MANNEQUIN is a pretty typical plot for Joan Crawford in the 1930s. Again and again, she played the poor girl who longed for the good life--though in this one she isn't a money-grubber like she was in several of these films. The only interesting angle to set this one apart was the no-good husband (#1) that she married near the beginning. He was vile and so easy to hate--I liked that. But then when she met Spencer Tracy (husband #2), the movie just stopped making sense.
Considering that this film was made by MGM and featured Joan Crawford and Spencer Tracy, it should have been much better instead of just being a competent time-passer. Most of this problem I attribute to bad writing as opposed to the acting, as everyone involved seemed to try hard to get as much out of this story as they could. The problem is that although the plot was moderately diverting, clichés and inexplicable behavior made the film seem so ridiculously improbable. First, the HUGE cliché--Tracy sees Crawford once and very briefly dances with her--then he falls madly in love with her and tries to steal her away from her husband starting on their wedding day! This is ridiculous and the whole "love at first sight" angle made me gag. Basing an entire movie on this is quite a stretch. Plus, if Tracy is supposed to be a super-nice guy, then why is he such a slimy slug to hit on a woman on her wedding day?! Sure, husband #1 was a jerk, but Tracy didn't know that at the time. Second, the ending made no sense at all. Why Crawford decided to leave her loving husband was totally ill-defined and seemed like a plot device more than anything else.
So overall, some decent performances and a terribly flawed film make this one just passable entertainment. This should have been a lot better.
Considering that this film was made by MGM and featured Joan Crawford and Spencer Tracy, it should have been much better instead of just being a competent time-passer. Most of this problem I attribute to bad writing as opposed to the acting, as everyone involved seemed to try hard to get as much out of this story as they could. The problem is that although the plot was moderately diverting, clichés and inexplicable behavior made the film seem so ridiculously improbable. First, the HUGE cliché--Tracy sees Crawford once and very briefly dances with her--then he falls madly in love with her and tries to steal her away from her husband starting on their wedding day! This is ridiculous and the whole "love at first sight" angle made me gag. Basing an entire movie on this is quite a stretch. Plus, if Tracy is supposed to be a super-nice guy, then why is he such a slimy slug to hit on a woman on her wedding day?! Sure, husband #1 was a jerk, but Tracy didn't know that at the time. Second, the ending made no sense at all. Why Crawford decided to leave her loving husband was totally ill-defined and seemed like a plot device more than anything else.
So overall, some decent performances and a terribly flawed film make this one just passable entertainment. This should have been a lot better.