I never thought that I would see the day when a movie would make me sympathize with the spoiled rich boy over the principled working girl, but "Brief Moment" has done it.
The rich boy was Rodney Dean (Gene Raymond), he fell in love with a nightclub singer named Abby Fane (Carole Lombard). Against the wishes of his aristocratic family he wanted to marry her. It reminded me a lot of "Lady of Scandal" (1930), a little of "Pointed Heels" (1929), and a little of a few other movies in which the wealthy aristocrat wanted to marry a showgirl.
In "Brief Moment," the two lovebirds got married over the implicit protestations of Rod's family. After their marriage, they went on a world tour, soaking in the fun and frivolities that every known tourist spot had. Even when they got back home to Rod's nice apartment, complete with three servants, they continued to be party goers. By all accounts, life for the newlyweds was merry and gay, but we found out that Abby was not that pleased with her new lifestyle.
She wanted Rod to work.
Rod was being supported by his father, William Deane (Reginald Mason), on an allowance of $4000 a week (or maybe a month). It was plenty enough for the two of them to live a very comfortable lifestyle, but, I guess in Abby's mind, living off of his father wasn't manly or honorable. She wanted to be "proud" of him, and she could not quite be proud of him if he was sponging off of his father and partying with his friend Harold Sigrift (Monroe Owsley).
This is where the movie lost me. I was thinking, "Who cares whether his father gives him an allowance or he gets some made up position from his father and then gets an allowance, it's all the same."
I was with her in respects to her being tired of going from one party to another. She felt like they didn't have a real marriage. There was no home life because they were never home, and she said they only stopped home to rest up for the next event. I totally understood her there. She didn't want that life. She wanted to settle down and be a regular couple who is busy during the day then rest at night and catch up with each other then.
I didn't understand where the working aspect came in. As a working man myself I can tell you this woman is way off base. Most working people would retire right now given the means to do so. We don't work out of the love of working, it's a means to an end. If I could earn the same amount of money without lifting a finger you better believe I'd do it.
Now, I know that in Rod's case it may be more of a pride issue because he is specifically getting money from his father, as opposed to getting it from a trust or from inheritance or some other source. For that reason it seems far more dishonorable, lazy, and spoiled that he just goes about partying all day while receiving an allowance, but that's the life of rich people! Why she would want him to work really didn't add up.
All of this could've been avoided, like so many movies in the 30s, had the two just waited and gotten to know each other a little bit better before marriage. I would say that the majority of the marital problems that occurred in 30s movies was due to the fact that the two lovers got married well before they really knew the other person. Apparently, they used to fall in love quickly and marry quickly without truly knowing who the other person was. Abby did not know Rodney. She did not know that he was an endless partygoer. She did not know that he would not have a problem whatsoever living off of an allowance from his father. She could've easily found this out, especially if it was that important to her. She could've gleaned this with just a few questions, or by waiting to learn more about her potential husband, but she didn't because she was too much in love. Usually, their standard line is "nothing else matters as long as we're in love."
What a load of hooey.
Because of Abby's misguided principles about work, I had to side with the spoiled rich boy over the working class girl. I just find it bewildering that she expected her husband to work for a living when he never worked a day in his life, was not working when he met her, nor had he probably ever even mentioned the word work so long as they were together.
Sometimes I think Hollywood likes to troll working people by patronizingly telling us that working is a lot better and more honorable than being rich. "Sure, rich people have all the fun, but you working class people have more character." Just stop it.
Back to Rod (Gene Raymond). To appease his wife, who was about to walk out on him, he agreed to get a job. He went to his father's bank and asked for a job, and he got a job at the very bottom. He was doing some of the most mundane and mind numbing work you could do. He was just checking one number against another number over and over and over again. It was enough to drive anyone crazy. So, naturally, he quit. He didn't quit and get another job, he just quit and started hanging out all day long and told his wife he was working because what would she know anyway? As long as he was getting paid, which he was via his allowance. She never saw an actual paystub with hours on it. She wouldn't know if he was working or not unless she went there to see him, which just shows how silly of a notion she had. If he got a job sorting papers or he got a job like his brother Franklin (Donald Cook), who was made VP in name only, what would it matter? Or would she have a problem with him not truly earning his pay?
The movie got sillier as it was searching and searching to create conflict when a friend of Abby's named Steve (Arthur Hohl) came by her house to catch up with her. In the course of talking, she mentioned that Rod was busy working every day and she couldn't be happier. She was as happy as a clam that she was the wife of a working man. Well, Steve knew that he'd seen Rod at the track during the days and he knew he wasn't working. Now, most people, especially most men, wouldn't care one bit about that. Most guys would mind their own business and leave the matter alone because what's the big deal anyway if he's working or if he's not working so long as he's taking care of his responsibilities at home. Steve, on the other hand, loved Abby and wanted to make sure that Rod wasn't lying to her. He told Rod that he'd better tell her or that he'd tell her.
I began scratching my head in confusion. I've seen too many pre-code movies to count in which a man would be cheating on his wife or a wife cheating on her husband and no one would say a word about it. It was some unwritten society rule which prohibited people from apprising a spouse of their partner's infidelity. But, I guess they draw the line at lying about working??!!
Really!?
Help me understand.
It all wrapped up with Rod telling Abby that he wasn't working, they split up, Rod woke up, Rod got a menial job, Rod found Abby, they lived happily ever after.
