Our Modern Maidens

Our Modern Maidens was MGM's follow-up to the previous year's Our Dancing Daughters. Key personnel were the same: cast members included rising star Joan Crawford and second lead Anita Page, as well as supporting actor Edward Nugent. Josephine Lovett again wrote the story and "continuity," Cedric Gibbons again designed the sets in art deco fashion, and William Axt had a central role in music supervision which again consisted of popular tunes of the day matched carefully to the emotion or tone of the scene. It's almost like watching an opera without sung words. In this film the audio bits are more numerous and painstakingly crafted than in Our Dancing Daughters. Ambient sound is used as often as possible. If we are watching cars speed down a road we hear the engines. If a radio is playing, we hear the announcer as well as the music. When a crowd is shown we hear the hubbub of voices, the clapping of hands, etc.

The theme of both movies seems to be old morals vs new or good, straight-arrow behavior vs devious badness, topics not uncommon in American popular culture during the 20s. In both films Joan Crawford is the wealthy, spirited heroine who goes after what she wants without a second thought to the consequences; she makes mistakes and pays for them but gets her well-earned rewards in the end. She is again opposed to Anita Page who hankers after the same man. Crawford does a lot of gesturing with her fingers in both Daughters and Maidens and seems to have developed a tight repertoire of definite facial expressions, often involving motion of the lips. Page acts with her whole body and is more natural and convincing. But neither is unwatchable.

Both films examine "flaming youth," perpetually in motion, laughing uproariously about one thing or another, jumping into jalopies to go on midnight joy rides, swilling bootleg booze with gleeful abandon, encountering pitfalls and bouncing back in the endless, desperate quest to have fun and embody modernity, which in its essence seems to mean accommodation to a female equality. When the characters in this scenario talk about being "modern" they are referring to the notion that a newlywed bride can go her own way if she chooses, rather than accompany her husband on the honeymoon.

As for leading men, we get a very young Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as the fought-over fiancé. He comes across splendidly in the silence, looking much older than the 19- or 20-year-old he actually was when he made this. His early talkie performances were often stilted but here he seems a master of the craft. Rod LaRoque is perfect as the more mature and sophisticated love interest to the Crawford character. Edward Nugent returns as the perennial happy-go- lucky boy-man.

To both cash in on the success of Joan Crawford's first big success Our Dancing Daughters and her first marriage to Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., MGM did Our Modern Maidens. The film came out just as the movie going public was realizing that sound was not a passing fad.

Our Modern Maidens had some sound effects overlaid into the film. We hear some laughter, a radio broadcast, other kinds of sound thrown in more as a gimmick than anything else. Still it was more to exploit than anything else.

The story concerns a group of young and wealthy party-goers, drinking bootleg hooch and dancing the Charleston like there would be no tomorrow. Leading the pack is Joan Crawford who's got her eye on Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. a young man looking to go into the diplomatic service and a post in Paris would be ideal. I mean if you're going to be a diplomat at least go to a place that's known as a party town.

Anita Page also has her eyes on Fairbanks and the older Rod LaRocque has his eyes on Crawford. It's the standard four sided triangle with Crawford working her wiles on LaRocque to use his influence for Fairbanks. In the meantime Page is expecting a blessed event courtesy of Fairbanks.

If Our Modern Maidens were made today any number of different endings are possible. In the Roaring Twenties though certain mores still held sway. I'll let you see the film to see how it all shakes out.

Fairbanks was borrowed from Warner Brothers for this film specifically for exploiting the publicity value surrounding his and Crawford's first marriages. They did give him a marvelous bit at a party scene where he gets to do imitations of John Barrymore, John Gilbert, and his father. Of course the imitation of Fairbanks, Sr. as Robin Hood was dead on.

Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed were just starting their careers as MGM's official songwriting team. One of their early successes Should I serves as the theme for Our Modern Maidens. Another song heard throughout the film is the Buddy DeSylva-Lew Brown-Ray Henderson hit My Sin is played whenever the action focuses on Page.

Our Modern Maidens is not a great film for any of the cast involved. But it is a great example of how the studios were hurriedly making the transition to sound.

