I was curious to see how this pre-Code melodrama (1933) treats gender roles, given the greater artistic freedom of early 30's Hollywood. Thankfully, there's a treasure trove of these pre-Code films turning up on TCM following years of assigned oblivion. Many are eye- openers demonstrating a level of human honesty that would largely disappear for decades thanks mainly to the dead hand of watchdog outfits like the Legion of Decency. Perhaps in this case I expected too much. Yes, there is a role reversal as wife Wray becomes the chief breadwinner and celebrity, while ex-football star, hubby Raymond takes a backseat in low- paid anonymity. And, of course, given social convention, this does put a strain on their marriage as they drift apart, and I'm wondering where the paths of this promising screenplay will end up.
Now, this part of the movie is both well scripted and economically handled. Note how many scenes are punctuated by moments of further estrangement. Plus, showing Wray as a brilliant legal eagle in a man's world does challenge convention, which the actress handles well. But instead of continuing in that different direction, as I was hoping, the screenplay follows up with a highly contrived death scene and Wray's truly awful "mea culpa" courtroom confession, worthy of the worst excesses of 1950's soap opera. I don't know why this sudden reversal in direction-- maybe putting a woman in the marital driver's seat was too daring even for this pre-Code period. But whatever the reason, it's a disastrous turn that transforms a potentially memorable film into just another piece of Hollywood contrivance. I now understand why TCM rated it a one-and-a-half out of four. Too bad.
Now, this part of the movie is both well scripted and economically handled. Note how many scenes are punctuated by moments of further estrangement. Plus, showing Wray as a brilliant legal eagle in a man's world does challenge convention, which the actress handles well. But instead of continuing in that different direction, as I was hoping, the screenplay follows up with a highly contrived death scene and Wray's truly awful "mea culpa" courtroom confession, worthy of the worst excesses of 1950's soap opera. I don't know why this sudden reversal in direction-- maybe putting a woman in the marital driver's seat was too daring even for this pre-Code period. But whatever the reason, it's a disastrous turn that transforms a potentially memorable film into just another piece of Hollywood contrivance. I now understand why TCM rated it a one-and-a-half out of four. Too bad.