Those We Love

There's good news and bad news for Kenneth MacKenna. The good news is that his first novel is finally published and at the bookstores (remember bookstores?). The bad news -- for the new author, at any rate -- is that it's Armistice Day, so no one is buying books. Except that when he goes on the street, he finds Mary Astor with his book. So they get married. Things are tough at first, but by 1931, he's established and prosperous and buys a house in Westchester County. He's up there by himself, because Miss Astor is in Baltimore working on a collection of folk songs and his son is at camp. So there's only the welcome wagon, headed by Lilyan Tashman, who wants to make herself very welcome.

It's from a stage play co-written by George Abbott, with F. Hugh Herbert doing the screenplay. The direction is by Robert Florey, and I expect that's why this movie is not as good as it might have been. Visually it's fine. With Mary Astor, how could it not be? Florey directs the visuals very well, with Arthur Edeson doing his usual fine job running the camera, but the line readings are a bit mechanical. Everyone is very emphatic, turning every line into a speech. Maybe it's the sound system at Tiffany Studios, where this was filmed.

Whatever the reason for the failures, it's a fine story, nevertheless. Miss Astor, of course, would become a fine actress, and Mr. McKenna would be no slouch as a supporting actor.

The most poignant thing about this movie is its stance on infidelity, which (although it happened often enough, particularly with celebrities) had both a social and moral significance that can be laughable in today's polyamorous, open relationship, casual hookup climate. In some ways, we could use a time machine!

Be that as it may, this short movie deals with some heavy issues, like whether infidelity should be punished, or overlooked when there's children concerned? Is divorce the answer, or should you try again? Is the love strong enough to overcome the hurt and betrayal or is the pain too deep?

While sympathy is on the side of the wronged wife (Mary Astor), you can't help feeling some for the unfaithful husband (Kenneth MacKenna), who deeply regrets his transgression, which apparently was a one-time thing.

There's also some for the other woman (Lilyan Tashman), married to an abusive, serial cheater and threatened with divorce and disgrace by him, in a perfect example of hypocrisy and the double standard.

There's also Mary and Kenneth's son (Tommy Conlon), who at 13 is old enough to understand, and also young enough to want his parents to stay together.

This gives you a lot to think about and while not the best of the Pre Code films, still worth watching.

Freddie (Kenneth MacKenna) has just returned from the war and has written a book. His publisher believes in him but tells him it will take time and several books before he's famous. Soon he sees a woman on the street with his book in her arms! May (Mary Astor) is his first fan...and Freddie is certainly a fan of hers as well. Soon they are married and the film jumps ahead many years. Now they have a nearly grown son and Freddie is a butt-head. That's because a married floozy is throwing herself at him and instead of immediately stopping this, he lets her flirtations go on too long. However, despite this he does love his family...and only the most understanding (and perhaps stupid) of wives could forgive his stupidity.

There is a HUGE problem with the movie....I just didn't care much about the characters. Freddie was difficult to love and his wife seemed like a bit of a doormat. But mostly, they were bland characters and I never particularly felt involved with any of them.

Mary Astor had been in films for ten years already by now. Mostly silents, of course. and she would go on to get an Oscar for "The Great Lie" in 1941. Here she's "May", the wife of author Freddie Williston (Ken MacKenna). Lilyan Tashman plays the (married) woman running after Freddie.... Tashman has a most interesting story here on her imdb bio page. Sadly, Tashman died quite young at 37. May sees some suspicious things at the house when she returns early, and doesn't trust Freddie any longer. We watch as the plot thickens. Some other big names in here. Edwin Maxwell is "Marshall". Keep an eye out for comedian Bert Roach, who usually played the drunk, or the jolly character in the background. Cecil Cunningham is the pompous, rich old lady who fires May. Cunningham had just broken into hollywood, and would play similar parts for many years. Moves pretty slow. Lots of talking... you can tell this started out as a play. It's pretty average. the usual misunderstandings, married couples who aren't sure where things stand. Directed by Robert Florey, who had started en france, and worked his way to hollywood.

This is a hard film to evaluate. On the one hand, it makes a serious attempt to deal honestly with the damage that suspicion and unfaithful thoughts can do to a marriage and to family relationships, and the characters are mostly sympathetic. On the other hand, the story is loaded with coincidences and implausible developments, and it moves slowly as well.

The opening scene is rather nice, though coincidence-dependent: a young author accidentally meets a woman (Mary Astor) who has just bought the first copy of his new book. They soon are married, and live happily with their son. Some time later, problems arise when an opportunistic woman in the neighborhood tries to seduce the husband, and although he resists, the appearances create deep suspicions in his wife, setting up a chain of events that threaten the happiness of the entire family. All of the characters work pretty well in themselves, and the situation lends itself to some interesting possibilities. But the movie relies far too much on coincidences to set up the key events. There are also too many times when the film gets bogged down, dragging out several scenes unnecessarily.

Due to the nature of the story, it's not always a fun film to watch. It has its good points and its weaknesses, and whether it is worth seeing depends on whether the story sounds interesting to you or not.