Laughing Sinners

Like a lot of early '30s film, I found this a pretty interesting short (72 minutes) story. This one is about a chorus girl-type who gets jilted, hooks up with a Salvation Army man, then is enticed back to the old sinful ways for a night with the man who jilted her and finally realizes she is better off with the good guy and the good morals.

This is an early look at Joan Crawford, who is blonde here with huge eyes. Clark Gable is sans mustache and really looks young. Neil Hamilton, the third lead, is the same man who went on to play Commissioner Gordon in the Batman TV series three decades later. In here, he's the pagan bad guy.

This film goes a long way in portraying traveling salesmen as morally bankrupt people. Now why would they do that?!!

This may not be the greatest of the Crawford/Gable pairings, but their affinity for each other is obvious, and as always what is unsaid between them speaks volumes about their off-screen relationship. The film's other highlights include Joan's singularly eccentric "farmer" dance, for which she sports a false nose and beard! This was surely the inspiration for the Soggy Bottom Boys' "disguises" and dancing in the climax of 'O Brother Where Art Thou?'. In any event, the phenomenal originality of her performance provides another dimension to Crawford's enduring film legacy.

Laughing Sinners is surely some good publicity for The Salvation Army. The plot of Ivy/Bunny (Joan Crawford) leaving her previous life behind and finding happiness in the helping of others is moralising but never came off to me as overly preachy. I like Laughing Sinners despite the film's inconsistency with sections of the movie having little to no impact on the overall story. The first twenty minutes of set up, for example, could easily have been done in half the time. Yet despite this, there is a powerful emotional undercurrent at the heart of Laughing Sinners with a number of highly moving scenes making up for the less than stellar portions of the film.

At least some of these weaker moments are made passable from the presence of a comical, stereotypical Italian chef to a bizarre dance number in which Joan Crawford is dressed as a scarecrow; go figure. Likewise, another real highlight in Laughing Sinners is a scene in the park depicting a charity picnic which has such naturalism in both its documentary-like appearance as well as the acting; a piece of neorealism which doesn't feel like a movie set.

As soon as Clark Gable enters the picture at 22 minutes the film truly takes off. Any scene with Crawford and Gable is pure magic with the sincerity in their interactions which at no point feels like acting. I don't think there's any other actress of the time who can as effectively as Crawford make you pour out your heart for the poor woman and rarely has she ever looked as angelic as she does here in her Salvation Army uniform. Likewise, many people will laugh at the idea of Clark Gable playing a Salvation Army officer but Laughing Sinners provides a side of Gable I wish more people could see. Like his role of Dr Ferguson in Men In White (1934), the part of Carl Loomis is saintly without delving into the sickly with his ability to project a real sense of warmth especially with his interaction with children.

This is one of the few films in Gable's career in which he isn't a romantic lead as he only remains in the friend-zone with Joan. Never again would we see Gable as more of a boy scout and less the alpha male; as he cooks, wears sweaters and aprons and lives with his aunt.

Clark Gable is particularly handsome in his Salvation Army uniform.He is very efficient when it comes to showing seduced girl Crawford the straight and narrow!And he must display lots and lots of patience ,indulgence and compassion for ,even after the marriage of her beau ,a smug buck,she's ready to fall in love again head over heels . Gable and Crawford singing canticles while delivering free meals to the needy.What a nice way to redeem your soul and to find true love!

What's really tragic is that these poor people are still looking for free meals in the soup kitchen ,be it the the Salvation Army or one of the other charitable organizations .In France ,in the organization I'm currently working for("Les Restos Du Coeur" ) ,the number of beneficiaries has increased by 15% in 2010-2011.

One of those movies about fallen women who reform that were common in pre-Code Hollywood, LAUGHING SINNERS, also known as COMPLETE SURRENDER, comes less as a movie of quality as standard fare that features the two leads, Crawford and Gable -- she already a star, he a rising actor -- coming together and making early music to the viewer's eyes. Before Hepburn and Tracy, these were the ones the public wanted to see together even if the movie in itself was less than memorable, and MGM gave it to them 8 times.

Also a feature where one can get to see Crawford dance, sing, and indirectly, essay what would become a breakout role in RAIN only a year later.