stage triumph back in England), and von Stroheim alternates from reveling in his sadism to barely trying to get through his lines. Menjou is a smooth charmer, as usual. Fans of the performers should take a look, as well as those who enjoy seeing the pre-code boundaries pushed.