Are You Listening?

In one of his final films for MGM, William Haines seems rather subdued here in a film that starts out as a romantic comedy/drama but then turns into a murder melodrama. If nothing else, this film proves that Haines could play it "straight" and not always fall back on his "silly billy" character.

Haines plays a radio writer married to (but separated from) a sullen and greedy woman (Karen Morley) while he romances a co-worker (Madge Evans). Morley will not give up her meal ticket and bleeds Haines of everything he's got. But after he loses his job, Morley goes berserk and is accidentally killed.

In a subplot, Evans' roommate (Anita Page) who works at the radio station, takes in her kid sister (Joan Marsh) who goes wild in the big city and gets involved with older men (Jean Hersholt, Neil Hamilton).

In a neat twist, the radio, which is at first seen as a mindless form of entertainment, spoofed via the hokey shows Haines writes, turns deadly as a ruthless newspaper man (John Miljan) uses the radio to persecute and hunt down Haines after the death of his wife.

It seems like two films combined into one in a minor MGM film, but there are some interesting themes here. The ending is quite surprising.

As always, Haines is terrific. Evans and Page are solid here as is Morley as the nasty wife. Co-stars include Wallace Ford, Hattie McDaniel, Ethel Griffies, Herman Bing, Louise Carter, and Charley Grapewin.

The title comes from the catchphrase of early radio star Tony Wons.

I've never seen Williams Haines play it so straight in a MGM drama. Here he's radio comedy writer Bill Grimes who is deeply in love with one of the players there, Laura O'Neill (Madge Evans). The problem is Haines is married to a woman who has lost complete interest in Haines with the exception of his monetary support. She doesn't care what he does personally as long as he brings home the bacon. Meanwhile, Laura is a pretty sensible girl, but her sisters are another story. Sally (Anita Page) is becoming quite the player in New York City nightlife via connections she makes at work - she's also got a job at the radio station. Into town comes baby sister Honey (Joan Marsh), and Laura is concerned that Sally will teach their baby sister her eat, drink, and be merry ways.

The first half of the film thus has some heavy stuff going on, but it is lightened by the behind-the-scenes look at radio work in progress. Particularly amusing are the scenes with Grimes trying to get sound effects right such as him arguing with the props man that their avalanche does not sound like an avalanche or that the "sick dog" sound he is making is not right for the dog food commercial they need to make. Grimes loses his job after the comedy he writes begins to lose its edge, and things go downhill fast. Add an incidental shove that turns out to have deadly consequences, and you have quite a drama on your hands.

Harry Beaumont did a good job of keeping this film moving without letting it get away from him. With things moving back and forth between Bill and Laura's romance, then to the radio station, then to Honey and Sally's partying with both the new and old money of the city, this thing could have turned into an incoherent mess in a hurry. Instead it all comes together quite nicely at the end with the individual pieces of the story holding your interest on their way to their joint conclusion.

To see how well the MGM assembly line could craft a tale in the early 30's and to see William Haines hold his own in a serious role, give this one a try.

For those of you who are expecting to see smirky and smart alecky William Haines in Are You Listening you will be in for a shock. Haines is subdued and serious and a result looks a bit lost in the part of an unhappily married radio writer. He would like to get married to Madge Evans a cute and perky young thing. He's asked for a divorce from Karen Morley.

Morley is the one who really carries this film. She puts some real bite into the part. Her answer to Haines is, I'll stay married to you until you get a good enough job with a big enough salary so I can get some decent alimony to live on. A woman like that, I'll bet you could have heard the hisses outside the theater from the audience when Morley offered those sentiments.

It all ends rather badly in this pre-Code melodrama for some in the cast. Think of the Dr. Crippen case from the United Kingdom and you will know.

Is it possible to combine a soap opera, a send-up and a melodrama in one neat little package? That was no problem at MGM back in 1932. The sudsy part is devoted to three sisters, the "good girl" who's madly in love with a married man, the playgirl who stays out all night boozing and the wide-eyed kid who can't tell a marriage proposal from a con job. The satire is set at a radio station where the lovers, scriptwriter William Haines and actress Madge Evans, work with an inept sound effects man, a lovelorn crooner and mindless sponsors of ludicrous products. As for the melodrama, that's provided by Karen Morley as Haines' hellion of a wife who pays dearly for her continual nagging. Watch "Are You Listening?" and you'll realize how radically movies changed within the next few years.

This is a cleverly made, fast moving blend of several genres which will hold your attention. It's produced with typical MGM professionalism and has a realistic script with credible well developed characters.

It's not the most thrilling picture in the world but it's so well made that you'll keep watching. What's particularly memorable about this is its editing. Like a modern-day tv soap, none of the scenes last more than a couple of minutes then there's a geometric wipe to the next scene. This lively technique gives the picture a lot more energy than you might expect. Veteran director Harry Beaumont proves that you can indeed teach an old dog new tricks.

Films with multiple storylines were popular in the early thirties, the most famous being GRAND HOTEL, the best being SKYSCRAPER SOULS. This approach required not just the leads but all the characters to be real people, people with actual personalities and background stories. For such a relatively small picture, the characters in this are remarkably well rounded.

Although his character is meant to be a little bland, comic actor William Haines delivers quite a heartfelt performance but the stars are really the women who display some real acting skill. Madge Evans makes you believe that she is in love with "Bill." Karen Morley makes you loathe her. You just know that Anita Page, playing the middle sister is cynical of the wild carefree life she's adopted. Joan Marsh, the younger sister is naive, full of life and vulnerable. Indeed it's eighteen year old Joan Marsh who adds the necessary vitality to this. Joan was MGM's other Jean Harlow - had there not already been a Jean Harlow, Joan might have become a bigger star.