Billie Brown (Joan Crawford) and "her crowd" have just graduated from college. She and her long-time - as in since childhood - boyfriend, Gil Jordan (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) want to get married. But first, Billie insists that Gil get a post with the American embassy in Paris. Only the best will do for Billie!

When the recent college grads are partying on a train, Glenn Abbott (Rod La Rocque) comes on board, sees Billie, and is instantly smitten. She gives him the cold shoulder until she reads in the paper about him being a hot shot among the foreign service crowd - the kind of hot shot that could get her boyfriend a position with the American embassy in Paris. So she decides to flirt with Glenn in hopes of getting what she wants while making him think that Gil is just a friend whom she'd like to see start out in life with a good job. Meanwhile, Gil knows what is going on and is feeling jealous, while the rather naive Kentucky (Anita Page) has a huge crush on Gil that she thinks is love. Complications ensue.

This thing is an art deco lover's dream with the Brown mansion and all of its bold geometric forms and stairways. It's a beautiful look at the furs and fashions, architecture, cars, and carefree ways of life in the jazz age, especially among the rich, just before the 20s stopped roaring and the stock market crashed.

Anita Page played a much more likeable character in this second film of the "flapper trilogy" than she did in the first - "Our Dancing Daughters". Who exactly is this "Kentucky" character anyways? And why is she living in the Brown mansion if she's not a relative? But I digress.

Rounding out the cast is corpulent Albert Gran as B. Bickering Brown, Billie's father and future director Edward Nugent as one of Billie's crowd. In this one entry of the flapper trilogy, Dorothy Sebastian is not present. It appears her place has been taken by Josephine Dunn who is playing a girl who is jealous of Billie's attention and success with men to the extent that she behaves so catty that I'm surprised milkmen are not being attracted from miles away.

And lest you think our titular maidens have gotten too modern, note that when the recent college graduate girls are asked "What do we think about education, girls?" their answer is"MEN! MEN! MEN!"

OUR MODERN MAIDENS (1929) comes with a synchronized audio track (music and sound effects) but is still a "silent" film, with dialogue conveyed via intertitle cards. The story concerns carefree young people, out of college and into society, the world in the palms of their hands. Joan Crawford hams it up to a ridiculous extent with her jazz baby routine. Although she was the star of the picture, Crawford is the least appealing character in the film. Her look here isn't very feminine. By contrast Anita Page is awfully cute as the sweet and naive friend.

Page loves dashing young Douglas Fairbanks Jr., who is pretty serious about Crawford, his longtime sweetheart. Meanwhile, Crawford is playing around with Rod La Rocque, a big shot diplomat of some kind. Melodrama ensues. Joan Crawford finds herself mixed up in two love triangles and, heroine that she is, must make noble decisions.

There's an interesting scene where Douglas Fairbanks Jr. does celebrity impressions at a party. His character impersonates silent-screen actors John Barrymore, John Gilbert, and then -- in the role of "Robin Hood" -- his own father Douglas Fairbanks Sr. It's a nice little treat for astute film buffs.

Starring together in a feature for the first and only time, Crawford and Fairbanks were married that same year in real life.

6.5/10

It's kind of a soap opera plot, rather daring, perhaps, for its time, but tame by today's standards.

Joan Crawford probably never looked better and, in my not very humble opinion, probably never, or at least seldom, gave a better performance. Her character Billie is in turn kittenish and seductive and cautious, ultimately doing what was the right thing for everyone.

Anita Page, who also never looked lovelier, is everyone's charming girl-next-door, pretty, cute, decent. She gives a superlative performance as the intriguingly named Kentucky.

This is not, probably, anybody's idea of a classic movie, but it is well worth seeing if only for the look at Joan Crawford in an early -- silent -- role. She looks great, gives a controlled performance, and is sans the harsh, overdone makeup of later years -- and padded shoulders.

Anita Page, who pioneered some of the early musicals, displays loveliness and talent and is, to be blunt, adorable.

Oh, there are some good male actors, too, but Crawford and Page are the real reasons to watch.