Lew Cody is flat broke, so he takes up with wealthy Pauline Frederick. When her daughter May McAvoy comes home, he shifts his sights. Never mind that Pierre Gendron intends to propose to her as soon as he gets his medical license; Cody is tired of getting a hundred grand here and there from Miss Frederick for 'investments' that go bust. As Miss McAvoy's husband, he would have her trust fund, half of Miss Frederick's wealth.
Ernst Lubitsch's society drama is a far more serious affair than the effervescent comedies he is best remembered for, but his handling is just as light and sure, with the little touches that inform the audience of what is going on without many titles. Cody seems seedy from his first appearance, Miss Frederick fluttery and fearful of passing youth, and if the party scenes are not as abandoned as they are in a DeMille movie, that seems an indictment of the participants' lack of imagination, rather than the film makers' or the audience's.
Ernst Lubitsch's society drama is a far more serious affair than the effervescent comedies he is best remembered for, but his handling is just as light and sure, with the little touches that inform the audience of what is going on without many titles. Cody seems seedy from his first appearance, Miss Frederick fluttery and fearful of passing youth, and if the party scenes are not as abandoned as they are in a DeMille movie, that seems an indictment of the participants' lack of imagination, rather than the film makers' or the audience's.