I think our reviewers miss what is really "wrong" with this film. It's not "fluff". It's not "uninspired". It is the year it was made -- 1934. The minute I began watching this film it seemed like a very, very old movie. So I looked at Bette Davis' filmography and noted that for her, her modern period of film-making really began rather suddenly in 1938. "Jezebel", "Dark Victory", "The Old Maid", "The Letter". But here, the staging, the photography, even the sound all seem not that removed from a silent film...and of course, the silents really were not that far away (as late as mid-1930, many films were still being made in 2 versions -- silent and sound).
Bette Davis is nearly irrelevant until half-way through the film (remember, one of her breakthrough films -- "The Petrified Forest" -- is still 6 films away), and then we begin to see the Davis we came to love just a few years later. But in this film, Davis is merely a supporting actress. And if you're expecting the chemistry that we later saw with George Brent and Bette Davis, it hadn't developed yet in this film. Brent is disappointing here, and never more so then when he strikes his son with his car.
The first half of the film belongs to Ann Dvorak and George Brent, and Dvorak is excellent here. While she may seem like merely a housewife in the early parts of the film, she develops her role well, and you're almost surprised at how mature she has become later in the film.
You should carefully watch John Halliday. Early in the film his role seems minor, but he plays an increasingly important part as the film progresses, and he does it well.
Unfortunately, the film is pretty much ruined by the stupid -- yes, STUPID -- courtroom scene. Apparently the writers couldn't find any way to come up with the requisite happy ending, but they should have been embarrassed by this ending.
This is a disappointing film, and I'll give it a rare "5".
Bette Davis is nearly irrelevant until half-way through the film (remember, one of her breakthrough films -- "The Petrified Forest" -- is still 6 films away), and then we begin to see the Davis we came to love just a few years later. But in this film, Davis is merely a supporting actress. And if you're expecting the chemistry that we later saw with George Brent and Bette Davis, it hadn't developed yet in this film. Brent is disappointing here, and never more so then when he strikes his son with his car.
The first half of the film belongs to Ann Dvorak and George Brent, and Dvorak is excellent here. While she may seem like merely a housewife in the early parts of the film, she develops her role well, and you're almost surprised at how mature she has become later in the film.
You should carefully watch John Halliday. Early in the film his role seems minor, but he plays an increasingly important part as the film progresses, and he does it well.
Unfortunately, the film is pretty much ruined by the stupid -- yes, STUPID -- courtroom scene. Apparently the writers couldn't find any way to come up with the requisite happy ending, but they should have been embarrassed by this ending.
This is a disappointing film, and I'll give it a rare "5".