Review of The Smart Set

I'm not a fan of William Haines, but to my surprise I thoroughly enjoyed this entry. In fact, I thought Haines gave a really good performance. He was delightfully obnoxious at all the right moments and inspiringly sentimental when patriotism was called for. I wondered why I liked him so much in this movie when he portrayed his usual "I'm a God who does exactly what he likes when he likes and I have no respect for you whatever" character. Then it hit me. The people that Haines reviles and makes fools of in this movie are not honest, hard-working folk like you and me – the people he derides in most of his other screen characterizations – but this time the idle rich and the social set are his target. So it was good to see him making fools of the characters played by people like Jack Holt, Alice Day, Julia Swayne Gordon, Constance Howard and Herbert Prior. Admittedly, Haines' antics didn't sit so well with the character played by Hobart Bosworth, but he did give him a bit of respect; and with Coy Watson, "Bill" Haines was decidedly friendly. Director Hugh Ryan (call me "Jack") Conway has handled the proceedings in his usual, fast-moving, highly competent M-G-M style. Available on an excellent Warner Archive DVD.