Having grown up seeing Joan Crawford films in which she was much older and with the reputation of being crazy and cruel, it's always fascinating to watch her very early films and see how truly engaging, charismatic and beautiful she was. It's, like, ooooohhhh, this is why she became a huge movie star. Her comfortable chemistry with Clark Gable is fun to watch, and although this film does't have stellar dialogue and is a bit low-brow, it's one I often just turn on when I have work to do or emails to catch up on. Until recently, when I really paid attention and noticed some troubling, somewhat racist dialogue. I've noticed this expression being used in other films of the era - Robert Williams' character says it to Jean Harlow in "Platinum Blonde" as a way to note that he is free to love her, and Joan Crawford says it to Clark Gable in frustrated anger to stress to him she can make her own decisions. The troublesome phrase is "I'm free, white and 21." It bothers me now that I've noticed it, and so I Googled the expression and apparently it has a history and it is most certainly considered a racist phrase. ... Just wanted to share this strange element to the movie that has impacted my enjoyment of it.
Review of Forsaking All Others
