This Modern Age

I wonder if Joan Crawford disliked Jean Harlow's career boom. In This Modern Age, Joan wears a platinum wig and prances around like a party girl, but she's really innocent and only interested in a wedding ring, much like Jean's character in The Girl from Missouri.

Joan's mother is Pauline Frederick, and since she's a divorcee and has a well-known relationship with Albert Conti, she has a bit of a bad reputation. She wants Joan to have a fair shot in life, but this film is a far cry from Stella Dallas. Joan attracts the high-class Neil Hamilton and worries that his parents won't approve of her. This isn't the best mother-daughter drama to come out of the 1930s, and while Joan looks very pretty, I won't choose to watch it again. I'll stick with Stella Dallas when I want a good cry.

...plus it's a good vehicle for Joan Crawford and, for that matter, the rest of the cast too. This is an example of an MGM precode society drama in which the sin of being too virtuous seems to be the central theme.

The story opens with Di Winter (Pauline Frederick) planning a trip with her married lover, André de Graignon (Albert Conti). Di had divorced her husband years ago, apparently was judged an unfit character by the court, and had her daughter taken from her and not even allowed visitation. Di then moves to France, and eventually becomes the long time mistress of the wealthy Andre. Andre, in return, furnishes her with a lovely house and clothes to match, servants, and in general a very luxurious lifestyle. Out of the blue, Di gets a letter notifying her that her long lost daughter Val (Joan Crawford) is on her way for a visit. Val turns out to be a good mixture of mom and dad - she has mom's fun loving ways balanced with dad's moral compass.

Val lacks experience with the kind of people her mother rubs elbows with and the high life in general, since she has lived a rather sheltered life. She finds two suitors. Tony is a free spirit who takes everyone as they are with no judgment, but he has no use for marriage. Bob is a more conventional sort and the marrying kind whose parents' ancestors not only came over on the Mayflower, either one of them could easily be confused with Plymouth Rock itself. They are that stuffy and very judgmental. Which suitor and accompanying lifestyle will Val ultimately choose? On top of that Di has lied to her daughter about who exactly owns her house and where her money comes from. To make matters worse Andre is getting tired of paying Di's bills and getting no bang for his buck since daughter Val moved in. All of this together makes for good drama indeed and a great showcase for the talents of all concerned. Plus it was good to see an older woman (Miss Frederick) playing an attractive woman and an object of desire. That's something you'd never see in a popular film today and that's the reason that great actresses with 50 year careers like that of Joan Crawford are likely to remain forever in the past.

Fast-paced soaper set in Paris during an era in which `nobody cares' what you do. Upon the death of her father, an innocent `nineteen' year-old blonde Joan Crawford seeks out and is reunited with her divorced expatriate mother. The mother comes to realize that a chance at a renewed relationship with her daughter is worth more than a long-standing relationship with the Frenchman who has been paying her way for years. Mother and daughter move in together.

Complications with the boyfriend – a Harvard football man from a good American family. The kids fall hard for each other but when his parents see the kind of mother and friends she has – well there is the dickens to pay. A more sour looking pair would have been hard to find. Joan looks great (but not 19) in this movie and does a good job at being aghast when she finds out the truth about her mother.

Joan plays a girl whose world is to: make virtue of vice, never take anything seriously, and always be amusing. Yet she rebels against her mother's behavior. Will the daughter reconcile with and accept her mother for who she is? Can the sourpusses ever forgive the scandalous behavior of a fallen woman? Does a woman need a man before she is really happy (will those darn kids get together in the end)? Or will Joan run off instead and seek fulfillment elsewhere? These questions and more are answered in the dramatic conclusion of `This Modern Age.'

Diane Winters (Pauline Frederick) opens a letter to learn that her nineteen year old daughter is coming to live with her. Valentine (Joan Crawford) arrives timidly but quickly learns to love her mother. She does not know, however, that her mother is a kept woman living a lavish lifestyle thanks to a wealthy benefactor. Rich people flock to the home including Tony Girard (Monroe Owsley), a lovesick drunk who befriend Valentine. She also meets the respectable Bob Blake Jr. (Neil Hamilton) who she hopes to wed, until she realizes that their families clash.

This is a good early talkie because it doesn't suffer from being a film for the sake of being a film. It has an actual story which is performed well by the cast. It is a bit short and not emotional enough to be considered a great film, but if you're a fan of early Crawford films like I am, you'll enjoy yourself.

Speaking of Crawford, it is a bit ironic that her character is so moral here. The drunk driving accident brings up the hit-and-run trouble she had in her own life and her stance against her mother's lifestyle is in stark contrast to her true beliefs.

There is considerable energy in this Joan Crawford vehicle, and it compares favorably with some of her other films of the period - it is much more engaging than Laughing Sinners, for example. A number of scenes are very short, and the story moves along briskly. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the performance of Pauline Frederick as Crawford's mother - she is believable and touching, and evokes great sympathy as a woman in a difficult situation. The settings, of course, are sumptuous in that art deco MGM style that is so appealing from the distance of more than 70 years. Also noteworthy is that although this is a drama, there is a fair amount of humor throughout. It is not one of the depressing, heavy-going melodramas typical of the period.