A Woman of Experience

A WOMAN OF EXPERIENCE (1931) is a rather interesting pre-Code melodrama set during WWI.

Helen Twelvetrees plays a "registered woman" (prostitute) in Vienna. With the outbreak of war, she patriotically offers her services as a nurse, but is turned away. She's then recruited as a spy, assigned to use her feminine charms to keep tabs on a suspected traitor in the Austrian army. But her assignment is derailed when she unexpectedly falls in love with a naive young naval officer who sees in her his ideal of female purity.

The naval lieutenant (William Bakewell) doesn't realize that Twelvetrees is "a woman of experience", and she hasn't the heart to wake him from his delusions. Meanwhile, all this romance is sidetracking Twelvetrees from her sworn duty. She can't tell the young lieutenant that she's a prostitute and she can't tell him that she's a spy, either.

When the lieutenant volunteers for a dangerous submarine mission, Twelvetrees finally has the opportunity to play Mata Hari. She tries to break things off with the lieutenant gently with a letter, explaining that she's found someone else in his absence, but her heart belongs only to him. He's the only man who's ever treated her halfway decent, ignorant as he is of her past.

It's not a particularly notable movie, but what stands out is the story's interesting combination of socially doomed romance (the notorious woman and the young aristocrat) with wartime intrigue. Not only is a woman -- a prostitute, no less -- recruited as a spy for her country, but that same prostitute also falls in love with an innocent young man from a respectable family.

On the one hand it's "Can this woman (of experience) prove to be a valuable citizen when her country needs her?" and on the other it's "How long can this love affair last before a.) the truth about her past, b.) his disapproving mother, or c.) unforeseen tragedy get in the way?" It's like two plots woven together into one.

I also found it interesting that the officer in charge of counterintelligence was shown with an actual book of "registered women", complete with headshots and vital statistics. The officer (played by H.B. Warner) symbolically removes Twelvetrees's photo when she accepts her assignment, but later replaces it when she fails to make headway.

With early talkies you sometimes hear unusual pronunciations of everyday words, for whatever reason. What amused me with A WOMAN OF EXPERIENCE was listening to all the characters pronounce "lieutenant" as "LOOT-nint".

The film begins when WWI breaks out. Wanting to be an Austrian patriot, Elsa (Helen Twelvetrees) tries to volunteer. But again and again she is rejected. Now since this is a Pre-Code film, adults watching the film realize it's because she's a prostitute...but it is implied and never explicitly stated. Eventually, the spy folks learn about her willingness and recruit her to do some spying. After all, if she needs to bed the guy, she's likely very good at it! But instead of vamping the guy, she accidentally meets up with a handsome and very, very sweet Lieutenant...and he falls head over heels for her. And, she spends most of the film with the nice guy and not her quarry. However, she IS a patriot and eventually does what must be done...even though she would much rather just run off with the Lieutentant and live happily ever after. So what's next? See the film.

The plot of this film is very much like the Garbo films "Mata Hari" and "Camille" (about a doomed love affair with a prostitute). But, and I know some folks might be surprised I'd say this, but these represent two of Garbo's worst films and "A Woman of Experience" is much more watchable...though I am NOT saying it's a particularly great film as well. I prefer it because Twelvetrees' acting is much more restrained and believable...and her boyfriend, Karl (William Bakewell), is quite good. The twist at the very end, however, is NOT good...not at all.

By the way, throughout the beginning of the film, you keep hearing the song "Deutschland über Alles"....but this is the national anthem of Germany, not Austria. How odd. Maybe they chose it because it was written by Hayden...an Austrian. I would have chosen another song.

It's World War 1 and Helen Twelvetrees (Elsa) is a prostitute who wants to serve her country - Austria - against the Allies. She offers herself as a nurse but is rejected on the grounds of her profession. However, her trade does qualify her to become a spy and lure men into giving her secrets. Her first target is Captain Lew Cody (Otto) who is suspected of passing on secrets. However, she's not very good at being a spy and decides to bunk off and carry on a love affair with a man from the Navy William Bakewell (Karl) instead. Duty or romance? Which is it to be?

This is not so much a spy film as a romance. That loses marks for me as I felt we could have been drawn in by a more interesting story regarding the betrayals and tactics employed. A better spy film from the same year is "Dishonored" starring Marlene Dietrich, also as an Austrian prostitute-turned-spy.

Something that annoyed me in this film was Bakewell's pronunciation of the name Elsa. It's Elsa with an "s". It's not Elza with a "z". My mother was called Elsa and this really bugged me. Lose a mark.

The film has a weird ending and I don't agree with the implied course that the film takes but Twelvetrees does carry the film.

Helen Twelvetrees stars as a classy prostitute in Vienna at the outbreak of World War I. After being turned down for any kind of war service because the country lists prostitutes in a registry, she's brought in by Austrian Intelligence and offered a deal. If she works as a spy, her name will be removed from the registry.

She is assigned the job of "befriending" Lew Cody, who is suspected of selling secrets. But while at a party with him, she meets the gaze of a young naval officer (William Bakewell). He's very innocent and believes her to be a "good girl." She falls in love and decides to ditch her spy job.

Everything goes well until he decides to apply for active submarine duty, leaving the girl alone. She decides to break off the affair and go back to spying. But several things happen to complicate the plan.

Twelvetrees is gorgeous as Elsa and gives a solid performance. Bakewell is surprisingly good as the naive officer. Cody plays is caddish role well. Others in the cast include Zasu Pitts as the maid who saves the day, H.B. Warner as the Intelligence officer, Nance O'Neil as the countess, C. Henry Gordon as a snarky officer, and Franklin Pangborn as a sailor.

Underrated and forgotten now, Helen Twelvetrees was, for a while, a big star.

Helen Twelvetrees is stunningly gorgeous, like an antique cameo in lace in this well-produced potboiler about a prostitute who goes to work for Austrian counter-intelligence during the First World War. Of course she falls in love with an innocent naval lieutenant instead of concentrating on her job. Her big, sad eyes dominate almost every close-up and medium shot.

There's a lot of fun here for fans of old movies, from an early script by John Farrow to a cast of big names in the high-ranking supporting roles (Lew Cody, H.B. Warner) and skilled comedians (Zasu Pitts, Franklin Pangborn, Max Davidson) in the lower-ranks. In the end, though, this is a well-executed potboiler that depends on Helen Twelvetrees for its effect and she delivers.