In Letty Lynton, Joan Crawford gets involved in a dangerous gangster, Nils Asther while in South America. Then, on the boat sailing home, she falls in love with clean, noble Robert Montgomery. They get engaged but Joan lives in constant fear that someone from her past will surface and Bob won't want her anymore if he learns she's had other men in her life. It's a theme that was common in many other 1930s films but it doesn't carry over in modern audiences. In this movie, it's supposed to be believable that Robert Montgomery thinks a woman who fell head over heels for him while on a cruise ship is respectable and completely innocent.
Because of the dated plot, which was carried out far more effectively in other films, this movie didn't make it to my favorites list. I'm not really a Joan Crawford fan anyway, and it's hard to believe anyone would be stupid enough to think she was innocent. If someone was that stupid, then chances are if he heard a rumor or personal testament to the contrary, he still wouldn't believe it.
There's a parallel from Letty Lynton to the same year's Faithless, in the scene where the heroine feels helpless as the villain carries her to the bedroom. Both Joan Crawford and Tallulah Bankhead laugh hysterically in their sorrow, but where Tallulah's outburst feels genuine, Joan's feels like it's the tenth take and she's trying to laugh loud enough for the entire studio to hear her. This movie was very obviously made in 1932 and could even be imagined as a silent movie. If you are a stickler for very good quality films, look elsewhere tonight.
