The visiting businessmen were paying $500 for a night of pleasure with Kay Francis' character - that's $10,00 today. Whilst in reality she was apparently quite the girl in her day, if she was anything like as plastic as she was in this hugely underwhelming movie, I'd want my money back.
If you're expecting a similar film to the other hit Zoë Akins wrote, THE GREEKS HAD A WORD FOR THEM (remade 20 years later as HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE) you'll be sorely disappointed. This has similar themes: rich men are idiots, women do what they do to survive, but as a piece of cinema it feels false, forced and tiresome.
The trouble is we've all seen these roles played brilliantly with wit, charm, humour and credibility by Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell so these two seem like imposters. Miss Tashman isn't too bad but she's no Joan Blondell. Kay Francis however is bad, really bad. She wasn't an actress with the greatest range and comedy was definitely not something she could do
Despite George Cukor's dynamic direction and some great photography by Ernest Heller, who did some of the all time greats such as GONE WITH THE WIND, what lets this down is the characters just aren't likeable. The men in this are secondary and the writing of their characters didn't seem to be finished so you can forget about them. There's only two people that seem to be doing any acting but unfortunately they're Kay Francis and Lilyan Tashman: they're just not convincing.
As you often find with Paramount pre-code films, they're often oblivious to the troubles of the age. The Depression and life choices available to young women back then are glossed over so why these girls do what they do and why they're the way they are isn't explained. You can't care about people like this whom you don't believe in. If this had been a Warner or even Columbia picture or had a grittier director it could have been something more than just another 'also ran' ....especially if they'd lured Miss Blondell over!
If you're expecting a similar film to the other hit Zoë Akins wrote, THE GREEKS HAD A WORD FOR THEM (remade 20 years later as HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE) you'll be sorely disappointed. This has similar themes: rich men are idiots, women do what they do to survive, but as a piece of cinema it feels false, forced and tiresome.
The trouble is we've all seen these roles played brilliantly with wit, charm, humour and credibility by Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell so these two seem like imposters. Miss Tashman isn't too bad but she's no Joan Blondell. Kay Francis however is bad, really bad. She wasn't an actress with the greatest range and comedy was definitely not something she could do
Despite George Cukor's dynamic direction and some great photography by Ernest Heller, who did some of the all time greats such as GONE WITH THE WIND, what lets this down is the characters just aren't likeable. The men in this are secondary and the writing of their characters didn't seem to be finished so you can forget about them. There's only two people that seem to be doing any acting but unfortunately they're Kay Francis and Lilyan Tashman: they're just not convincing.
As you often find with Paramount pre-code films, they're often oblivious to the troubles of the age. The Depression and life choices available to young women back then are glossed over so why these girls do what they do and why they're the way they are isn't explained. You can't care about people like this whom you don't believe in. If this had been a Warner or even Columbia picture or had a grittier director it could have been something more than just another 'also ran' ....especially if they'd lured Miss Blondell over!