Pointed Heels

"Pointed Heels" was a romance drama that cinematically pondered if love could overcome differences in class. Could a wealthy young man give up his wealth to marry his darling and still be happy?

Lora Nixon (Fay Wray) was a chorus girl engaged to the wealthy Donald Ogden (Phillips Holmes). The two were hopelessly in love. On the perimeter was Robert Courtland (William Powell). He had eyes on Lora and he also happened to be the producer for the musical she was performing in.

Robert wasn't a problem though. Unlike many films in the 30's, Robert was too much of a gentleman to try to muscle in on Don's girl, even though he could. You see, when Don married Lora his mother cut him off of his allowance. That meant he and Lora would have to survive on her chorus girl salary while he finished working on his symphony. It became an arrangement that tested both of them which would make Lora ripe for the picking for Robert Courtland if he wanted to be such a sleaze.

Fortunately, he did not.

"Pointed Heels" wasn't all that interesting. Fay Wray wasn't burning up the screen with her talent. In fact, she reminded me of a discount Gloria Swanson. William Powell was solid enough as was Phillips Holmes. The comedy relief in the movie were Dash and Dorothea 'Dot' Nixon (Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher and Helen Kane). They were a loud uncouth couple and Dot must've been the inspiration for Betty Boop. Dot was dark-haired, dark-eyed, and had a squeaky voice. What's more, when she did a few singing numbers she added the "boop boop-pitty boop" in there. I would've bet money that she was the voice of Betty Boop.

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Broadway producer William Powell has a non-business interest in Fay Wray. She, however, loves Phillips Holmes. The two of them get married, but there are consistent frustrations; he's been classically trained in Paris, and can't find much in the way of demand for his sort of music. Meanwhile, their friends, Skeets Gallagher and Helen Kane are trying to crash the Great White Way with a refined version of their two-act.

As usual, it's Powell who dominates this movie in every scene he's in, with his melancholy, gentlemanly performance. He's particularly wry in conversation with his stage manager, Eugene Pallette. It's certainly not a particularly novel movie; Miss Kane has two numbers and a reprise, and the Technicolor sequence was missing from the copy I looked at. See if you can spot Virginia Bruce in the chorus. I couldn't.

...quips Eugene Palette to William Powell in reference to a show that Powell's character is backing. That one statement really says it all. Despite its title, this is a rather pointless early talking musical drama with a large number of talented stars from the Paramount lot of 1929, but with nothing really for any of them to do.

It's the time honored tale of a beautiful chorus girl, Lora, (Faye Wray), in love with and marrying a rich young spoiled composer, Donald (Philip Holmes), with the desire to write his version of the great American novel - in this case a symphony. Unfortunately, mommy does not approve of Don's marriage and cuts off his allowance, which is his only means of income. Thus they must both live on Lora's small salary in a crowded apartment which becomes even more crowded whenever the wife's brother and sister-in-law come to visit, always with the constant digs about Donald sponging off Lora. Then there is the producer of the show in which Lora performs (William Powell) who is - of course - in love with Lora but doesn't want to do anything to disrupt her marriage and spoil her happiness.

The problem with this film is that the dramatic part never really does anything but land with a thud and the musical parts are abbreviated and unmemorable. I wouldn't even give it 5/10 if it wasn't for the historic value of seeing all of these performers so early in their careers, especially William Powell before he entered his Thin Man years and Eugene Palette before he was less of a thin man as well as one of the great character actors of the 30's and 40's.

This movie also did a good job of using Helen Kane in just the right dose and in just the right way. Skeets Gallagher and Helen Kane play Lora's feuding brother and sister-in-law who claim that the secret to their marital success is that they never stop arguing long enough to have a real fight.

"Pointed Heels" is a very talkative 70 minutes - always lovely visually, it boasts excellent production values. Fay Wray never looked more lovely and, as usual, she is not required to act. William Powell, in his first top-billed movie, was as dapper as he would ever be. Helen Kane was defiantly a presence to be reckoned with. Hopefully, she was never again forced to appear as a platinum blonde....even for comic effect. It's not funny. A strong personality and veteran performer, she could still tend to cloy - without proper direction. Proper direction is completely foreign to "Pointed Heels." The story concerns the love affair between hard working showgirl, Wray, and spoiled rich boy/composer Phillips Holmes. Skeets Gallagher and his wife, Kane, are in the musical show, Pointed Heels, that Wray and Holmes are also working on. William Powell is the kindly producer with an eye for Miss Wray and almost a determination to doom the show - for no particular reason. Inexplicably Wray ignores him and goes for the boring Holmes. Miss Kane and Mr. Gallagher work hard to make sense of the badly contrived musical numbers. Finally, they are thrown into the finale right after Powell has gotten them "stinko" drunk - to try to loosen them up and make them "less high class." Well, that's one way to do it. The embarrassing finale is sung and danced by the drunken Kane and Gallagher without benefit of a chorus line or any sort of backup. The considerable number of showgirls running around in the background gives one the feeling that there were chorus numbers filmed but somehow chopped from the movie by the (in this case) hack editor, Jane Loring. After Kane and Gallagher stagger through their closing number, Powell proclaims Pointed Heels, (the name of the show within the show), a "hit," which signals the end of the whole odious affair.

There are two clever songs, "Ain't Cha" and "I Have to Have You," both nicely tailored for the adorable Miss Kane. Too bad she wasn't allowed to do them her way. It would appear she did them while under orders rather than under direction. Then there is Holmes' "Unfinished Symphony" - which keeps threatening to finish. Fortunately the film finishes first. This movie is for 1. The Initiated, 2. The Die Hard Fan, and 3. the Film Student. This reviewer recommends it to these three overlapping groups...some of whom will probably love it. For those who wonder if there are actually any good prints in existence the answer is "yes." This film has been on television within the last 25 years. There is also a well founded rumor that a good nitrate print of it exists at the UCLA Archive. The existence of the original color sequences is uncertain, as this reviewer only has access to a 16mm black and white print which is complete but lacks the element of color. Pointed Heels was directed by A. Edward Sutherland. Written by Florence Ryers and John V. A. Weaver based on a story by Charles Brackett (long before his legendary collaborations with Billy Wilder). Editing by Jane Loring. Shame shame on A. Edward Sutherland and Jane Loring....the two heels most responsible for Pointed Heels. It could have been so much better. The real winners are those who did the art direction, sets and costumes....all of which are stunning. The best argument for the production's existence is the rare appearance of Helen Kane. Anyone familiar with her knows she was capable of a far better performance. Paramount musicals are often elusive, so one should seriously think twice before passing up an opportunity to see one...and that includes this one.