Under Eighteen

Under 18 (1931-22)

A light-hearted comedy drama with a few very serious moments. It's a sincere and touching story about two sisters trying to make it in the poor tenements of New York. They each have a man from the same neighborhood, one a loafer (and pool shark) and the other a sweet and goofy grocery delivery driver. Mom lives with one of the sisters who is the title character, a bit young to know what she wants.

But not too young for the rich ladykilling man who sees the girl modeling an expensive fur. Which leads, roundabout, to the highlight of the movie, and twenty minute frenzy on the roof of a tall building in Manhattan. This pool party is a real height of the Roaring Twenties as they were winding into the early Depression. It's pure wild decadence, and director Archie Mayo really knew how to ramp it up without getting totally obscene. Great stuff.

And a great contrast with the humble lives of the impoverished stars. None of the leading ladies or their men are names most of us recognize (the main star, Marian Marsh, has several great films to her name, namely "Svengali" and "Crime and Punishment"). It's Warren William, the rich fellow, who is the most famous of the bunch, and he's always a hoot to watch, slyly winning over women despite (or because of) his age.

But there is another serious side to all of this, and that is the trap women faced then (far less than now) in having to find a man to help survive economically. The Depression has clearly made jobs scarce, even in New York (which was still humming in some ways). When Marsh's sister realizes her new husband would rather play pool than work, things go bad—and get worse when she has a child. So Marsh sees the folly of marriage even though her own boyfriend is a decent chap with a job. This fairly realistic portrayal of life at the time is the largest part of the movie.

The party, however, is the most fun, and I would say you could, if impatient, skim ahead to that section, a little after halfway, and just see the craziness of the times. It reminded me of "Madame Satan" which uses the same kind of party—in a blimp—that is so wild and compelling it makes you wonder why these kinds of scenes disappeared by the time of the Hays Code.

There is a slightly awkward feel to the script throughout the film, unfortunately, and the acting of some of the lesser characters is fair but not great, bringing the whole thing down to earth. Still, the best of it…well, give it a shot. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

What a ridiculous title. Ignore it, it has nothing to do with this movie about two sisters, one of whom (Anita Page) is married to an abusive deadbeat (Norman Foster), and the other of whom (Marian Marsh) is dating a humble deliveryman (Regis Toomey). As Marsh witnesses Page's marriage and her need for money for a divorce, she resolves to marry for money instead of love, and later catches a rich man's eye (Warren William) when she fills in for a model. She goes up to William's wild penthouse pool party where William practically salivates over her, asking her to swim in his suave voice by saying "Why not take off your clothes and stay awhile?" He's great in the film, and it's a pretty strong cast. There are the seemingly requisite pre-code underwear scenes, as well as some pretty snappy 30's dialog between the couples, which keep the film entertaining, but I hated the way the film played out, so it's a mixed bag for me.

This song was popular in the depression, so it's not a big surprise that one of the characters in this movie whistles it on the way to work. By the end of this movie, "happy days ARE here again," but for most of the picture you sure wouldn't think so! Directed by the capable Archie Mayo, this movie offers a chance for viewers today to see a wonderful contrast between the have and have nots of the 1930's.

Young Margie (played by Marian Marsh) who must be "under eighteen," works to help support her family now that her father has died. The family now consists of her older sister Sophie (Anita Page), her husband Alf, and their little baby. Margie is a seamstress in a NYC shop that makes and sells fashionable gowns. Margie's nobody's dummy--she sees the beautiful models attracting rich sugar daddies and dreams of the life she could have...if only! Her poor-but-honest-and-hard-working boyfriend, Jimmy (Regis Toomey) offers her stability and respectability , which she accepts until Sophie shows her a side of married life that is undesirable. One day at work, she meets ladies man Howard Raymond (Warren William), gets the opportunity to model a beautiful fur coat for him, and he charms her. A swiss cheese sandwich, an invitation to his penthouse, and a desperate need for money lead to trouble for Margie.

