Mary Astor was so beautiful, but for some reason, she's cast as someone taken for granted in "Behind Office Doors," a 1931 film. Astor had a great career starting in silents and culminating with "The Maltese Falcon," in 1941. She moved into character roles in the '50s, and played her last role in 1967, due to a heart condition.
Here Astor plays Mary Linden, an executive assistant to James Duneen (Robert Ames). She is the brains of the operation as he seems to only have two brain cells and one of them is on vacation. For reasons known only to herself, she's in love with him. He can't see her for dust and is not only a womanizer, but he hires a few of his bimbo girlfriends, one of whom buys sexy lingerie and shows it off to Mary.
In the beginning of the film Mary meets Ronnie Wales (Ricardo Cortez) and he's crazy about her. One problem - he's married and not living with his wife. She's too interested in her boss, but eventually Duneen's womanizing gets to her and she leaves, heartbroken.
This movie has many precode elements - trashy women, hash, sexual harassment, adultery, sexual innuendo.
The main problem with it is that Mary is an idiot! Why isn't the boss played by someone good-looking and quick-witted like Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.? She deserved better than this shlub for sure. And what was his problem? He has a beautiful secretary who's holding him together, and he's looking around, sending flowers to other women and hiring her an "assistant?" All in all, very '30s, and very not feminist.
Here Astor plays Mary Linden, an executive assistant to James Duneen (Robert Ames). She is the brains of the operation as he seems to only have two brain cells and one of them is on vacation. For reasons known only to herself, she's in love with him. He can't see her for dust and is not only a womanizer, but he hires a few of his bimbo girlfriends, one of whom buys sexy lingerie and shows it off to Mary.
In the beginning of the film Mary meets Ronnie Wales (Ricardo Cortez) and he's crazy about her. One problem - he's married and not living with his wife. She's too interested in her boss, but eventually Duneen's womanizing gets to her and she leaves, heartbroken.
This movie has many precode elements - trashy women, hash, sexual harassment, adultery, sexual innuendo.
The main problem with it is that Mary is an idiot! Why isn't the boss played by someone good-looking and quick-witted like Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.? She deserved better than this shlub for sure. And what was his problem? He has a beautiful secretary who's holding him together, and he's looking around, sending flowers to other women and hiring her an "assistant?" All in all, very '30s, and very not feminist.