Lorry Evans (Constance Bennett) and Minnie Brown (Pert Kelton) have been released from jail and are boarding a boat for New Orleans. They’re short on money and prospects, but hope they’ll have some luck in the city. When they run into trouble on the boat, Lorry jumps overboard to avoid being arrested again and is pulled from the water by cotton barge skipper Dan (Joel … Continue reading Bed of Roses (1933)
Susie Schmidt (Loretta Young), Martha Karenye (Janet Gaynor), and Yoli Haydn (Constance Bennett) are three young women who have rented an apartment together in Budapest. Susie is a chorus girl, Martha works several odd jobs, and Yoli is a model. On move-in day at their new apartment, the women share their wishes. Susie wants to own a hat shop, like the one she used to … Continue reading Ladies in Love (1936)
The Murdock family lives in poverty. Ben (J. Farrell MacDonald), the patriarch, is out of work and relies on his children to pool their money and support the family. He and his wife Agnes (Clara Blandick) have high hopes that their daughters will marry men who bring home decent paychecks. Peg (Anita Page) hopes to marry Nick (Clark Gable), a hard-working fellow who brings in … Continue reading The Easiest Way (1931)
One year, one film: 1937 The film: Topper, dir. Norman Z. McLeod starring Cary Grant, Constance Bennett, Roland Young, Billie Burke Rating: Recommended | Highly Recommended | MUST-SEE It’s a well-known fact here on TMP that I adore Cary Grant. He’s one of my absolute favorite actors and tops my list of classic Hollywood crushes. Topper was one of the first Cary Grant films that I fell … Continue reading One year, one film: 1937 – Topper
A note from Lindsey: This is my 500th post on TMP! Woohoo! The favorite film: Topper, a 1937 romantic fantasy-comedy directed by Norman Z. McLeod for MGM. The synopsis: George and Marion Kerby are a rich, fun-loving couple who care more about having a grand time than leading responsible lives. While heading home from the one corporate meeting that George attends each year, their car … Continue reading Favorite things about… Topper (1937)
Mary Evans (Constance Bennett) is a waitress with aspirations of making it in Hollywood, but she realizes it’s rare to make it big in a town full of people who have the same goal. But while working at a diner, she befriends Max Carey (Lowell Sherman), a director who gives her a big break. On top of her budding screen success, she manages to rope … Continue reading What Price Hollywood? (1932)
Adell Hamilton (Constance Bennett), the youngest daughter of the Hamilton family, finds herself attracted to a lawyer named David Norton (Neil Hamilton). But their romance is no walk in the park. David is eventually assigned as the prosecutor in a murder case of which Adell has become a suspect, though her siblings were actually the ones involved in it. Will Adell risk losing her love … Continue reading Two Against the World (1932)
London, 1919. The war is raging on, but nurse Doris Kendall (Constance Bennett) still finds time to fall in love when she meets Captain Barry Craig (Joel McCrea) of the American Army Air Corps. When Barry proposes to Doris the day before he’s supposed to ship out, she refuses because marriage would mean that she would be sent back to America. They spend the night … Continue reading Born to Love (1931)
The Common Law is a pre-code drama which serves as a critique of society’s conventions, especially in relation to marriage. Constance Bennett is Valerie West, the live-in girlfriend and model of painter John Neville (Joel McCrea). Valerie and John are American ex-pats living in Paris when they meet and decide to live together, much to the chagrin of John’s sister, snooty high-society girl Claire (Hedda … Continue reading The Common Law (1931)
Topper (1937) Why? This was one of the first Cary films that I saw, and the first that made me fall in love with him. The plot is quirky, the performances are lovely, and it’s just a completely delightful film overall. Favorite character: I love George & Marion Kerby equally! Favorite quote or scene: The car crash/death itself is all at once dramatic and hilarious (which … Continue reading Top 9 non-musical comedies of the 1930s, #7
