The House on 56th Street

Kay Francis stars in the melodrama "The House on 56th Street," also starring Gene Raymond, John Halliday, Ricardo Cortez, Margaret Lindsay, and Frank McHugh.

What a soaper. Francis plays a chorus girl, Peggy, who is being wooed by two men -- Monty van Tyle (Raymond) and the older Lyndon Fisk (Halliday). She marries van Tyle. They move into a beautiful house on Park Avenue and E. 56th Street in New York City. They have a daughter, named Eleanor, after Monty's mother.

So far, so good. Then Lyndon contacts her, begging to see her, as he's not a well man. Reluctantly she does visit. She rejects his advances, and he reaches for a gun to kill himself. They fight over the gun; it goes off, and Peggy goes to prison for 20 years.

While in prison, Monty dies in action during World War I. When she is released, she learns her mother-in-law left her a decent amount of money and assumed she was not going to contact her daughter. Peggy promises she is out of her daughter's life.

Peggy has an amazing makeover and goes on a cruise, looking for a fresh start. Her father was a gambler, and on the shop she meets Bill Blaine (Cortez), another card shark. She knows he's cheating and takes him to the cleaners. They fall in love and go to work in a speakeasy, running the gambling concession. The speakeasy happens to be located at the House on 56th Street.

Peggy hasn't come full circle yet; but she's about to.

Kay Francis is fabulous, giving a strong portrayal of a woman who has suffered a great deal, yet carries on. And as usual, her clothes are gorgeous. In fact, when Monty comes to see her in jail before they ship her off to the prison, she's in black with sequins.

I have to admit I'm fascinated by the type of woman Kay Francis played in the '30s - strong, independent, smart, and vulnerable. She was perfect for these roles, which later would be played by people like Barbara Stanwyck and Bette Davis.

I interpret this not as a full length feature but as a one hour front end of double feature (which would be preceded by a cartoon and a newsreel). In other words, you could call it a B movie. Seen that way, it is almost perfect. It is short and uncomplicated but manages to engage you and deliver a twist at the end.

It starts out looking like it will be another Kay Francis light romantic comedy along with the usual accompanying fashion show. Certain, she parades quite a collection of hats in the opening 20 minutes or so. Then the melodrama and angst kicks in and it becomes clear that this is no comedy.

It is not profound and opens no new paths in movie making. It sets out to entertain and deliver on expectations but manages to give something extra. You come away satisfied that you have seen a good movie but not so tired and engaged that you can't watch the back half of the double feature.

Kay Francis delivers what you would expect from her. In 1933, people went to see her movies expecting certain things and they get them plus some additional and effectively portrayed moods and emotion as a bonus. However, I must say that she is not as stunning and glamorous as she was in many of her other movies but that could be appropriate and deliberate here. The rest of the cast is up to their tasks. There isn't enough material for any of them to actually shine. The movie moves quickly and covers more than one time period.

Overall, a very successful B movie.

Lightning-paced drama directed by Robert Florey stars Kay Francis (top female star at Warners) as a chorus girl in 1905 who is pursued by an older man (John Halliday) who has no interest in marriage and a younger man (Gene Raymond) who wants to marry her. She opts for Raymond and becomes a society hostess and eventually has a baby. Later, when she learns Halliday is ill, she visits. He tries to commit suicide but Francis is convicted and jailed for 20 years. The baby daughter grows up (Margaret Lindsay). Out of jail, Francis goes by the name of Mrs. Stone and meets up with a gambler (Ricardo Cortez). They work in a speakeasy and everything is OK until the daughter shows up one night. The ironic ending is perfect.

At 68 minutes, this film whizzes along but is filled with lots of period detail and plot elements. Very nicely done. Kay Francis gets to transform from the frilly 1905 fashions and hair to a sleek henna-rinsed beauty in 1927 and finally to a slightly graying babe dealing cards in 1933. She's terrific, and the ending will surprise you.

Co-stars include Nella Walker, Henry O'Neill, Frank McHugh, Hardie Albright, and William "Stage" Boyd.

Kay Francis is as silky and dazzling as ever, but the plot to this film is a mess. It flits along melodramatically in its 68 minute run time, and we see Kay in three roles (chorus girl, socialite, and card sharp) as well as with three leading men (Gene Raymond, John Halliday, and Ricardo Cortez). There are several plot points which strain credibility, but there are also a few fine moments here and there. Had the film not tried to do as many things and had a little more depth, it would have been better, so if you're a Kay Francis it's worth a watch, but probably not otherwise. Oh, and gotta love that ending, which while unbelievable and silly, was only possible pre-Code.

The House On 56th Street is a Stella Dallas like melodramatic soap opera that Kay Francis did for Warner Brothers before Bette Davis made a specialty of them for that studio. This pre-Code film is laced with irony for Kay.

Kay's a Floradora girl from the Ragtime Era who has all the men chasing her in 1905. She's the kept woman of ragtime rake John Halliday, but young Gene Raymond sweeps her off her feet and they marry and have a daughter. He takes her back to the family digs on East 56th Street in New York City and fancy digs they are.

Halliday gets some bad news from his doctor that he's only got months to live and he wants to live them with Francis, whatever the scandal. Francis tries to prevent him from committing suicide, but when Halliday does in the struggle for the pistol, she goes up for manslaughter and gets 20 years.

Fast forward to the Roaring Twenties and Kay's now free and living anonymously and making a living as a gambling lady with Ricardo Cortez and William 'Stage' Boyd. She gets an opportunity however to impart one really big favor on grownup daughter Margaret Lindsay and it's a beaut.

Although Bette Davis would later do these kind of parts, I mention Stella Dallas because The House On 56th Street also involves a mother separating herself from her daughter for her own good. Francis's role which she does a fine job with seems to fit Barbara Stanwyck even better.

Favorite scene here is the gambling scene on board a ship where Francis takes Cortez to the cleaners even though he's cheating. It reminded me a lot of the climax in Rounders with Matt Damon and John Malkovich.

Though The House On 56th Street is dated, it's still an effective film. Note the sense of irony in Francis's final line in the film.