Ladies Must Live

It's a warner brothers shortie, so things have to move right along. When a farmer ( wayne morris) helps out pat ( rosemary lane), she tells him to come look her up in the city. So he does. He has money, but isn't so street smart. And proposes to her right away. Pat's brother is played by george reeves (superman!). The only problem is that farmer cory's friends think pat and her brother are after his money. Can they iron things out? It's good, for a short 58 minutes. I thought i recognized mary larrabee... lee patrick was effie, in the maltese falcon. Some not so nice jokes at the butler's expense... he's an american indian; a sign of the times, i guess. Directed by noel smith; had started in silents, in the early days. Made shorts for about ten years. Moved into full length and talkies. Seems to have worked sporadically.. lots of gaps in between films on imdb.film based on a play by george cohan! Sadly, both morris and reeves died young at age 45. Lane only made a handful of films after this one.

"Ladies Must Live" is the third version of the same story. The first ("The Home Towners") came out in 1928 and was a very early all-sound movie. It was remade in 1936 as "Time Square Playboy". This remake, though not good, made sense as sound technology in 1928 was poor. But it didn't make sense to remake it again, only four years later as "Ladies Must Live". I have never seen the original and assume like many old films, it's lost since there are no reviews for it on IMDB. I did see the first remake....and it was NOT good due to the script....and the same problem is in the second remake.

In this Warner Brothers B-movie, Corey (Wayne Morris) falls head over heels for Pat (Rosemary Lane) and asks her to marry him very shortly after they meet. Problems develop when Corey invites his old friend 'Pig Head' (Roscoe Karns) to New York City to be his best man. Why? Well, very shortly after meeting Corey's prospective in-laws, he comes to hate them and assume they are money-hungry and only care about Corey since he's a millionaire. Comedic situations follow...or should follow.

While I would be concerned about any friend who meets someone and decides to get married like this, Pig Head's reaction is inexplicable. Had there been a lengthier amount of time before he formed such strong opinions about Pat and her family, the film would have worked. But instead it all just seems very rushed and impossible to believe....just like in the previous version. So, while the actors try hard, the script just doesn't work and the film comes off as confusing and silly....and not in a good way. Add to that the stupid 'Indian' character, Chief, and you have a recipe for a film that's easy to skip.