In the heyday of MGM's Dream Machine, seldom do the machinations of Louis B. Mayer go wrong--but in this case, an entire raft of possibilities goes adrift, mainly the lead listed as the Leading Man, who disappears after a few reels, and is replaced in Joan Crawford's affections by Melvyn Douglas, usually an underrated actor, but the man who not only made Garbo laugh, but set Hud straight--for a while. Until a rather stilted final appearance, Douglas provides an anchor for the largely trivial concerns of The Hussy, essayed by Joan in some of Adrian's most lavish period costumes--but somehow Joan just isn't fit for curls and crinolines, anymore than Jimmy Stewart rings true as a dopey friend whose gawky attempts at romance are just silly.
The Wedding Cake treatment works beautifully for the lavish MGM Marie Antoinette, but here the cake falls flat, the focus teetering between various failed romances spoiled by town gossip, and Barrymore's effective turn as Andrew Jackson--and how can anyone not love Beulah Bondi as his wife, sensitive to the Washington gossip mill. A personal high point was the slightly zany appearance of Zeffie Tilbury, who, like Marjorie Rambeau or Eve Arden, can always enliven the dullest proceedings.
The Wedding Cake treatment works beautifully for the lavish MGM Marie Antoinette, but here the cake falls flat, the focus teetering between various failed romances spoiled by town gossip, and Barrymore's effective turn as Andrew Jackson--and how can anyone not love Beulah Bondi as his wife, sensitive to the Washington gossip mill. A personal high point was the slightly zany appearance of Zeffie Tilbury, who, like Marjorie Rambeau or Eve Arden, can always enliven the dullest proceedings.