Conrad Nagel, hardworking bank teller who is working his way through law school loves Betty Compson. Betty Compson, a pretty lass fresh off the boat from Scandanavia, feels not much for Conrad, who is a bit of a stiff, but instead loves (and makes love to) Robert Ames, Nagel's best friend, and another teller at the bank. Robert Ames appears to be one of the THREE WHO LOVED, but mostly appears to love himself. Does shame and destruction await this trio of flawed souls who get caught up in yet another version of the eternal triangle?
This is a not bad (though typically early RKO stodgy) melodrama that betrays stage orgins. The leads are all folks who need a good smack upside the head, and the mechanics of the plot do a good job of delivering them. Only Robert Ames puts in a decent performance, though, as Nagel is insufferable, and Compson is saddled with an accent that comes and goes. Ames, on the other hand, portrays the role of the affable cad well, and does OK in the later part of the movie, when he has plenty of reasons to be embittered. The conclusion is a mess, because it appears to be a sop to censors, rather than truly believed by anyone in the movie.
Worth the time -- particularly because the running time is rather brief.
This is a not bad (though typically early RKO stodgy) melodrama that betrays stage orgins. The leads are all folks who need a good smack upside the head, and the mechanics of the plot do a good job of delivering them. Only Robert Ames puts in a decent performance, though, as Nagel is insufferable, and Compson is saddled with an accent that comes and goes. Ames, on the other hand, portrays the role of the affable cad well, and does OK in the later part of the movie, when he has plenty of reasons to be embittered. The conclusion is a mess, because it appears to be a sop to censors, rather than truly believed by anyone in the movie.
Worth the time -- particularly because the running time is rather brief.