L'étrange passion de Molly Louvain

Fast little Warners item, from a play by Maurine Watkins--who wrote the source material for "Chicago," and this hard-boiled B is very much cut from the same cloth, with big-city corruption, tough-talking dames, and vice not always unrewarded. Ann Dvorak, always good in this sort of part, is the girl from the wrong side of the tracks whose attempts to crash high society are thwarted, and ends up a fugitive, for reasons she's not quite guilty and not quite innocent of. She's also an unwed mom, and not entirely an unsympathetic one, this being a year before they started fully enforcing the Production Code. Lee Tracy plays, as he was born to play, a fast-talking, fast-thinking newspaperman, and watching him at his peak is sort of like watching Cagney--he's so lively he's impossible not to like, even playing a reprobate like this. The story doesn't quite hang together: If Molly was really abandoned by her mom at seven, as she states early on, she's only 16 at the start of the film, which makes no sense at all. And while nobody, not even Tracy, is able to recognize the peroxide version of Molly as the same on-the-lam gal in the picture they have of her, her infant daughter does, at once. The tone's uneven, too, veering between melodrama and uneasy comedy. But Dvorak and Tracy are so watchable, and the supporting cast (Richard Cromwell, Guy Kibbee, Frank McHugh) so quintessential early-'30s Warners, it's a fine time-waster.

Warner Brothers used to put out gritty crime films that were unmistakable, and this one is no exception. And happily, it's pre-code, which is even better.

Ann Dvorak is Molly Louvain, who is hoping to marry a wealthy young man since she's carrying his baby. He promises to tell his mother about them, but he must have run into some problems -- such as disinheritance. He and mom have gone to Europe by the time Molly gets to the house to celebrate his birthday.

Miserable, Molly takes up with Nick Gant (Leslie Fenton, Dvorak's future husband), a crook, and can raise her daughter comfortably since he's good at robbery. However, Molly is the wheel man when Nick has a shootout with the cops, and she goes on the lam after leaving her child with someone she trusts.

Molly dyes her hair blond and takes an apartment in a false name.Alas, there's a reporter across the hall (Lee Tracy) who wants to find Molly so he can have a career-making story. She gets a job as a dance hall hostess and runs into a bellhop she knew, who was crazy about her (Richard Cromwell). She and Jimmie have to go on the run after Nick shows up again and gets them into more trouble. Then guess who she runs into who's hot on her trail.

Fast-moving, fast-talking film with a lively performance by Lee Tracy, who has great chemistry with Dvorak. The striking Dvorak was a perfect '30s film actress, acting in a style that went well with those films. Today it would be considered overdone. She hated being at Warners because they gave her below average movies and next to no money -- she found out she was making the same salary as the little boy in Three on a Match, and she wasn't happy. She eventually moved to England, did some films, and devoted herself to war service. She never liked Hollywood and ultimately retired.

Richard Cromwell was a matinée idol for a short time but doesn't register much, though he was cute. Gay, he was Angela Lansbury's first husband for a few months, and before film stardom and after it, he enjoyed a very successful career as an artist.

All in all, a watchable film with a crackerjack performance by Lee Tracy and it's always good to see Ann Dvorak.

Curtiz' slick, odd, interesting little flick. Ann Dvorak is a small-town go-getter. Her boyfriend deserts her. She hooks up with a worthless, hustling traveling salesman and has a daughter by the boyfriend who dropped her. She tries to drop the salesman and gets involved in a murder imbroglio, but gets off with the help of fast-talking newspaper reporter Lee Tracy. Fast paced and acted in Warner's best style

Molly Louvain (Ann Dvorak) is knocked up and abandoned by a rich guy. So she takes up with a dirty crook (Leslie Fenton), then a naive bellhop (Richard Cromwell), and finally a cynical reporter (Lee Tracy). She's the Goldilocks of love. Fun Pre-Coder from WB is a nice showcase for lovely Dvorak, one of classic Hollywood's most under-appreciated talents. She dyes her hair blonde in this. Gotta say she looked better as a brunette. This is also the movie she met her first husband Leslie Fenton. The two married not long after this was released. Lee Tracy doesn't show up until a half hour or so into the picture but things pick up once he does. His scenes with Dvorak are filled with snappy banter and excellent chemistry. The movie really takes off when these two are together.

What a brilliant film! If you like pre-code films that draw you in completely, if you like fast-moving melodramas that aren't overly sentimental you will love this great gritty classic from Warner Brothers.

Unlike a lot of films from this era, this is superbly directed and filmed. Michael Curtiz builds up such an amazing level of tension that you'll be sitting on the edge of your seat within ten minutes - it really is perfectly made. The acting is realistic with believable characters and even Lee Tracy, who's usually just annoying is surprisingly fabulous in this.

Our hearts sink as we continually watch the titular Molly make wrong decision after wrong decision - we can see where this is going and we're desperate to shout at the screen, out to her across time: No, don't! Ann Dvorak in a rare staring role is outstanding. Her character is not a million miles away from Miriam Hopkins' in THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE but with even more credibility. In this she's as good as Barbara Stanwyck ever was in her pre-code days and it makes you wonder why she didn't become a big star. Following this picture, she eloped with Leslie Fenton who played her gangster boyfriend which wasn't in Warner's script for her, that certainly didn't help her career.