La Cava finds humor in suds
The early 1930s was famed as one of the most freewheeling eras in Hollywood history. And certainly one of the staple genres of that period was the "unwed mother" genre. Constance Bennett, Kay Francis, Helen Hayes, Irene Dunne, Claudette Colbert all served time in this genre, and so did Ann Harding. Usually, Ann Harding was one of those noble sufferers, but, here, she's working with Gregory La Cava, one of the masters of film comedy in the 1930s. As he did with STAGE DOOR (1937), La Cava takes the basic story, and he fills the edges with humor. In STAGE DOOR, he had the chorus of aspiring actresses, all ready with wisecracks and jokes, to leaven the central story (one actress - played by Katharine Hepburn - on the rise while the other actress - played by Andrea Leeds - is on the downslide). Here, Ann Harding's woebegone heroine (why do the men always die right after having sex? the women may get pregnant, but the guys die) doesn't get to mope too long: she's surrounded by friends who...
Click to Editorial Reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment