She Had to Choose

Thirties starlet Isabel Jewell was in many ways the quintessential dumb blonde of movies from the era, forever cast as a birdbrain chatterbox over and over. What a pleasure to see the charming and talented Ms. Jewell given a straightforward heroine role here in SHE HAD TO CHOOSE, a pleasant young girl from Texas who incredibly travels across the country to California in her old jalopy with no money (at one point she trades her spare tire for gas!) planning to move in with her sister, only to arrive at the apartment building and discover her sister has moved to parts unknown (apparently Ms. Jewell didn't have money for a stamp either to notify her sister of her plans). Sleeping in her car at the local small drive-in restaurant, she is offered a job by the hunky, young manager of the beanery (Buster Crabbe) who also offers to let her stay with him and his mother til she gets on her feet. Sister dear is promptly forgotten as Isabell begins to fall for her hunky benefactor who alas already has a girlfriend (lovely Sally Blane, a dead ringer for her famous sister Loretta Young). Crabbe's unavailability leads Isabell to consider Sally's scoundrel of a brother which leads to a death and a potential murder charge.

The real world of the dirt poor of the 1930's is effectively brought home in this little production unlike the glamourous world most "A" films of the era inhabited. Isabel is charming and sympathetic but the screenplay doesn't have much of a story beyond the intriguing opening. Sally Blane is given an underdeveloped role as a rich girl who starts out being sweet, suddenly becomes a spoiled cat and then turns back to a nice girl again before the conclusion. Buster Crabbe has the only other major role and does very well with what's there. Don't expect much but a pleasant "poverty row" drama and you won't be too disappointed, certainly the attractive young stars are worth checking out.

Among the ultra low budget movies that one can turn up on the Internet, here is a wonderful little gem of a film which highlights the all too rarely seen romantic comedy talents of the delightful Isabel Jewell, one of my favorite scene stealing actresses. A tiny slip of a thing, she gives one of her most winning performances here and has a nice chemistry, in my opinion, with Buster Crabbe who was rather a natural if not spectacularly dramatic actor. In addition, one has a chance to see what an early drive-in hamburger joint was like long before MacDonald's existed, complete with carhops. Among the other attractions Sally Blane, beautiful sister of Loretta, has a turn as the "other" girl, a spoiled rich kid. She seems a bit miscast as Sally was normally leading lady material and was so lovely that it was hard to hate her. Fuzzy Knight is there for the comedy but it's a little too repetitive and not really very funny. For me the relationship of Isabel and Buster is the whole show here and a handsome and fun couple they make. I so wish that Isabel would have been given more opportunities to portray a wide range of romantic leads. She had a lot of power and emotion to deliver and joins some of my favorite unsung actresses who totally delivered the goods every chance they got. I refer to the likes of Joan Marsh, Irene Hervey, Marian Nixon, Gloria Jean and Susan Miller. In any case this film is well worth a look if you like old fashioned romantic comedies.

Isabel Jewell is on her way to Hollywood to conquer the movies. When she helps prevent a robbery at Buster Crabbe's roadside stand, he offers her a job as a carhop, which she accepts. Along comes Regis Toomey who wants her as much as Crabbe thinks he wants Toomey's sister, Sally Blane.

It's a quick, pointless little second feature, unless you want to see Crabbe shirtless in a pool. Director Ralph Ceder may still be remembered for his early work at the Roach studio, where he was the nominal director of some of Stan Laurel's shorts; perhaps that's why Arthur Stone, whom Roach tested as the lead in a few shorts, has a small role as an old coot running a gas station at the start and end of the movie.

Ceder soon ceased to direct, and spent the next twenty years mostly as a second unit director. He died at age 53 in 1951.

IMDb lists this film as a drama but the presence of Fuzzy Knight as Wally means that Comedy/Drama is more appropriate as he provides some very amusing moments.Having said that it is drama which predominates. Sally Bates,played by the excellent Isabel Jewell,comes to California from her home in Texas hoping to take up residence with her sister. Unfortunately for Sally her sister has moved away and she (Sally) finds herself homeless. Calling at a roadside diner owned by Bill Cutler (Buster Crabbe)she is immediately drawn to him and vice versa. However,he is already in a relationship with the wealthy and snobbish Clara Berry. Clara loves him but her feelings are not reciprocated.Sally and Bill are soon deeply in love and the remainder of the film is taken up with how they overcome the many obstacles put in the path of true love. These include a disapproving mother,Clara's brother becoming infatuated with Sally,a hasty marriage,attempted blackmail and a violent death. A lot is packed into the film's short running time and there is never a dull moment. We are even treated to the sight of Sally ripping her evening gown off in a busy nightclub. Wow! This perhaps sounds a bit extreme but is all done in the best possible taste.

There is a downside to the film. Buster Crabbe is handsome and charming and obviously ideal for portraying the hero of a serial. However,to me he lacks real acting ability and seems out of his depth here. Also there is some damage to the print which overall is not of the best quality. The film has been released by Alpha Video so we can be sure that nothing has been done to improve it. It didn't spoil my own enjoyment. I've watched it three times so far and will be doing so again. Even if it had no other merits I would watch it for Isabel Jewell's excellent performance. I feel she had great potential which for some reason was never really fulfilled, which is sad.