Lots of pre-Code banter and sauciness from Constance Bennett and Pert Kelton are the highlight of this film, which is average for the period, but well-paced and entertaining nonetheless. The pair are fresh out of prison and looking to get their hooks into men with money who can get them to New Orleans, and it's clear what Kelton will be doing with a truck driver in exchange for a ride down to the docks, which is just the beginning for them. The theme of getting rich quickly was common during Depression era pre-Code films, and "bad women" are often depicted as shrewdly using their wiles to break down dimwitted, supposedly moral men as a way of going about that, and this film is certainly in that category. The motif is a mix of being a reflection of the times, titillation, and empowerment of female sexuality, one that may seem odd or contradictory (or simply off-putting) to some viewers, but which I find intriguing maybe because of all of those things.
The plot is pretty straightforward but the film takes an interesting turn when Bennett gets caught stealing money from a guy she's gotten drunk on a steamboat, and then jumps overboard to elude capture. She gets picked up by the captain of a humble cotton barge (Joel McCrea), who is a decent guy, but she steals from him too before fleeing in the night. We know that somehow they'll run into one another again, and of course they do. As Bennett is known more for character types that were upstanding, it was fun to see her in this role, and do things like sip ever so suggestively from a shot glass to seduce yet another guy. Kelton makes the most of her part and her scene exits too, exaggerating her walk in ways that brought comparisons to Mae West. Unfortunately the film isn't all that well developed, and McCrea is mostly wasted in a role that's too simple, though the moment after he kisses Bennett and she says breathlessly "What was that, a tidal wave? Try it again" is pretty steamy.
The plot is pretty straightforward but the film takes an interesting turn when Bennett gets caught stealing money from a guy she's gotten drunk on a steamboat, and then jumps overboard to elude capture. She gets picked up by the captain of a humble cotton barge (Joel McCrea), who is a decent guy, but she steals from him too before fleeing in the night. We know that somehow they'll run into one another again, and of course they do. As Bennett is known more for character types that were upstanding, it was fun to see her in this role, and do things like sip ever so suggestively from a shot glass to seduce yet another guy. Kelton makes the most of her part and her scene exits too, exaggerating her walk in ways that brought comparisons to Mae West. Unfortunately the film isn't all that well developed, and McCrea is mostly wasted in a role that's too simple, though the moment after he kisses Bennett and she says breathlessly "What was that, a tidal wave? Try it again" is pretty steamy.