Sinners in the Sun

As pre-code movies go, this is a great, well-produced and entertaining example. Everything you'd expect is here: The Depression, thwarted aspirations, class conflict, beautiful leading ladies (in sexy lingerie of course) plus good old fashioned moralising.

If you enjoy pictures from this period, you mustn't overlook this often overlooked one. The multi-layered characters are written with depth and realism - they're not the flat dimensionless cartoons who so often appear in films from this era. The story is pretty well trodden but scripted here with life and wit. The theme is that old chestnut: poor girl is seduced by rich man but this time it's doubled up because we get a poor boy (the poor girl's ex) who is also seduced by a rich girl.

Like a Warner Brothers picture, its point of view is from the perspective of the working class people but refreshingly the society characters are not soulless evil villains twiddling their moustaches. They are portrayed as real people too as well with real issues. Their attitudes and sense of entitlement however is cleverly and heavily criticised particularly the way both rich playboy Eric and society gal Claire treat their working class lovers like pets, loved pets yes but not like "their" people. But it's not their fault - it's just the way they are and it reflects the stratified unequal society of the time.

At Belfast's Titanic exhibition, it's explained how imperative it was to separate the 1st and 2nd class passengers from those in 3rd class. It seems crazy to us now that so much effort was put into ensuring that 'nice' people would never ever have the awful experience of actually seeing a poor person. As we see in this fabulous film, if the two classes of people even just see each other, disaster awaits! This treats the horrible disparity between the haves and have-nots in a much more light hearted way than other films but nevertheless still stirs a sense of outrage. This aspect is even subtly imbued in the inevitable girls' dressing room scenes. The rich guys see nothing wrong with walking in on them as are getting changed because they're rich and they're just working class girls. One of those girls might be lucky if Mr wealthy decides to pluck them from their life of drudgery. Welcome to the 1930s!

Besides a profusion of young ladies in their underwear, one big reason to watch this isn't that bloke from Bristol, it's Adrienne Ames! She wasn't really an actress, she didn't make too many pictures, she was 'The celebrity' of the age. Her acting isn't that convincing but she certainly lights up the screen and it's great to see her in a rare leading role.

Sinners in the Sun (1932)

*** (out of 4)

Jimmie (Chester Morris) and Doris (Carole Lombard) are in love with each other but Doris wants riches and she's not sure Jimmie will ever be able to give them to her. They end up breaking up and before long she's in the arms of a married man (Walter Byron) while he finds himself married to a rich woman (Adrienne Ames). Before long Doris begins to think that money might not be everything.

If you're looking for a great or hard-hitting plot then you're not going to find it here. SINNERS IN THE SUN is pretty much a standard story of a couple poor people who think money is the answer and they have to learn that it isn't more important than love. This type of rags to riches story was quite popular during the early sound days and this one here remains watchable thanks in large part to a great cast of characters.

Morris has always been one of my favorite actors. He might not have ever became a huge star but I've enjoyed going through his career and this is certainly one of his better performances. At first he's style of speech and his delivery reminded me of Jimmy Stewart, although that actor hadn't yet even appeared in Hollywood. Morris gets a couple very good scenes including one where he lets loose on his former love and the actor did a terrific job here.

The rest of the cast is extremely good as well with Lombard doing a very good job in her role of the woman who wants gold, gets it and lives to regret it. She's very good in the role and quite believable whether she's playing that small town girl or the spoiled rich one. The supporting players are nice as well and this includes a young Cary Grant in his second screen appearance. He doesn't have much to do but his few scenes are quite good. Alison Skipworth also gets a couple very funny scenes playing Lombard's mother.

As I said, storywise SINNERS IN THE SUN is pretty silly and predictable but the actors make it worth sitting through.

Remember all those Jean Harlow movies about poor girls wanting to marry rich fellows? If you liked them, check out Carole Lombard and Chester Morris in Sinners in the Sun. Ironically, the same year, Chester played the rich fellow in Jean Harlow's Red-Headed Woman. In this movie, he's a poor garage mechanic in love with Carole. He wants to get married, but she's afraid of a life of poverty. Given her background and growing up in the Great Depression, it's understandable.

Carole and Chester part ways in search of wealthy partners. Carole finds a married man who wants fun on the side, and Chester finds a wealthy woman who likes how he looks in a tuxedo. This pre-Code drama is a bit naughty, with see-through negligees and references to gigolos. Mostly, though, it's a tragedy about two people who think they'll be happier with money than with love. It's always a treat to see Carole in a drama, and Chester gives a great performance as he struggles with his pride. "Did you think I'd cry?" he asks, his voice breaking, when reunited with Carole after they've settled into other lives. If you like this one, check out Swing High, Swing Low.

DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. About 45 minutes in, and at 52 minutes in, the camera spins for about thirty seconds, and that will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

... because with a name like "Sinners in the Sun" I figured it was one of those precodes in a tropical locale with some mad doctor doing odd experiments. But then I read a summary and thought I'd give it a whirl.

It's basically about love and the Great Depression. Doris (Carole Lombard) is a model at a high end boutique. Jimmie (Chester Morris) is a mechanic. They are engaged, but Doris is afraid of poverty, on being dependent on whether some employer thinks you are worth keeping around, and a visit to her apartment and you see why. Doris and her entire extended family, including her grandparents and her underemployed brother and his wife are crammed into this small place, and there is constant bickering. Doris wants Jimmie to own his own garage and be his ow boss before they get married, and eventually this leads to a break-up because Jimmie thinks Doris would be settling for him.

After Jimmie and Doris part, Jimmie becomes the chauffeur and then the husband of an idle rich woman. Doris becomes the mistress of an idle rich married man. They both make these moves because of things they find out that the other has been doing in regards to the opposite sex. Will this whole thing work out? Watch and find out. This boils down to the saying that more than enough money may not make you happy, but less than enough can sure make you miserable. Except the film rather leaves out the second part of that maxim, maybe so Depression era audiences wouldn't get too introspective after seeing this.

It was unusual to see Allison Skipworth play Doris' mother - a kind of Marie Dressler role. She usually plays the older sophisticate. If she doesn't have money she ordinarily pretends that she does. And here she is an ordinary housewife, downtrodden and disheartened by life without ever actually coming out and saying so. Cary Grant makes a few appearances as a rich and unattached guy who'd like have Doris for himself.

One of the most interesting scenes in the film to me - Anderson Lawler in an uncredited role as gigolo to a woman old enough to be his mother. He has a heart to heart with Jimmie about how they are not so different, to Jimmie's horror.

This simple 1930s film seems to have the underlying theme that a person should be happy with their lot in life and shouldn't want more out of life--a reasonable less considering it was the Depression! When the film begins, Doris (Carole Lombard) and Jimmie (Chester Morris) are in love but to Doris there needs to be much more. This is because although Jimmie has a job, he's not exactly wealthy and she wants money and a fancy life. So, she dumps him and goes off on a search for a rich husband. Jimmie is angry and disgusted but eventually he goes looking for a rich wife. However, even though both have a cushy rich life in front of them, neither is happy.

The biggest reason to see this film is to see Cary Grant in one of his first films. He's reasonably good as a nice rich man but nothing more. As far as the story goes, I liked it but felt the fast run-time was a serious detriment. Because it went by so fast, the story felt more like an object lesson than about real people. But it still was modestly interesting and is worth a look.