What an idiotic plot.
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The rich boy was Rodney Dean (Gene Raymond), he fell in love with a nightclub singer named Abby Fane (Carole Lombard). Against the wishes of his aristocratic family he wanted to marry her. It reminded me a lot of "Lady of Scandal" (1930), a little of "Pointed Heels" (1929), and a little of a few other movies in which the wealthy aristocrat wanted to marry a showgirl.
In "Brief Moment," the two lovebirds got married over the implicit protestations of Rod's family. After their marriage, they went on a world tour, soaking in the fun and frivolities that every known tourist spot had. Even when they got back home to Rod's nice apartment, complete with three servants, they continued to be party goers. By all accounts, life for the newlyweds was merry and gay, but we found out that Abby was not that pleased with her new lifestyle.
She wanted Rod to work.
Rod was being supported by his father, William Deane (Reginald Mason), on an allowance of $4000 a week (or maybe a month). It was plenty enough for the two of them to live a very comfortable lifestyle, but, I guess in Abby's mind, living off of his father wasn't manly or honorable. She wanted to be "proud" of him, and she could not quite be proud of him if he was sponging off of his father and partying with his friend Harold Sigrift (Monroe Owsley).
This is where the movie lost me. I was thinking, "Who cares whether his father gives him an allowance or he gets some made up position from his father and then gets an allowance, it's all the same."
I was with her in respects to her being tired of going from one party to another. She felt like they didn't have a real marriage. There was no home life because they were never home, and she said they only stopped home to rest up for the next event. I totally understood her there. She didn't want that life. She wanted to settle down and be a regular couple who is busy during the day then rest at night and catch up with each other then.
I didn't understand where the working aspect came in. As a working man myself I can tell you this woman is way off base. Most working people would retire right now given the means to do so. We don't work out of the love of working, it's a means to an end. If I could earn the same amount of money without lifting a finger you better believe I'd do it.
Now, I know that in Rod's case it may be more of a pride issue because he is specifically getting money from his father, as opposed to getting it from a trust or from inheritance or some other source. For that reason it seems far more dishonorable, lazy, and spoiled that he just goes about partying all day while receiving an allowance, but that's the life of rich people! Why she would want him to work really didn't add up.
All of this could've been avoided, like so many movies in the 30s, had the two just waited and gotten to know each other a little bit better before marriage. I would say that the majority of the marital problems that occurred in 30s movies was due to the fact that the two lovers got married well before they really knew the other person. Apparently, they used to fall in love quickly and marry quickly without truly knowing who the other person was. Abby did not know Rodney. She did not know that he was an endless partygoer. She did not know that he would not have a problem whatsoever living off of an allowance from his father. She could've easily found this out, especially if it was that important to her. She could've gleaned this with just a few questions, or by waiting to learn more about her potential husband, but she didn't because she was too much in love. Usually, their standard line is "nothing else matters as long as we're in love."
What a load of hooey.
Because of Abby's misguided principles about work, I had to side with the spoiled rich boy over the working class girl. I just find it bewildering that she expected her husband to work for a living when he never worked a day in his life, was not working when he met her, nor had he probably ever even mentioned the word work so long as they were together.
Sometimes I think Hollywood likes to troll working people by patronizingly telling us that working is a lot better and more honorable than being rich. "Sure, rich people have all the fun, but you working class people have more character." Just stop it.
Back to Rod (Gene Raymond). To appease his wife, who was about to walk out on him, he agreed to get a job. He went to his father's bank and asked for a job, and he got a job at the very bottom. He was doing some of the most mundane and mind numbing work you could do. He was just checking one number against another number over and over and over again. It was enough to drive anyone crazy. So, naturally, he quit. He didn't quit and get another job, he just quit and started hanging out all day long and told his wife he was working because what would she know anyway? As long as he was getting paid, which he was via his allowance. She never saw an actual paystub with hours on it. She wouldn't know if he was working or not unless she went there to see him, which just shows how silly of a notion she had. If he got a job sorting papers or he got a job like his brother Franklin (Donald Cook), who was made VP in name only, what would it matter? Or would she have a problem with him not truly earning his pay?
The movie got sillier as it was searching and searching to create conflict when a friend of Abby's named Steve (Arthur Hohl) came by her house to catch up with her. In the course of talking, she mentioned that Rod was busy working every day and she couldn't be happier. She was as happy as a clam that she was the wife of a working man. Well, Steve knew that he'd seen Rod at the track during the days and he knew he wasn't working. Now, most people, especially most men, wouldn't care one bit about that. Most guys would mind their own business and leave the matter alone because what's the big deal anyway if he's working or if he's not working so long as he's taking care of his responsibilities at home. Steve, on the other hand, loved Abby and wanted to make sure that Rod wasn't lying to her. He told Rod that he'd better tell her or that he'd tell her.
I began scratching my head in confusion. I've seen too many pre-code movies to count in which a man would be cheating on his wife or a wife cheating on her husband and no one would say a word about it. It was some unwritten society rule which prohibited people from apprising a spouse of their partner's infidelity. But, I guess they draw the line at lying about working??!!
Really!?
Help me understand.
It all wrapped up with Rod telling Abby that he wasn't working, they split up, Rod woke up, Rod got a menial job, Rod found Abby, they lived happily ever after.
What an idiotic plot.
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