Kept Husbands

KEPT HUSBANDS (1931) tells the story of Dot Parker (Dorothy Mackaill), a wealthy young socialite who sets her sights on the hard working Dick Brunton (Joel McCrea), a supervisor at her father's steel plant. She bets with her father that she can get him to agree to marry her within four weeks. When she does, she uses her father's wealth to treat Dick to a life of luxury. Dick, however, begins to feel unfulfilled and trapped by luxury, longing for a simpler life, and tensions arise between the two. Directed by Lloyd Bacon.

This pre-Code film shows an assertive young woman who isn't content to wait for the man to propose to her; she takes the initiative in the relationship. While this may seem rather tame now, it was revelatory to audiences in the 1920s and 1930s. It sends a mixed message about this, though, since Dot's character is eventually shown as a spoiled girl who will resort to manipulative and dramatic behavior to get her way. The title refers to Dick and another character, who both come to feel useless and unfulfilled because they live off of the wealth of their wives and family rather than the sweat of their brow, and are helpless victims of controlling women. So what are we supposed to take away from this, exactly? It seems to extol assertive women as modern while villainizing them as controlling at the same time.

It also touches on the clash between the idle wealthy and the working class, with the rich portrayed as elegant yet superficial, and the working class as rustic yet wise and loving (via Dick's parents). The characters aren't really defined that well. The script gets really silly in the last act, settling for a pat, forced conclusion

Dorothy Mackaill and Joel McCrea both do fine work in their respective portrayals. Mackaill shows intelligence and humor in her portrayal, and McCrea is refreshingly low-key and naturalistic. The supporting players also do effective work here, although I found Dick's dad a little on the stiff side. The sets are appropriately well furnished and luxurious. The cinematography and editing are well executed, not really outstanding but quite professional. It's somewhat entertaining as a pre-Code look at gender roles, but it sends a mixed message and is rather simplistic. SCORE: 6/10

Long forgotten, Dorothy Mackaill was a Ziegfeld girl who was big in pictures in the late silent and early talkie periods. Then she disappeared. Kept Husbands is a great little film that showcases her talent as an actress. It also boasts a very young Joel McCrea. Racy for its time, it's the story of a spoiled rich girl who proposes to a working man and then runs rampant over his life until the big blowup. Fast paced and funny in spots, this little gem is sure worth watching. The stars are terrific and attractive. Supporting cast includes Robert McWade as the indulgent father, Florence Roberts as the snooty mother, Ned Sparks as comic relief, Mary Carr as McCrea's mother, former silent great Clara Kimball Young in an embarrassing turn as the bitchy society woman, and Bryant Washburn as the creep.

Filled with funny lines and double meanings, this is a swell little pre-Code film. Mackaill is terrific as the spoiled "kitten" and was a solid actress (see her in Safe in Hell also); McCrea is also very good as the bewildered husband; Mary Carr is also noteworthy as the doting mother. Clara Kimball Young was a sensational star of the teens. She was 41 when she made this film and is just AWFUL. She worked for another decade.

NOTE: The IMDb lists Llewellyn as being played by Freeman Wood. I think it was Lucien Littlefield, who was also listed in the film's opening credits.

Dorothy Mackaill, ex-Ziegfeld star-turned-actress, did some great early talkies in the 1930's, this being one of them. She's pouty and childish as 'Dot', the rich bride of blue-collar worker Joel McCrea--who hates being married to money! Very fresh, fast and funny showcase for 'Dot', a great actress who was perhaps before her time.

Nearly a century old, this romantic dramedy starring Dorothy Mackaill and Joel McCrea is surprisingly fresh and heartwarming, thanks to the utter sincerity of the performances, and a terrific commitment to tried and true dramatic arcs. What a breath of fresh air compared to current facetious and downright silly trends in rom-coms.

McCrea is one of the great actors who is taken for granted, no cult for him, and not a name bandied about among Hollywood legends. I suppose his sin was being hard-working and rising to the occasion when cast in great roles -at least the '30s through '60s filmmakers knew his talent, ranging from Preston Sturges all the way to Sam Peckinpah.

The revelations here for me were the actresses: Mackaill as his wife and Mary Carr as his mother. The vivacious and rather amazing performance by Dorothy - captivating in the early reels, then downright hissible with her selfishness later on, on;y to bring a tear near the end - that's a style that would be worth bringing back -she really poured her heart into it. And in a sentimental role, I was with Carr 100% as the bedrock underneath all the film's frivolity.

This is surefire Depression Era entertainment (with a solid director of that era, Lloyd Bacon, in charge). One can't help but immediately identify with Joel's all-American boy character and live vicariously in the glamour of the upper class during the Depression, while the script carefully makes clear their shortcomings. Dorothy's bad behaviour and comeuppance are expertly delineated, and the lack of censorship only adds to the power of certain risque scenes, such as their wedding night and her dalliance with a scoundrel at Joel's lowest moment.

Last week I watched Joel McCrea turn in an absolutely stunning performance in Merian Cooper and Earnest Schoedsack's brilliant 1932 thriller, "THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME" and again he reminds me here of just what an underrated actor he was during the Golden Age of Hollywood. His natural blond good looks (he pioneered surfing during the sport's early days in Los Angeles) and extremely competent acting on the heels of his residency at the nearby Pasadena Playhouse stand out in stark contrast to other leading men in an era when Billy Haines, George Arliss and Ramon Navarro were still representing America's young marrieds getting into jams as they get on their feet in the early days of The Great Depression. Dorothy Mackaill has the tricky job of playing a spoiled brat who is also in many ways by 2004 standards a modern woman whose doting industrialist father isn't making her emancipation any easier--but she pulls it off, and we wind up liking her! Sounding a little at first like one of the most outlandish stars of the day, Paramount's Mae West knock-off Peggy Hopkins Joyce, Mackaill proceeds to give a spot-on performance that represents some of the most natural acting I have seen out of anyone from the early talkies era; her knows-what-she-wants character Dot is effected flawlessly. I forgot that I was watching an actress perform, so finely tuned is her sense of timing. An Ex-Follies girl who came to the US from England at the age of 18, she is at ease before the camera, apparently aware of the fine line she is walking in a part which few other performers from that shaky time in the industry would have been able to master with such seamless grace. I am surprised and disappointed that her film career was in its twilight and that soon thereafter she would be serving full-time as a caregiver to her disabled mother. The writing and direction are both deserving of praise here, as well. The intelligent dialogue (including the contemporary slang, which I find fascinating whenever I can find it) stands the test of time remarkably well: it is real, never banal or contrived despite the familiar conflicted Depression-era highbrow-working class storyline aspect. When Dot asks her father to pay her new husband $50,000 a year, the kindly industrialist explains that he cannot comply, reasoning quite correctly that "it would hurt the organization"--having served a hitch in B-school, I liked that wise old man and contemporary manager right off the bat! Motherhood receives a tender treatment and ever so effectively. The lighting has a definite early Warners'-First National look to it. Sound recording, almost always a liability in those days, is accomplished neatly, as is the makeup: lips appear to be real rather than painted on and during the proposal scene McCrea's wholesome tan face appears not only untouched but luminescent. Rarely have the actors of 1931 looked quite so good. Helpful Trivia: At the time of production, Miss Mackaill was 28; cowpuncher McCrea, 25.