The film opens up with a guy busting up a lonely-hearts office run by Dorothy Granger. He complains that all of their advertised babes turn out to be old hags who smoke cigars or have no teeth, so it's easy to understand why he's complaining. Con-artists John Eldrige and Dorothy Patrick meet through this outfit, with Patrick being the go-to sophisticated and attractive girl for well off gentlemen that Granger wants to fleece. Instead, Eldridge sees through their con and offers partnership in a separate and new lonely hearts outfit to Patrick. He also offers marriage as part of the partnership, she accepts. He figures that if they present themselves as brother and sister to their intended victims they will seem more respectable. They mail out brochures for their lonely-hearts club throughout the land, claiming they are looking for respectable widows seeking love with equally respectable men, when they are actually looking for wealthy women to fleece.
Ann Doran is a lonely but moderately propertied widow whose son has just shipped off to Saudi Arabia for well paying work. Her pal (Kathleen Freeman) is off to marry her lonely hearts find of a husband and shows her a brochure. Encouraged by Freeman's results, Doran writes to the same lonely hearts club. As a result, Eldridge shows up with his "sister" (Patrick). But the small-town relatives and neighbors are too suspicious, so Eldridge and Patrick decide to move fast. Patrick takes Doran to Chicago, allegedly for a trousseau buying trip, while Eldridge disposes of any property that he can without them yet being married. But Doran doesn't return from Chicago and so her son returns from sunny Araby early to try and help the neighbors find his mother.
The first half of this film is pretty good, with good acting. It is even poignant at points. But during the second half, when the film segues into a man hunt for Eldridge and a missing person search for Duran, it gets stiff and pretentious and makes Dragnet look like The Asphalt Jungle. Part of the problem is that Eric Sinclair, as Ann Doran's son, simply couldn't act if his life depended upon it. Still I'd give it a six overall, because I wanted to sit through the contrived man hunt part to see how the situations that I met with in the first half turned out.
Interesting and amusing tidbits - Ann Doran's son calls her "Nancy" and she calls him son, although you'd expect her to call him by his name and for him to call her mom. Perhaps this is why she feels so alone and off kilter. Also, Kathleen Freeman returns home with an actual legitimate husband from this lonely-hearts outfit who seems just perfect for her. Perhaps she was lucky enough to be too poor to rob.
Ann Doran is a lonely but moderately propertied widow whose son has just shipped off to Saudi Arabia for well paying work. Her pal (Kathleen Freeman) is off to marry her lonely hearts find of a husband and shows her a brochure. Encouraged by Freeman's results, Doran writes to the same lonely hearts club. As a result, Eldridge shows up with his "sister" (Patrick). But the small-town relatives and neighbors are too suspicious, so Eldridge and Patrick decide to move fast. Patrick takes Doran to Chicago, allegedly for a trousseau buying trip, while Eldridge disposes of any property that he can without them yet being married. But Doran doesn't return from Chicago and so her son returns from sunny Araby early to try and help the neighbors find his mother.
The first half of this film is pretty good, with good acting. It is even poignant at points. But during the second half, when the film segues into a man hunt for Eldridge and a missing person search for Duran, it gets stiff and pretentious and makes Dragnet look like The Asphalt Jungle. Part of the problem is that Eric Sinclair, as Ann Doran's son, simply couldn't act if his life depended upon it. Still I'd give it a six overall, because I wanted to sit through the contrived man hunt part to see how the situations that I met with in the first half turned out.
Interesting and amusing tidbits - Ann Doran's son calls her "Nancy" and she calls him son, although you'd expect her to call him by his name and for him to call her mom. Perhaps this is why she feels so alone and off kilter. Also, Kathleen Freeman returns home with an actual legitimate husband from this lonely-hearts outfit who seems just perfect for her. Perhaps she was lucky enough to be too poor to rob.
