False Pretenses

Engaging little flick thanks mainly to utterly charming Irene Ware as Mary, a pretty waitress with aspirations. Too bad actress Ware's career was shortened apparently by disgust with the business (IMDB). Here she really shines as she and her scheming mentor Kenneth (Blackmer) conspire to get her an upper-class rich husband and pocket the proceeds. But that means waitress Mary has to refine her plebeian ways, which she does thanks to tutelage from sophisticated Miss Milgram (Beaumont). Naturally complications arise when affairs of the heart intercede once Mary enters the world of proper manners and gilded parlors, which supplies more story interest.

I really like the snappy dialogue from the first part, a tribute to screenwriter Adamson. Once things complicate, however, the chuckles subside. Still, viewer concern in how things will turn out remains. And get a load of brawny O'Reilly (Gargan) in the first part as he turns Mary's cafe into one big temper tantrum- Guess I'll be eating at home now! One thing for sure: there's no eye candy for the ladies. Blackmer and Hopton are middle-aged and average looking, maybe appropriate for their roles but certainly not the usual leading man eye-catchers.

All in all, it's an entertaining little flick, maybe not the most original premise, but still well-done. And too bad about Miss Ware's brief career. Her talent here really shows.

Harassed at work by brutish boyfriend Edward Gargan (as Mike O'Reilly), pretty hash-slinging waitress Irene Ware (as Mary Beekman) is fired for causing the commotion. On the way home, Ms. Ware loses her last paycheck to an ill wind, and meets down-on-his luck millionaire Sydney Blackmer (as Kenneth Alden). Obviously imbibed, Mr. Blackmer sees Ware reach for her paycheck, and thinks she's going to jump off a bridge. Ware, conversely, believes the depressed drunk is planning his own suicidal jump...

In addition to his cash flow problems, Blackmer is having trouble proposing to beautiful Betty Compson (as Clarissa Stanhope), due to an "aversion to marriage." Blackmer gives Ware a make-over, and introduces her to Ms. Compson and their "high society" crowd. They plan to get Ware married to a millionaire, with Blackmer getting a "commission" for his services. Soon, Ware falls in love with rich, rough-looking Russell Hopton (as Pat Brennan). Mr. Hopton has the money Ware desires, but harbors a swarthy secret…

"False Pretenses" features a great cast and an interesting, albeit flawed, story. Ware and Blackmer have a romantic chemistry that doesn't appear anywhere in the script. Ware is a attractive leading lady and Blackmer, probably best-known for his devilish role in "Rosemary's Baby" (1968), is always charming. You're also left wondering what takes Blackmer so long in seeing the desirable Compson as a good match. And, as "second leads" Compson and Hopton, leave you wanting to see them as headliners.

***** False Pretenses (10/22/35) Charles Lamont ~ Irene Ware, Sidney Blackmer, Betty Compson, Russell Hopton

Irene Ware has lost her job and is broke. Sidney Blackmer has lost his fortune and is broke. They decide to raise enough money to take her to a rich man's watering spot and snag her a millionaire. However...

It's a surprisingly sprightly Poverty-Row comedy of manners, with a series of amusingly developed situations and a good cast, including Betty Compson, Edward Gargan and Dot Farley. Blackmer is pleasantly amusing in a rare comedy role; he winds up sounding like Charles Butterworth, instead of his more frequent turn as Teddy Roosevelt. Miss Compson winds up stealing the show as the lady who wants to marry him.

Director Charles Lamont, still working his way out of short subjects, had hit the ground running features the year before. This year, he directed nine features and a baker's dozen of shorts. When it came to comedy, he could handle anything from shtick to Abbott & Costello to stories like this: just another of the hordes of talented technicians ignored in favor of auteurs.

"False Pretenses" is the sort of escapist film that they did quite well in the 1930s. And, despite a very low budget and mostly no-name actors, the film ends up being quite entertaining.

The film begins with Mary Beekman (Irene Ware) at the end of her ropes--her knucklehead ex-boyfriend (Edward Gargan) has gotten her fired from her job and won't stop harassing her. On top of that, she loses her check and has to climb on the wall of a bridge to retrieve it. There she meets a down-on-his-luck playboy, Kenneth Alden (Sydney Blackmer) who is about to kill himself! She convinces him to stop and in talking with him, she comes up with a crazy idea. Maybe Alden can regain some of his fortune by helping her marry some rich guy (since he IS a prominent member of society and knows the right people)--and then she'll split her new fortune with him. So, after some lessons on etiquette and deportment, he takes her to meet his friends--and are they smitten! What's next in this little bit of larceny? See the film for yourself.

The film is entertaining and satisfying--proving that a B-movie can still be quite good. I particularly thought the script, though outlandish, was the strength to this one--though the acting also was quite good. Worth a look.

A just fired girl chasing her paycheck meets a broke drunk millionaire on a bridge. He thinks shes going to jump, like he had been intending.She takes him home to his house where they get to talking. Its decided that he will get money together, teacher her to be a lady and then set her out to his rich friends to find a husband and then pay him finders fee. Odd ball romantic(?) comedy drama is decidedly not your run of the mill Hollywood movie. Rarely has a "comedy" been so cynical. Love, even when you find it still is no match for money. The cast is excellent and keeps you watching even when you can't believe how mercenary everyone on screen is. The script is very good with lots of witty lines and exchanges (the early cooking scene is excellent). the script also provides some really good characters that are not the usual assortment of people you find in films of this, or any other sort. If there is a down side its that perhaps the film is much too cynical. There is something about its tone that while amusing prevents you from completely connecting. Certainly its worth a look since odds are you'll not find a film with a similar attitude for 40 years. 6 or 7 out of 10 depending on your mood.