"Our Blushing Brides" was crushing it until the end. It was cruising along doing about 70, not having to slow down or swerve, and it didn't hit any potholes. Then, in the last five minutes, it hit some black ice and crashed. It wasn't completely destroyed, but there was some serious damage.
Jerry March (Joan Crawford) and her two roommates, Connie (Anita Page) and Francine aka Franky (Dorothy Sebastian) were working girls working for the Jardine & Co. Department store. Of the three, Jerry was the wisest, or some may even say the most jaded. While Connie believed in true love and Franky believed she'd be happy marrying for money, Jerry didn't believe in either. She'd heard all the lines and played all the games which made her a magnificent character. She was smart, under control, and willing to tell a guy exactly what she thought. Her roommates, however, weren't so gifted.
A seemingly rich guy named Marty (John Miljan) showed interest in Franky and she married him on their first night together. It turned out he was a crook.
David Jardine (Raymond Hackett), one of the Jardines of Jardine & Co., showed interest in Connie. He puffed her up with flowery talk then dropped her like a bad habit.
Tony Jardine (Robert Montgomery), the eldest of the Jardine brothers and the most coveted by all the women, showed interest in Jerry. His attempts to hook up with her was the most troubling because all I could see was a man in a powerful position imposing himself on an employee of his. He wouldn't take no for an answer. However, to Jerry's credit, she rebuffed him even if she seemingly "led him on" at one point. She didn't shut him down right away because she believed that there might be something there. Then, after she heard his familiar lines that were common to most men, she decided she'd had enough.
At that point the movie was excellent, if for any other reason than a working woman turned down a charming, rich, good-looking guy. That was rare to see on screen. Most often, if a man assertively grabbed a woman and kissed her she usually wilted and became putty in his arms as though she didn't know she wanted him until his lips graced hers. Tony forcefully kissed Jerry, and she "let" him kiss her (she didn't turn her face or claw his eyes out), but once he was done, she took her leave. She wasn't going to be duped by Tony--regardless of his wealth, looks, and charm--only to be another one of his conquests. It wasn't that she was religious or a prude, she simply was tired of the games men played.
I loved Jerry.
Then came the last five minutes of the movie.
Jerry's roommate Connie (who was in love with David Jardine, Tony's brother) swallowed a bunch of pills in order to kill herself after hearing David's wedding to another woman on the radio. It was tragic, but it was realistic. Love and the loss of love can make people do crazy things. What I didn't like, or think was even halfway reasonable, was Jerry's solution to Connie swallowing the pills.
Connie was touch-and-go with a good chance of dying. After getting a doctor Jerry then went all the way to David's wedding party to beg him to come back with her and tell Connie he loved her in hopes that it would keep her alive. Not only is that medically absurd, it's just dumb and useless. A.) David was at his wedding party and B.) he didn't love her! She just swallowed some pills--the doctor is already with her--what in the world is someone lying to a girl and telling her "I love you" going to do?? It seemed like such a ludicrous act on Jerry's part that it completely marred her character.
Then, to top it all off, Jerry wound up with Tony Jardine anyway! After brushing him off several times she relented, which was so typical of the day--and I thought this movie was going to be atypical. I know he said that she'd changed him for the better and made him see the error of his ways, but I figured she would see that as just more game. I thought she would recognize that she was the one thing he couldn't have which made him pull out all stops to get her. But somewhere in the cut between Connie dying and the final scene Tony won her heart.
This was strike two against Jerry's character. Perhaps I was looking for her to find another, simpler, more honest man, or find no man at all, but I didn't quite expect her to fall for Tony Jardine. I was hoping that this rich guy wasn't going to get the girl he so ardently and aggressively pursued--yet it didn't surprise me either. It is a romance movie from 1930 after all, how could it possibly end with Jerry manless?
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Jerry March (Joan Crawford) and her two roommates, Connie (Anita Page) and Francine aka Franky (Dorothy Sebastian) were working girls working for the Jardine & Co. Department store. Of the three, Jerry was the wisest, or some may even say the most jaded. While Connie believed in true love and Franky believed she'd be happy marrying for money, Jerry didn't believe in either. She'd heard all the lines and played all the games which made her a magnificent character. She was smart, under control, and willing to tell a guy exactly what she thought. Her roommates, however, weren't so gifted.
A seemingly rich guy named Marty (John Miljan) showed interest in Franky and she married him on their first night together. It turned out he was a crook.
David Jardine (Raymond Hackett), one of the Jardines of Jardine & Co., showed interest in Connie. He puffed her up with flowery talk then dropped her like a bad habit.
Tony Jardine (Robert Montgomery), the eldest of the Jardine brothers and the most coveted by all the women, showed interest in Jerry. His attempts to hook up with her was the most troubling because all I could see was a man in a powerful position imposing himself on an employee of his. He wouldn't take no for an answer. However, to Jerry's credit, she rebuffed him even if she seemingly "led him on" at one point. She didn't shut him down right away because she believed that there might be something there. Then, after she heard his familiar lines that were common to most men, she decided she'd had enough.
At that point the movie was excellent, if for any other reason than a working woman turned down a charming, rich, good-looking guy. That was rare to see on screen. Most often, if a man assertively grabbed a woman and kissed her she usually wilted and became putty in his arms as though she didn't know she wanted him until his lips graced hers. Tony forcefully kissed Jerry, and she "let" him kiss her (she didn't turn her face or claw his eyes out), but once he was done, she took her leave. She wasn't going to be duped by Tony--regardless of his wealth, looks, and charm--only to be another one of his conquests. It wasn't that she was religious or a prude, she simply was tired of the games men played.
I loved Jerry.
Then came the last five minutes of the movie.
Jerry's roommate Connie (who was in love with David Jardine, Tony's brother) swallowed a bunch of pills in order to kill herself after hearing David's wedding to another woman on the radio. It was tragic, but it was realistic. Love and the loss of love can make people do crazy things. What I didn't like, or think was even halfway reasonable, was Jerry's solution to Connie swallowing the pills.
Connie was touch-and-go with a good chance of dying. After getting a doctor Jerry then went all the way to David's wedding party to beg him to come back with her and tell Connie he loved her in hopes that it would keep her alive. Not only is that medically absurd, it's just dumb and useless. A.) David was at his wedding party and B.) he didn't love her! She just swallowed some pills--the doctor is already with her--what in the world is someone lying to a girl and telling her "I love you" going to do?? It seemed like such a ludicrous act on Jerry's part that it completely marred her character.
Then, to top it all off, Jerry wound up with Tony Jardine anyway! After brushing him off several times she relented, which was so typical of the day--and I thought this movie was going to be atypical. I know he said that she'd changed him for the better and made him see the error of his ways, but I figured she would see that as just more game. I thought she would recognize that she was the one thing he couldn't have which made him pull out all stops to get her. But somewhere in the cut between Connie dying and the final scene Tony won her heart.
This was strike two against Jerry's character. Perhaps I was looking for her to find another, simpler, more honest man, or find no man at all, but I didn't quite expect her to fall for Tony Jardine. I was hoping that this rich guy wasn't going to get the girl he so ardently and aggressively pursued--yet it didn't surprise me either. It is a romance movie from 1930 after all, how could it possibly end with Jerry manless?
Free on YouTube.