Men in Her Life

Maybe because it's partly set in France, a studio set France at that, that there's no real sense of 1931 about this. One of the pleasures of watching American pictures from this era is being able to soak up the authentic atmosphere of the age. You don't get that feeling with this....it's almost a bit Paramount.

Charles Bickford isn't charismatic enough to play the lead nor is he believable enough to convince anyone that he was an ex-gangster. Whereas the rest of the cast seems to be taking this with dour seriousness, his flippant light-hearted approach doesn't quite seem to fit in. William Beaudine - whom I still associate with the directing the first Will Hay films for Gaumont-British, doesn't maintain a constant pace or consistency, there's no steady ramping up of the tension to make the climax explode that a film like this needs. What saves this is the writing - Robert Riskin, who had already begun his long-term collaboration with Frank Capra (MIRACLE WOMAN) gives the dialogue that genuine early thirties rhythm and vitality.

A common trope back then was pointing the finger of hypocrisy at the attitudes of the upper echelons of society and Riskin pours some of that social commentary which he'd become famous for into this by the bucket-full. Sweet naïve Lois Moran gets seduced by a slimy profession con-man who gets his night of pleasure from her and indeed all her money and jewellery as well. She being the woman is of course is branded as someone unsuitable to mix in polite society because of HER indescretion. Yes it's only a story but because it's well written, it nevertheless makes you angry.

Whereas you might not recognise this film's star, Lois Moran, you will probably recognise the French inn-keeper, Luis Alberni. You'll ask yourself what you've seen him in before - the answer is: any picture at all which you've seen made in the 1930s. He seems to have been in literally everything, including a long lost Spanish version of this made with Vélez. We're not treated to the luscious lovely Lupe, instead we get Lois Moran who's fine in this although nothing too memorable which kind of sums this whole picture up: fine in this although nothing too memorable.

In this comedy/ drama played mostly for laughs, right off the bat lovely Lois Moran is hoodwinked by a conman/ playboy she is meeting in a rendezvous on the French Riviera. They planned to marry as he has told her her loves her. She is swept off her feet. She wakes up in the morning and he has vanished without a trace, and has robbed her of her valuables. Now she is broke and has nowhere to turn.

Charles Bickford plays a retired gangster who stops at the same hotel. They hit it off, and he tells her he will pay her bill if she will accompany him to Paris and help him to become a gentleman. The result is a funny and rewarding film written by Robert Riskin in his inimitable intelligently jocose style. I didn't think I would like it as much as I did, especially after Bickford's initial over-the-top introduction scene as the bootlegger "Flash". This is a quick, easy-to-take 70 minutes of the kind of picture Hollywood no longer makes.

Columbia Pictures was a good studio for up-and-coming or down-and-out talent in this period. Harry Cohn ran the studio with a tight fist, making sure that the money showed on the screen. As a result, this early picture for character star Charles Bickford, late movie for ingénue Lois Moran, directed by former star director William Beaudine (still able to get good performances with a script and decent budget) is a pleasant effort as Miss Moran shows ex-gangster Bickford how to behave like a gentleman in Europe, while fighting off Victor Varconi and Don Dillaway ... and Bickford, although not with equal success.

Bickford is typically very good as "Flashy" Madden, probably named for the gangster Owney Madden, who was already building up his collection of about twenty night clubs, including the famous Cotton Club and a stake in the Stork. It's a sentimentalized version but very watchable.

I'll at least set up the story and let you figure out why it was named such. Lois Moran, who never had much of a talking picture career, is the central figure as Julie Cavanaugh. She is a rich girl whose trust fund has gone bust, unknown to Count Ivan Karloff (Victor Varconi), who has invited her to a rural French inn where they discuss their upcoming wedding. At that rendezvous she tells him of her new poverty, and he says it means nothing to him. However, the next day he is gone, as are her jewelry and any money she had with her, and the count has stuck her with the bill. Along comes retired gangster Flashy Madden (Charles Bickford), who gives, at first, a humorous rendition of a hard guy trying to get the feel of a refined life. He has saved up a million dollars and wants to make it in the social circles.

Apparently Flashy has always had a crush from afar on Julie, and here she is in person and in trouble. He pays her bill and asks for nothing in return but that she teach him how to be a gentleman. She says "Gentlemen are made not born.", which is an odd thing to say seeing that she has just been robbed and jilted by somebody she thought was a gentleman. However, she does agree to teach him what to say and do in social situations and how to dress, and they share a car back to Paris. There she runs into Dick Webster, a senator's son she has known all her life and accepts his proposal just minutes before Flashy comes to Julie's room to make his own. However, he stops himself when she tells him of her engagement and he takes the news gracefully, wishing her all happiness. And shortly thereafter, after news of the engagement is published in the newspaper, the slimy count Karloff shows up. What happens? Watch and find out.

The acting in this one is very good, the plot will keep you engaged if you are into classic film, Charles Bickford in particular. This was one of many B films Bickford did after his acrimonious split from MGM.

I know this is was probably intended as a B film, even by poverty row Columbia, but the whole film supposedly takes place in France, and nobody apparently bothered to do some basic research. The keeper of the rural French inn where Julie and Flashy meet is speaking some combination of gibberish and a few French words - I speak French. When the film gets to the courtroom portion, it is strictly American not French trial customs that are shown, and there is talk of the electric chair which the French did not use. They used the guillotine up to the time that they abolished capital punishment.

I'd recommend it. You'll probably figure out where it is going ahead of time, but it is a fun ride and Bickford is always a joy to watch in whatever he does.