This is an interesting movie for a number of reasons. But there is a problem...you've got to stick with it through the first portion of the film which was so boring I almost gave up on it. I'm glad I didn't.
In terms of Hollywood trivia, it's interesting because the lead actress -- Kay Francis -- was near the peak of her popularity as one of the most popular actresses of the day. However, three major scenes of hers were cut, and while her character remains somewhat central to the story, she is nearly relegated to a supporting actress here.
The film is also interesting because rather than being merely fiction, it is closer to historical fiction...once it gets going. At the heart of the story is something I was not aware of -- the Embalmed Beef Scandal, in which, during the Spanish-American War, most of the meat arriving in Cuba for US troops was so poorly preserved, chemically adulterated, spoiled, and mixed with other 'meats' (than beef) that it was often toxic and caused enough illnesses and death that it was said that more American soldiers died from the resulting dysentery and food poisoning than from enemy bullets and bombs. And the theme of this story is that once ethical meat packer Edward G. Robinson gets greedy and become the focus of the scandal, along with plenty of other unethical practices. You'll see Teddy Roosevelt portrayed here regarding the scandal.
In the early part of the film, Robinson just doesn't look like a reasonable paramour in his affair with Kay Francis' character But as the industrialist he's superb here. Again, you've got to get past the beginning of the film.
I rather like Kay Francis in quite a few films, but not here. She simply does not come across as a singer, even with the voice-over. No wonder her scenes were cut.
I was not familiar with the actress Genevieve Tobin, who here plays Robinson's wife, although I must have seen her in a number of old films. But she did nicely here...better than Francis.
With sophistication in Hollywood improving, this film would have been so much better had it been made just 3-5 years later. But still, it's worth watching, and reminded me of another bit of historical fiction that Robinson starred in -- "Silver Dollar" -- just a year earlier.
In terms of Hollywood trivia, it's interesting because the lead actress -- Kay Francis -- was near the peak of her popularity as one of the most popular actresses of the day. However, three major scenes of hers were cut, and while her character remains somewhat central to the story, she is nearly relegated to a supporting actress here.
The film is also interesting because rather than being merely fiction, it is closer to historical fiction...once it gets going. At the heart of the story is something I was not aware of -- the Embalmed Beef Scandal, in which, during the Spanish-American War, most of the meat arriving in Cuba for US troops was so poorly preserved, chemically adulterated, spoiled, and mixed with other 'meats' (than beef) that it was often toxic and caused enough illnesses and death that it was said that more American soldiers died from the resulting dysentery and food poisoning than from enemy bullets and bombs. And the theme of this story is that once ethical meat packer Edward G. Robinson gets greedy and become the focus of the scandal, along with plenty of other unethical practices. You'll see Teddy Roosevelt portrayed here regarding the scandal.
In the early part of the film, Robinson just doesn't look like a reasonable paramour in his affair with Kay Francis' character But as the industrialist he's superb here. Again, you've got to get past the beginning of the film.
I rather like Kay Francis in quite a few films, but not here. She simply does not come across as a singer, even with the voice-over. No wonder her scenes were cut.
I was not familiar with the actress Genevieve Tobin, who here plays Robinson's wife, although I must have seen her in a number of old films. But she did nicely here...better than Francis.
With sophistication in Hollywood improving, this film would have been so much better had it been made just 3-5 years later. But still, it's worth watching, and reminded me of another bit of historical fiction that Robinson starred in -- "Silver Dollar" -- just a year earlier.