The Cheat

The ever-mesmerizing Tallulah Bankhead plays herself - a sassy, brassy flapper who has a wonderful handsome husband who loves her, but she wants more, more, more. During the Great Depression, he can't make enough money to afford her luxurious habits. Not only that but she has gotten in way over-her-head with gambling debts - what's a girl to do? In steps Hardy Livingstone, a smooth talker who has an Oriental obsession - as his house, servants, decor and parties all illustrate. He offers to help out with the debt but at a very high price. Nothing you haven't seen before but Tallulah really elevates this to a very enjoyable level, let's face it, she could read a prayer book and make it sound dangerous and sexy. Racy pre-code fun from 1931!

I found this film quite absorbing with a showy performance by Bankhead. She plays the "out-of-control" wife of a loving and up-standing young man (Harvey Stephens). Her gambling debts get her in hock with an untrustworthy admirer (Irving Pichel). Pichel's penchant for the more bizarre aspects of Oriental culture colors his and Tallulah's relationship into multiple arms of scandal. There is a great climax court room scene wherein Bankhead hams it up wonderfully. I'll say nothing more than that "sizzling flesh" is involved here. It must be seen to be believed. The photography and direction is nicely done and for a 1931 film everything moves along quite admirably.

This film essentially begins with a young society woman by the name of "Elsa Carlyle" (Tallulah Bankhead) enjoying herself at a party when she suddenly gets the idea to join a poker game going on in the next room. Being the rather daring gambler that she is, she decides to bet a large sum of money on a hand--only to lose all of her money. Figuring that she can quickly make up for it, she then decides to go double or nothing on the turn of a card. And once again she loses. Closely observing all of this is an extremely wealthy ladies' man by the name of "Hardy Livingstone" (Irving Pichel) who quickly senses an opportunity and decides to offer his assistance. For a price, of course. Happily married, she casually rejects his advances. However, when things continue to go bad, she then has to face a very difficult decision. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was one of those films that could have been more successful if some of the scenarios had been a bit more plausible or realistic. Likewise, the rather dated nature of the movie certainly didn't help matters either. Even so, I must admit that it kept my attention for the most part, and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

This is brilliant! If you love a crazy melodramatic story with larger than life characters and larger than life Tallulah Bankhead, then this is for you. It's everything you could want from a pre-code movie.

This is one of those pictures where you know exactly what's going to happen but actually revel in anticipation of what you know is going to be fabulous fun. Its plot has laser guided focus, its characters are instantly recognisable; it's a brilliantly written, brilliantly acted melodrama. This is one of those films where the clichéd characters and its inevitable corollary add to your enjoyment but even though you know what's happening next, it still has more than enough tension to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Some have criticised this for being too theatrical. Well director George Abbott was a top Broadway man and obviously the theatre was Miss Bankhead's natural home so this does have a theatrical feel. Often that criticism means stagnant, stagey and talky - but not in this case. This is 100% movie with beautiful photography and perfectly fluid transitions from scene to scene which escalate at a perfect pace to one of the most exciting denouements imaginable. This is how to make drama. This is how to make a film. This is how to make entertainment.

What makes this so fabulous is its star: the amazing Tallulah Bankhead. She's in every scene and you can't tear your eyes away from her for a single second and want to savour every single word she speaks. Her screen presence is utterly captivating. She's not pretty-pretty like Loretta Young or cute-pretty like Joan Blondell. No, she's pure, grown-up sex on legs. In real life she was apparently ten times more sexually voracious than the Tallulah we see in this. The real Tallulah would have laughed off the scandal she tries to avoid in this story so in some respect, her screen persona is a diluted version of herself. Even so, she absolutely sizzles with sex. It's an amazing performance in an amazing film.

Not Tallulah's best film however - that's DEVIL AND THE DEEP....even brillianter!

The Cheat (1931)

The plot here is wonderfully bizarre and brazen, an early pre-Code film that still has a few creaks and cracks in its production standards. And the leading woman—the "cheat" I suppose—is the wonderful Tallulah Bankhead, who is worth it alone.

Everything is pretty well contained here to keep the filming manageable, so there are lots of interior scenes that look and feel like sets, well lit and straight forward. And there are parties and flirting and the suggestion of impropriety left and right. Most of all there is that weird wealth that a few people had in the Depression as the rest of the country is sliding into ruins.

So Elsa (Bankhead) is a profligate partier and gambler, and her husband is a good guy who works too much. That leads, of course, to her finding amusement where she can. And does. But this gets her into money trouble, first, and then into a pact for sex that she doesn't quite realize she will have to follow through on.

A theme in the background, almost pasted on but with a certain amount of intrigue, is a Chinese them. One of the characters is wealthy enough and eccentric enough to live with Chinese decorations and customs. (This is not uncommon—see the bizarre Edward G. Robinson 1932 film "The Hatchet Man" and think also of the mahjong craze of the 1920s.)

Mostly this is about a woman's honor, and her realizing that her craziness has put her in an awful situation. When it comes to a dramatic climax, there is still a final courtroom scene that is pretty wild and fun. Check it all out. It's not a classic, but it's just odd enough and Bankhead just good enough to justify a close look.