This film is so much more than "the first film Joan Crawford and Clark Gable made where they played love interests instead of him being a slimy gangster in a small part and her being a working woman like what happened in Dance Fools Dance". It's dull in spots, the plot is rather stupid, Crawford looked like she was having more fun as the sinner than as the Salvation Army worker, Gable is never quite convincing as a Salvation Army savior (he does a better job than Johnny Mack Brown could have ever done), but it's a short film and you never notice most of these things.
Crawford plays Bunny/Ivy, a young woman who is in love with whatshisname (forgot it, but the actor who plays him is Neil Hamilton). When whatshisname dumps her by letter, she is distraught and tries to commit suicide, but Clark Gable is there and he tries to get her to join the Salvation Army.
He tells her that the Salvation Army are having a picnic in the park tomorrow, and would she like to come. She initially doesn't want to, but she shows up anyway.
So Crawford joins the Salvation Army, and finds salvation (pardon the pun) in helping people and being with Gable. However, former loverboy who dumped her by letter finds the hotel where she is staying at and tries to get back with her. She is torn (Joan Crawford cliché- she's always torn between two or more men) between being noble with Gable or going back to being bad with whatshisname. She goes into whatshisname's hotel room and gets drunk (alcohol is illegal in the Salvation Army- one must be noble) and makes a fool out of herself, but Gable convinces her that the Salvation Army is the right place for her to be. Cut to a slightly glib shot of Crawford in her Salvation Army bonnet, holding hands with Gable as they walk through the park while everyone else involved with the Salvation Army saves people and feeds children.
Despite not kissing once (or even her falling into an awkward grip with him), the two leads light up the screen. They have more *** making eggs than most modern on-screen couples do while actually having...you know... (and they don't actually touch each other.)
Joan Crawford is extremely naturalistic in this film, to the point where I forgot she was acting. Heck, I almost forgot that she was Joan Crawford. She's sweet when she needs to be, convincing when she's not, and utterly heartbreaking when she's upset. Whatshisname was a jerk and she didn't deserve it.
Like I mentioned before, Gable is never quite convincing as a nice-guy Salvation Army worker, but he handles it well. This role may have been a step back for him, as other reviews have suggested, but his breakout would be this same year. Also this year, he made Possessed, again with Joan, which is even better than this film.
While the film itself is uneven, the leads will have you forget that. If you don't believe that Joan Crawford could act, watch one of her earlier films. As an added bonus, she's a lot easier to stomach when she's younger- and she's a sweetheart, as well.
Five stars for the choppy film, and added two for Crawford and Gable, bringing my rating up to seven, which seems to be the average for this title.
Crawford plays Bunny/Ivy, a young woman who is in love with whatshisname (forgot it, but the actor who plays him is Neil Hamilton). When whatshisname dumps her by letter, she is distraught and tries to commit suicide, but Clark Gable is there and he tries to get her to join the Salvation Army.
He tells her that the Salvation Army are having a picnic in the park tomorrow, and would she like to come. She initially doesn't want to, but she shows up anyway.
So Crawford joins the Salvation Army, and finds salvation (pardon the pun) in helping people and being with Gable. However, former loverboy who dumped her by letter finds the hotel where she is staying at and tries to get back with her. She is torn (Joan Crawford cliché- she's always torn between two or more men) between being noble with Gable or going back to being bad with whatshisname. She goes into whatshisname's hotel room and gets drunk (alcohol is illegal in the Salvation Army- one must be noble) and makes a fool out of herself, but Gable convinces her that the Salvation Army is the right place for her to be. Cut to a slightly glib shot of Crawford in her Salvation Army bonnet, holding hands with Gable as they walk through the park while everyone else involved with the Salvation Army saves people and feeds children.
Despite not kissing once (or even her falling into an awkward grip with him), the two leads light up the screen. They have more *** making eggs than most modern on-screen couples do while actually having...you know... (and they don't actually touch each other.)
Joan Crawford is extremely naturalistic in this film, to the point where I forgot she was acting. Heck, I almost forgot that she was Joan Crawford. She's sweet when she needs to be, convincing when she's not, and utterly heartbreaking when she's upset. Whatshisname was a jerk and she didn't deserve it.
Like I mentioned before, Gable is never quite convincing as a nice-guy Salvation Army worker, but he handles it well. This role may have been a step back for him, as other reviews have suggested, but his breakout would be this same year. Also this year, he made Possessed, again with Joan, which is even better than this film.
While the film itself is uneven, the leads will have you forget that. If you don't believe that Joan Crawford could act, watch one of her earlier films. As an added bonus, she's a lot easier to stomach when she's younger- and she's a sweetheart, as well.
Five stars for the choppy film, and added two for Crawford and Gable, bringing my rating up to seven, which seems to be the average for this title.