A relationship gradually develops between a savvy New York street girl and a good-hearted cab driver, but other matters keep getting in their way, including financial problems and a murder.A relationship gradually develops between a savvy New York street girl and a good-hearted cab driver, but other matters keep getting in their way, including financial problems and a murder.A relationship gradually develops between a savvy New York street girl and a good-hearted cab driver, but other matters keep getting in their way, including financial problems and a murder.
- Policeman
- (uncredited)
- Police Desk Sergeant
- (uncredited)
- Charlie
- (uncredited)
- Judge
- (uncredited)
- Ryan
- (uncredited)
- 2nd Detective
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
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Featured reviews
Some people might watch this because they're Carole Lombard fans. Although this might sound sacrilegious to them, I'm not a fan of her comedy but in this she's fantastic. This is a Columbia picture, it's shabby and grimy and Carole Lombard perfectly fits into this unsavoury world as a slightly shop soiled street walker. Unlike in some other films of the period, the star is not a victim, she's not struggling. She's thriving and is part of that environment, she's as much a part of that dirty city as the Brooklyn Bridge.
It's written by Robert Riskin, who would go on to write most of Frank Capra's classic films so you know that however uncertain things get for our heroes, you're probably going to get a happy ending....or do you?
Although the plot is essentially about a prostitute who falls in love with a taxi driver, Riskin's brilliant script weaves it into a lovely story arc where we see characters evolve before our eyes. It's underlying theme however is perception. In the eyes of the others, however much she changes, Mae was and always will be just an untrustworthy prostitute. Maybe on a deeper level it's about how we see ourselves and how we see each other. It's how we see others as reflections of our own preconceptions and indeed of ourselves. Although not quite Frank Capra, director Edward Buzzell does a great job and reinforces the reflection motifs with some clever use of mirrors and reflections.
Overall, definitely worth watching for a great, uplifting story with some of the best fast-talking, wisecracking dialogue ever giving us a real taste of life for the underdogs of New York during the darkest days of the depression.
The chemistry is good between Pat O'Brien who plays "Jimmy" the cabdriver and Carole Lombard who plays "Mae" the street-girl. Mae's sentence has been suspended by the Judge on the condition that she leave New York City. Of course she refuses. On her way home she takes a cab, but has no money to pay. She stiffs the cabdriver. Later she goes back to square things and a relationship develops between the two. We watch these two grow closer and more dependent on each other, we root for Jimmy as he struggles to fulfill his dream to become a business man, and we cry as a financial crisis and murder come between them.
The very young Carole Lombard stars as Mae (!!) a rather chic and smart street walker (especially compared to her contemporaries in the film) who unexpectedly finds true love with loud-mouthed cab driver Pat O'Brien who is oblivious to her past. Shortly after their wedding he finds out the truth and struggles to keep his faith in her. The script to this little programmer is by Robert Riskin and features excellent and credible dialogue, not "snappy patter" a hackneyed writer might have gone with. Lombard is superb in this and even the often predictable O'Brien does really good work here. TCM aired this long-unseen little gem with zero fanfare for the first time in December 2007, let's hope they'll also go in the vaults to get Lombard's other rare Columbia films NO MORE ORCHIDS and BRIEF MOMENT.
"Virtue" moves at a fast pace, has very good dialogue, and Lombard gives an excellent performance as a street smart woman who falls in love unexpectedly. She's very beautiful and quite sophisticated in appearance, though her comrades in the streetwalker trade seem a lot lower class. Pat O'Brien, who worked into his eighties and usually played the best friend to someone like Jimmy Cagney, does a good job in a rare leading role for him.
Since the film is precode, it contains a lot of innuendo, my favorite being O'Brien's advice to Ward Bond, who wants to get married. "It's your doughnut," O'Brien says. "Dunk it."
Did you know
- TriviaOne of the last films to feature prostitution as a major theme before the rigid enforcement of the Hays Code.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Flanagan: [at the ticket window at a train station] Pretty soft for you, sister, getting the city to pay your fare to Danbury.
Mae: Pretty soft for the city I don't live in Australia. C'mon, grandpa.
Flanagan: [on the train, placing Mae's luggage on the rack] There y'are.
[to the conductor]
Flanagan: The lady goes to Danbury, chief.
[to Mae]
Flanagan: Now take my advice, sister, and keep out of New York.
Mae: [snidely] OK, grandpa. I'll remember all your advice: I'll watch my diet, go to the dentist twice a year, keep my nose clean, and pray for you every night - to break a couple of legs.
[closeup on Mae's gams as she crosses them; fadeout]
- Alternate versionsYears later, Columbia reissued the film to capitalize on the subsequent stardom of Lombard and O'Brien. The Breen Office demanded the removal of the opening courtroom scene (which clearly establishes Lombard as a prostitute) to conform to the Production Code. In restoring the film, the original soundtrack was located, but the image is still missing, thus current prints have a slug (blank footage) for the opening scene, leading some viewers to believe the black image was intentional.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Hollywood Hist-o-Rama: Carole Lombard (1961)
Details
- Runtime
- 1h 8m(68 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1