Coeurs impatients

Three roommates (Crawford, Sebastian, and Page), who just happen to work in the same department store, seek rich husbands during the Great Depression. The stars outshine a somewhat dated and unbelievable script, that was a follow-up to Our Dancing Daughters & Our Modern Maidens. A big moneymaker in its day.

Joan Crawford in another of the alliterative early talkie series she did (others were "Our Dancing Daughters" and "Our Modern Maidens; one shudders to think what they would have done with the letter "C", and perhaps that's why they skipped it!) Jerry (Crawford), Frankie (Sebastian) and Connie (Page) are three NY department store shopgirls who live in a cramped apartment and use a hammer and a nail to open their canned dinner while listening to jazz on the phonograph and conserving the hot water so they can take a bath. Jerry's pals long for rescue by a rich man, but practical Jerry knows better; she's been there, done that, and knows that beaus with bucks only want one thing with a shopgirl, and it's not marriage. Still, though, there is that dreamy Tony Jardine (Montgomery, at the height of his boyish sexiness), son of the store owner, who seems to take a shine to Jerry and vice versa. A telling scene comes when Jerry has to model some lingerie for a store customer in Tony's presence, opening her robe to display herself to his eyes, making her totally vulnerable. While Jerry's pals find the men they think they want, Jerry won't give in to Tony's rather caddish overtures. And there is that nice Joe from the store with the flivver and gin flask. He's not dreamy, but he is solid and upstanding, and that's what Jerry wants. She has second thoughts when both her friends seem to have found love AND riches. But she can't forget Tony's kisses. Maybe she should abandon up her ideals and stop suffering and give in to Tony already.

The cast is wonderful here and Joan has lost her stagy silent mannerisms and you can just see a glimmer of the Crawford that was to come. The Depression was on, but you wouldn't know it by Joan (or this character), who persevered in spite of everything. Joan was the most ambitious actress ever to step tootsie in Hollywood and seems to have been propelled along by sheer force of will, but she did have real acting talent, and this movie displays it. Bob Montgomery plays another of his dependable rich-boy roles and looks great in a tuxedo, chatting idly about Oyster Bay. At one point, Jerry won't make out with him, so he says "Let's have a cigarette," like he just invented it. (Don't you miss smoking? I do). What a great line.

Will Jerry and her pals triumph or will they be crushed by love that was just an illusion? Watch and find out!

Jerry March (Joan Crawford), Connie Blair (Anita Page), and Francine Daniels (Dorothy Sebastian) are best friends and department store sales clerks. They share an apartment in New York City. Tony Jardine (Robert Montgomery) is the charming older son of the store owner and he has eyes for Jerry. David Jardine (Raymond Hackett) is the less responsible younger playboy brother and he likes Connie. Martin W. Sanderson (John Miljan) flirts with Francine.

Jerry and Tony have a good meet-cute although it's a little creepy in today's world. In a modern movie, Tony would play up the exaggerated visual of being bowled over. The premise remains the same throughout history. Ah-OO-Ga! This is a good setup for a light fun rom-com. The modeling does get a bit repetitive although it was probably daring for its time. The dancing isn't special enough to be good musical work. Then it turns darker and ends in something really dark. This is pre-Code and an early talkie for Joan Crawford as she transitions from the silent era. She is certainly a star in this new cinematic landscape.

About three working girls/roommates/gal pals and their relationships with three men/millionaires/heels. The girls all work at Jardine's department store where virtuous Jerry (played by Joan Crawford) models dresses and ladies lingerie, blonde and innocent Connie (Anita Page) works the perfume counter, and wisecracking, sarcastic Franky (Dorothy Sebastian) is stuck in blankets (where there's "not a male customer in a carload"). Franky finally does meet a man in the blanket department - he's loaded with free-flowing wads of cash, so she immediately agrees to go out with him. Meanwhile pretty Connie is having a love affair with the owner's son, David Jardine (played by Raymond Hackett, who looked to me like a cross between David and Ricky Nelson), and Jerry has a fancy for the other son, Tony Jardine (Robert Montgomery). Jerry thinks Tony is "different" from the other cads/men she meets - but she soon finds out he's not as she ends up in his lair - a tree house complete with sunken couch, dim lights, mood music, and disappearing staircase. Oh brother!

This film is quite enjoyable, I like the interrelationships between the three girls - there's plenty of chemistry and camaraderie there. Robert Montgomery is a doll, his slim self handsomely decked out in tuxedo, white tie, and tails (ooh la la) - he plays his playboy-like part expertly. Joan Crawford acts up a storm in this, with a full range of emotions - and gets to show herself off in slinky outfits and barely-there lingerie as well (which she REALLY seems to enjoy doing!). The film includes a fun fashion show, complete with foppish Parisian dress designers, and lots of capes, drapes, ruffles, and deco look hats.

Overly long, dated, predictable melodrama done in 1930. Joan Crawford plays a department store model, Gerry Marsh, who resists the charms of Tony Jardine (Robert Montgomery), whose family owns the store. Meanwhile, she watches her two roommates (Dorothy Sebastian and Anita Page) make big mistakes regarding men.

This is a pre-code film, and despite the above-mentioned problems, they're always interesting to watch. This one had to do with giving in to one's baser instincts (having sex) for money and the good life. This is 1930, and America was still preoccupied with class distinctions. Gerry refuses to give in to Tony, but her roommate Connie (Anita Page) is kept by his brother David. Franky (Dorothy Sebastian) marries a big talker.

Two scenes stick out as a sign of the times - outside Gerry's apartment building on a hot summer night, the street is teeming with kids playing, an ice cream cart, and people sitting on the stoop. A very realistic portrayal of cities back then. With no air conditioning and no television, people sat outside for the air and to talk with their neighbors. Social interaction, not social networks, Internet, and cable, provided their entertainment.

The second striking thing was the radio description of an engagement of a couple from socially prominent families. I remember seeing an old Vogue magazine where an woman engaged to some sort of royalty got a full page portrait. Not uncommon.

For anyone who only knows the hard-faced Joan Crawford of later years, this movie will serve as a revelation. Made for movies with those huge, mesmerizing eyes, beautiful face, and trim figure, Crawford shines here. At times she sounds like she's sporting some sort of affected accent, though I don't know why. Page and Sebastian are also very good in their roles. Montgomery is underused - he was more than a dashing leading man - but he looks great and does the role well.

All in all, worth seeing for the young Crawford and a look at life in 1930 for shop girls.