Stronger Than Desire

Slick, smart lawyer Walter Pidgeon defends a woman for a murder he comes to believe was committed by his own wife. The finale, in which Pidgeon unravels the more complicated truth during a series of wilder and wilder turns during cross-exam and summation, is a bit of a jaw-dropper and comes fairly close to violation of the day's Production Code.

This is a remake of EVELYN PRENTICE (1934), an earlier MGM version of the same story, based on a novel by W E Woodward, and starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. For my money the remake, STRONGER THAN DESIRE, is far and away the better of the two, with substantially stronger performances and script, and particularly better direction. Virginia Bruce has one of her best MGM roles, ever-reliable Pidgeon is terrific as the smart lawyer, and Ann Dvorak has the smaller but crucial role of the woman Pidgeon must defend. (Dvorak's then-husband, ex-actor Leslie Fenton, was the director).

This is just a B-picture from the factory at MGM, yet in casting, production values, and quality it compares to an A-release from virtually any other studio in Hollywood of that day. TCM doesn't run this one nearly often enough, though the PRENTICE version plays fairly frequently. STRONGER THAN DESIRE is the one to watch.

Stronger Than Desire - what is it exactly? Ambition, survival, conscience? Will have to watch it again to check on that. Sometimes these titles seemed pretty random ... But, this is a good movie, not one that limped through on the strength of the stars or performances or scenery or some particular aspect which kind of made up for something else. It was overall good, I thought.

Everyone has favorites. Someone here cracked on Walter Pidgeon's diction - watch it! :-) Hey, they all spoke and dressed bigger than life in that era. Remember, movies were not mirrored to everyday life people back then. I personally enjoyed that.

Man, Lee Bowman's character should go down on the super slimy list. Don't remember seeing him do one like this before.

There really were a lot of characters in this. Ilka Chase (or "Jo") stood out to me. Didn't notice her in anything before this movie. True, her friend support was pretty effusive, but I liked her. If unknown to you and you are curious as well, click on her name in the cast listing for IMDb's info on her. Very interesting. Surprising.

This is part pre-noir, part white telephone women's picture. Walter Pigeon is less annoying than he generally was. The fancy-schmancy diction that was by no means limited to him works in this role as a rich lawyer.

The ladies are a great bunch: Virginia Bruce as his suffering wife who is accused of murder. Rita Johnson as a society girl he gets off a murder rap. Ilka Chase as Bruce's pal. And the great Ann Dvorak, not at her peak here but always good, as the wife of the cad who is murdered -- maybe by Bruce.

Thr dialogue is snappy, the plot moves along. But the denouement is annoying: Yes, Dvorak shot her husband to death but he was such a nasty person he deserved it. The jury buys this and Pigeon, Bruce, and their darling child are off on a long vacation in Europe.

WALTER PIDGEON stars as a man famous for being a defense lawyer who gets women cleared of murder charges in circumstantial cases.

Little does he know that he's soon going to be taking a case where a woman (ANN DVORAK) is charged with murdering her husband--and that his own wife (VIRGINIA BRUCE) was involved with the murdered man (LEE BOWMAN). In fact, his wife thinks she murdered Bowman in an accidental struggle over a gun. All of this leads to a courtroom scene where a plot twist reveals what really happened.

What distinguishes this little programmer from most B-films produced by MGM are the performances. Particularly effective are Virginia Bruce who manages to overcome a tendency to be bland by giving a very earnest performance as the woman who finds herself in difficult circumstances after realizing her friendship with Lee Bowman is really a set-up for blackmail.

And ANN DVORAK, never one of my favorite actresses, is really outstanding here as Bowman's long suffering wife who doesn't know that her lawyer's wife is "the other woman" involved with her husband. Not only is she photographed attractively, but she makes the most of a meaty supporting role.

RICHARD LANE does his usual competent job in a supporting role but it's the ladies who stand out in performances worthy of a better script. ILKA CHASE does her usual "best friend of the leading lady" bit, the sort of role she was relegated to throughout most of her career. Little ANN TODD is tolerable as the child who wishes her father could spend more time with her.

While Pidgeon is solid as the lawyer, it's Virginia Bruce and Ann Dvorak who have the most rewarding roles and take most of the spotlight.

This B-remake of Evelyn Prentice stars Walter Pidgeon as an expensive defense lawyer who defends a woman for murder, not realizing that his own wife is involved in the case. Virginia Bruce plays Pigeon's wife, Ann Dvorak the pro bono client.

Although Stronger than Desire is a B film, it is a solid one. Pidgeon is marvelous as an attorney unsuccessfully trying to juggle home and a busy career, and Bruce is lovely as the wife with something to hide.

Rita Johnson has a fun supporting role as a defendant who is acquitted with Pidgeon's help and then wants to thank him - personally, and Ilka Chase is a family friend. A good viewing experience.