Man Wanted

Kay Francis rose to sudden stardom playing a vamp opposite Walter Huston in a very early Paramount talkie called "Gentlemen of the Press"(Par, 1929). By 1930 she was one of that studio's top stars. In late 1931 her three-year contract was expiring and to much surprise she jumped ship to Warner Brothers that had promised her great scripts and a huge salary. The salary was forthcoming but the scripts varied wildly from the classic "One Way Passage"(1932) to the unbelievably bland "The White Angel"(1936) a disastrous William Dieterle directed biography on Florence Nightingale. Gorgeous and charismatic Kay's first vehicle for Warners and her first with Dieterle is this marvelous adult comedy about an emancipated woman who is the boss who needs a new "male" secretary. Running only about 70 minutes this film is a witty, wonderfully directed gem. Kay and Manners are so sexy and charming in their only film together. A must for Francis fans and forgotten classic movie lovers.

The film shows up periodically, and without fanfare, on Turner Classic Movies every now and then when they run early a.m. fests of Kay Francis movies. Yes, it is old, and yes, some of it is outdated, but it also contains some very nice moments. Despite its antiquity, it does succeed in capturing the pain of a man who is deeply in love with a woman he knows he can never have nor even approach. That may sound silly to some readers today, since we now live in an age where men routinely proposition married women (both on and off screen), but frankly, it works. The film is clearly pre-Code---once the Code was installed, any man glancing at a married woman was depicted as a slimy villain. But real life isn't lived in such black and white absolutes, and that is why this undeservedly obscure little film holds up yet today.

Moderately amusing romantic comedy, stolen by a dazzling Kay Francis. Her commanding presence just about out-shines everything else, including even the scene-stealing Merkel. The story's about upper-class folks trying to get their love life sorted out. Manners is drawn to Francis, but she's married to Thompson who philanders with Dodd, while an aggressive Merkel chases after Manners as a brawny Devine looks on. Worse, they've only got an hour to sort things out. The B-flick's well mounted with a good look at early 30's high fashion. There's some good snappy dialogue, and even though infidelity is treated casually, there's not much pre-Code innuendo. Note too how the script elevates Francis as the competent chief executive of a large firm. In fact, there's something of a subtle feminist thread running through the screenplay. In my book, the movie's main drawback lies with Dieterle's pedestrian direction that lacks the spark needed to blend the parts into a memorable whole.. Anyway, for fans of Francis, it's a showcase, showing again why she's become a cult legend.

"Man Wanted" was made in 1932 before the Code was put in place, and it's quite entertaining, starring the beautiful Kay Francis, David Manners, Una Merkel and Elizabeth Patterson. Francis plays Lois Ames, a sophisticated, glamorous publisher who works constantly. Her old secretary (Elizabeth Patterson) won't work overtime, so she's fired. A man, Tommy Sherman (Manners) who has come to sell her something impresses her, and she offers him the secretarial job. He accepts and becomes invaluable to her, moving up in rank. All the time, he's falling in love with her. He has fiancé (Una Merkel) and Lois has a husband, Freddie. Freddie lives off of his wife, and though she loves him, she realizes that he has affairs. In one scene, Freddie is on his way to an assignation when Lois comes home unexpectedly early. Freddie goes with the moment, and they're both in the mood. Just before she gets into bed, Lois finds the other woman's hotel key. She puts in on her husband's pillow and feigns sleep.

Dieterle does a good job with the pace of the film. The gender references are quite interesting. Tommy assumes the female publisher he'll be meeting will be an old hag and is surprised to see such a young, good-looking woman; nothing is made of her hiring a male secretary. One wonders, though, had she a very capable woman secretary, would she have risen to a higher position? It's something to think about.

Fast-paced and well directed, Man Wanted is a compact entertainment that provides a window to early 1930s attitudes on several subjects but doesn't sermonize on any of them. Kay Francis and David Manners are sufficiently colorless to be easily molded by director Dieterle, who adds interesting pictorial touches throughout. Also of great interest is Gregg Toland's remarkable cinematography. The fact that the film is somewhat hard to categorize - is it a melodrama with comic touches or a satire with occasional pathos? - indicates the cleverness of Dieterle and writers Robert Lord and Charles Kenyon. The filmmakers are anything but heavy-handed in their commentary on gender roles, leaving the audience to reach its own conclusions about thorny workplace issues that persist in the 21st century. Adding to the general delight of the film are Andy Devine and Una Merkel in unexpected roles, with Elizabeth Patterson and Edward Van Sloan also glimpsed in very different parts than those for which they are most well known. This gem, seen occasionally on TCM, is well worth your time.