This pre-Code is rich in 1930's flavor. Raymond's penthouse apartment is an Art Deco delight, while the apartment where Margie's family lives is the exact opposite. Warren William is an absolute standout as the seducer of young women, a role he played many times, but no time better than in this movie! When young Margie shows up at his penthouse, he is outside on the roof, swimming in his pool. He invites her to stay and swim with the comment, "Take off your clothes and stay awhile." I was lucky to accidentally catch this movie on TCM. It doesn't show very often, but would be certainly worth your time, if it appears in the line up again.

Someone said on this board that they liked the film but were uncertain was to the plot for most of the film. Actually, that person is correct, now that I think about it. I read the plot so I knew what it was supposed to be, but actually that plot didn't unfold right away.

Margie, played by the beautiful Marian Marsh, lives with her mother and wants nothing more than to get her out of the hot apartment and into someplace cool. It's summer in New York - I've lived there, and for those who have "summer in New York" needs no explanation. Just add, "in 1929" and you have an idea of the suffering of these people.

Margie's boyfriend Jimmie is relentlessly cheerful, which aggravates Margie even more. Then the final blow -- her sister Sophie (Anita Page), her sister's unemployed husband, and their baby move in with them. The couple bickers constantly because Sophie's husband can't seem to find a job.

Margie ends up modeling a fur for a wealthy man, Mr. Harding (Warren William) in the salon where she works, and really catches his eye. The coat went for $16,000. I looked it up in today's money. Six figures. Well, $16,000 isn't exactly cheap now.

Margie notices some of the models in the shop are kept by wealthy men. She actually starts to consider it. Then Sophie's husband hits her, and Sophie wants a divorce. But the lawyer costs $200. Margie tries to get it from her boss, who refuses; Jimmie has it but he won't give it to her so her sister can get a divorce.

Finally, she goes to see Mr. Harding, who is in the midst of a wild party. This is the best scene in the film. Boy, were they having fun.

This is an okay movie, but supposedly the studio had high hopes for it. When it didn't become a massive hit, it hurt Marsh's career. However, I don't believe she cared all that much about acting. She was in it to help her family, and once she married, she retired.

The end of this film is fun but strange. Warren William as usual is marvelous. He could be sly, mean, funny -- he's one reason I love TCM as it gives people an opportunity to see him. He died in 1948 at the age of 53.

Marian Marsh is adorable here, with an angelic and doll-like beauty which she showed to good advantage as Trilby in Svengali. When John Barrymore asked her if anyone had commented on her resemblance to his then wife, Delores Costello, she said yes, the butcher who gave her liver for her cat had remarked upon it.

Worth seeing for the performances.

Pretty fun story, but I wasn't really sure what the plot of the story was for most of the film; Margie (Marian Marsh) helps her sister (Anita Page) get married off; then we flash back to a hot city street, with Margie, her boyfriend Jimmie (Regis Toomey) and the neighbors squawking about how hot and miserable they are; it's 1929, everyone is suffering during the depression. Margie is working to get by , but we see everyone around them is either very rich and getting richer, or very poor and getting poorer (just like today. not much has changed.) We spend an awful lot of time talking about how hard it is to get by these days. I guess its a set up for things to come. She almost gets her big break modeling a fur in her salon, where she meets wealthy Mr. Harding (Warren William). Where were we? Oh yeah, the sister Sophie gets walloped by the husband, and wants a divorce. Margie runs all over town asking everyone for a loan for the divorce lawyer. She seems to be more concerned about getting the money than her sister is. Bad stuff happens. Good stuff happens. Strong, clever ending, which kind of redeems the film. It's kind of a "week in the life of Margie" story. Directed by Archie Mayo, who directed comedies (A Night in Casablanca) and serious films (Petrified Forest). He had started in 1917, pretty near the beginning of the film industry. Story by husband and wife team Frank Dazey and Agnes Johnston. Looks like they wrote some of the later adventures of Andy Hardy.