This is one of the "talky-est" movies I've seen in some time and often the dialog is very stilted and even occasionally silly. Yet despite this, the film is actually very shocking and "modern" in its sensibilities and pretty entertaining--if the dialog and pacing don't drive you to turn it off before it's over! And for adults who are VERY patient, it is a film worth seeing (perhaps deserving a score of 7 depending on the audience).
Leslie Howard plays a pretty wussy guy who has definitely had lived the "Bohemian lifestyle". However, by the time the movie starts, he's ready to give up his wild and fornicatious (is that a word?) past and marry Myrna Loy. It seems that although he's loved another (in more ways than one), this other woman (played by Ann Harding) wasn't the marrying kind and so he set his sights on Loy. However, once he announced his engagement, Harding suddenly has a change of heart and wants to legitimize her sordid relationship with Howard--but unfortunately, her change of heart comes too late. Howard, quite the idiot, thinks he can maintain a strong friendship with Harding WHILE STILL MARRIED TO LOY! Everyone but Howard realizes this can't happen and so naturally over time they drift apart.
A bit of time passes, and slowly but surely you come to see Loy as an incredibly manipulative and controlling woman. but Howard is slow to accept this. And, at the same time, Howard becomes more and more the "whipped dog". This presents an interesting moral dilemma, as although he and Harding had obviously been a lot more than just friends in the past, at least they loved each other. With Loy, there is absolutely no love--just manipulation. Heck, she even uses sex to get her way! She truly played a person you loved to hate! Eventually the slow-witted Howard realizes just how awful and cold his wife is and FINALLY he gets to the point where he realizes he must choose. I actually really liked this aspect of the film--as I found myself yelling at the TV for him to leave Loy--which is saying a lot, because I am a very traditional person and hate the idea of divorce. Well, it turns out that Howard, too, is against divorce and ultimately just runs to Harding to shack up--marriage or not! Considering the movie deals with premarital sex, living together, the Bohemian attitudes of Harding and Howard, adultery, using sex to manipulate your man and the whole "other woman" angle, it's an amazingly sordid and adult movie--even by 21st century standards. In this light, the film is a wonderful example of an "early Code" drama and of great interest to film buffs. In other words, in the early days of the Hays Production Code of ethics and morals, the code was mostly ignored by the studios and Hays' job was mostly symbolic. The office was started in the 1920s as a result of nudity and very adult themes in films--something that might surprise many people today. It wasn't until the mid to late 1930s that the code began to be strongly enforced--well after this movie appeared.
Leslie Howard plays a pretty wussy guy who has definitely had lived the "Bohemian lifestyle". However, by the time the movie starts, he's ready to give up his wild and fornicatious (is that a word?) past and marry Myrna Loy. It seems that although he's loved another (in more ways than one), this other woman (played by Ann Harding) wasn't the marrying kind and so he set his sights on Loy. However, once he announced his engagement, Harding suddenly has a change of heart and wants to legitimize her sordid relationship with Howard--but unfortunately, her change of heart comes too late. Howard, quite the idiot, thinks he can maintain a strong friendship with Harding WHILE STILL MARRIED TO LOY! Everyone but Howard realizes this can't happen and so naturally over time they drift apart.
A bit of time passes, and slowly but surely you come to see Loy as an incredibly manipulative and controlling woman. but Howard is slow to accept this. And, at the same time, Howard becomes more and more the "whipped dog". This presents an interesting moral dilemma, as although he and Harding had obviously been a lot more than just friends in the past, at least they loved each other. With Loy, there is absolutely no love--just manipulation. Heck, she even uses sex to get her way! She truly played a person you loved to hate! Eventually the slow-witted Howard realizes just how awful and cold his wife is and FINALLY he gets to the point where he realizes he must choose. I actually really liked this aspect of the film--as I found myself yelling at the TV for him to leave Loy--which is saying a lot, because I am a very traditional person and hate the idea of divorce. Well, it turns out that Howard, too, is against divorce and ultimately just runs to Harding to shack up--marriage or not! Considering the movie deals with premarital sex, living together, the Bohemian attitudes of Harding and Howard, adultery, using sex to manipulate your man and the whole "other woman" angle, it's an amazingly sordid and adult movie--even by 21st century standards. In this light, the film is a wonderful example of an "early Code" drama and of great interest to film buffs. In other words, in the early days of the Hays Production Code of ethics and morals, the code was mostly ignored by the studios and Hays' job was mostly symbolic. The office was started in the 1920s as a result of nudity and very adult themes in films--something that might surprise many people today. It wasn't until the mid to late 1930s that the code began to be strongly enforced--well after this movie appeared.