The Secret Bride

That such a piece of written garbage can come off as a competent and very entertaining film is something of a miracle. Energetically directed, fast-paced as to avoid anyone thinking of the many imbecilities of the script, and acted with conviction by all the cast, specially the supporting players.

Having big-name stars front this B-movie from Warner Brothers adds interest, but unfortunately it plays straightforwardly without any dimension to the characters. So we have a typical Depression-era feature to while away an hour on a double-bill, instantly forgettable.

Based on a play, the movie relies upon details that conveniently propel the story with little credibility. Issue of a case of bribery in exchange for a pardon from the governor is still topical 90 years later, but it has zero impact here. Directed breezily by William Dieterle, it was made around the time he shot "Fog Over Frisco", a minor classic that is often cited, with good reason, to be among the fastest-paced and most concise movie of all time.

Watching the team of Stanwyck and Warren William is fun, but their character react automatically to the flow of events -strictly stock characters.

Fairly standard murder melodrama (you wouldn't want to call it a whodunnit; it's too painfully obvious who did it). Stanwyck and her husband (the D.A.) must hide the fact that they are married until they find the evidence to clear her dad (the governor) from charges of accepting a bribe. The more they try to hide their involvement, the more they seem to implicate themselves and her father in an expanding list of crimes.

The cast is good, but the material is a bit too dry, lacks polish, and the pace is slow. Involving, but not intriguing, nor particularly memorable.

Barbara Stanwyck is "The Secret Bride" in this 1934 film that also stars Warren William, Glenda Farrell, and Douglas Dumbrille. William is a DA who marries Stanwyck and then learns that her governor father may have taken a bribe to pardon a man, Holstock. Holstock's secretary is caught at the bank depositing $10,000, and later the man commits suicide. The couple decide not to announce they're married or it will look as if the DA is prejudiced.

Okay Warner Brothers story with a top cast and excellent camera work by William Dieterle. Most of the budget went for Stanwyck's clothes, which are gorgeous.

Stanwyck and William are two favorites of mine and make a fine couple. As the DA's secretary, Glenda Farrell does a good job as a woman who finds herself in a real pickle.

By today's standards - actually by most standards, this is a short film, but entertaining.

This sounds like a weepie but isn't. I wonder how many people were misled by the title when it was first on screens.

The two leads are good, as always. Grant Mitchell, though, is especially compelling.

It's a political suspense movie. There were many in this time, many not up to the consistent entertainment value of "The Secret Bride."