Love, Honor and Behave

We begin with a flashback to the small Long Island town of "Meadowfield" in 1922, where romantic co-stars Wayne Morris (as Ted Painter) and Pricilla Lane (as Barbara Blake) are youngsters. You should note that parents Thomas Mitchell and Barbara O'Neil (as Dan and Sally Painter) worry about cute son Dickie Moore (Ted, as a child) because he is sportsmanlike and not rough like other boys his age. Also watch for the marital difficulties among the adults, the other set being John Litel and Mona Barrie (as Jim and Lisa Blake). Young Moore and Audrey Leonard (Barbara, as a child) are separated by school and divorce...

In the present, Mr. Morris and Ms. Lane meet each other as attractive young adults. Morris' parents are still concerned about his meekness. His father wants him to play a rough contact sport like football, but Morris plays tennis at Yale; his mother wants "mama's boy" Morris to be a doctor, but he lacks determination and interest. Childhood "sweethearts" Morris and Lane are very much in love, but his mild manner threatens their happiness. Aggressive Dick Foran (as Pete Martin) also desires Lane...

Lane sings a nice version of The Andrews Sisters' colossal introductory hit "Bei Mir Bist du Schoen" (1937), which put the singing sisters on the map. This is a well-structured story, but ends with a scene promoting violence; Lane's arousing "spanking" is fine, but the characters show visible wounds ("black eyes") resulting from an audibly vicious fight, which is celebrated by much of the cast. By the way, watch for Morris to lose the small hairpiece that covers his "bald spot" during the fight.

Equating contact sports and sex play with domestic violence scores no points.

*** Love, Honor and Behave (3/12/38) Stanley Logan ~ Wayne Morris, Pricilla Lane, Dick Foran, Thomas Mitchell

Each of the performers in LOVE, HONOR & BEHAVE did better work -- some very decidedly so -- than what we see here, which is good, because otherwise there would be little reason for us to even know who any of them were. The script must have read better than it plays, otherwise I can't imagine why -- other than owing someone at Warner Bros. a BIG favor -- Thomas Mitchell (who knew his way around scripts as well as the stage) would have agreed to do this disastrous little romantic "dramedy." Others have described the plot, which concerns a young man (Wayne Morris) raised almost from the cradle to believe and act on fair-play and self-sacrifice by his well-meaning mother (Barbara O'Neil), to the point where he becomes a damaged adult, unable to assert himself in even the most basic manner on the essentials of life, including finishing college, competing in sports (tennis), and managing his love-life. He's taken advantage of, intentionally or otherwise, by a coterie of friends and acquaintances, and seems on his way to a life of unrealized potential and virtual penury by his exasperating mix of self-sacrifice and self-centeredness.

The conflict is resolved in an almost slapstick manner by the young marrieds (Morris, Priscilla Lane) that is steeped in just enough physical injury to make it unfunny and unromantic in the extreme. Given that none of the players from Mitchell on down seem to believe any of the lines they're spouting, and that the flat direction gives us nothing to appreciate in the acting or staging up to that point, it's almost a relief when this picture's final credits ("blame" might be more appropriate) unspool. (Even Dick Foran, who was accustomed to playing unsubtle lunkheads -- a role he later aspired to in real life -- looks uncomfortable here). And of course, the fact that it took four credited screenwriters to deliver the script for this 71-minute time-filler should be a warning to the unwary.

If you're looking for a good movie about marital conflict and resolution from this decade, see William Wyler's DODSWORTH. LOVE, HONOR AND BEHAVE is closer to Jiggs and Maggie, and painful to watch, especially given our awareness that everyone involved (including underlying author Stephen Vincent Benet, whose output included "The Devil And Daniel Webster") was capable of so much more than what we see here.

I expect actor Morris was hired for the lead for commercial purposes. After all, his brawny frame sure doesn't look like a weakling, but then old Hollywood doesn't put nerds in leading roles. His Ted is supposed to be a mama's boy despite the unlikely looks. Upper class Mom (O'Neill) rears him to be forgiving in everything and to always lose gracefully without trying hard to win. I guess it's an extreme form of "noblesse oblige" as practiced by the refined upper crust. Looks like the idea is that since you're already at the societal top, you've got nothing to prove.

Trouble is this overly generous attitude causes problems for Ted as an adult, particularly with his love life where he doesn't try hard to win Barbara (Lane) despite how he feels. What he needs to do in so many words is 'to stand up for what you want'. So the idea, I believe, is a critique of being both overly generous as a personality trait and of the kind of upper class superiority that patronizes others.

I'm not surprised this was a Warner Bros. production since they were the blue-collar studio of the 30's. (In that regard, catch the revealing very last line.) The plot's a worthy one, but is none too plausibly conveyed among the many principals. At the same time, too much of the movie is too crowded with speaking parts and over-written as a result. Plus, Ted's rather violent turn-around sends a dubious message that's unfortunately papered over by a typical Hollywood ending. Lane over-emotes as the lively ingénue but at least provides spark, while Morris smiles affably while mainly standing around, that is, when not throwing a big tennis match. Hard to believe from this that he was a highly decorated WWII pilot before passing away at an early age.

Anyway, the movie handles tricky material rather awkwardly and without generating much audience involvement. Too bad.

I'm probably in the minority, but this film sends out wrong messages about good sportsmanship and domestic violence. I do believe in winning when playing a game and in standing up for one's rights at all times, but not by cheating and not with physical violence. When Wayne Morris senses the referee was in error when called a ball hit by his opponent "out" in a college tennis game, he purposely throws the next point away, which costs him the game. He's chastised by his father (Thomas Mitchell), who believes in winning at all costs, but praised by his mother (Barbara O'Neill), whose actions Morris is emulating. Earlier in the film, their disagreement in matters such as this ended up in a divorce. Mitchell even says if she had been angry and even struck him when he was caught philandering he would not have left her. The idea that hitting a person to show you care seemed to me to be ludicrous, but it permeates the entire film (and in other movies of the 30's, when spousal abuse was not a catchword). Now Morris is married to Priscilla Lane and is faced with a similar problem.

I did enjoy most of the acting, even though Lane comes on a bit too aggressive for my taste, and very hostile to her mother-in-law. The supporting players, including the child actors, give very competent performances.

I was looking forward to seeing this being a huge Priscilla Lane fan plus the chance to see Thomas Mitchell and Barbara O'Neil together a year before they played Gerald and Ellen O'Hara in Gone With The Wind but this turned out to be an odious little number. Not only is it horribly sexist which was not that uncommon of films of the time but the way it advocates physical abuse as something that not only is acceptable but desirable is appalling. It also presents fair play and decency as something to sneer at. This was one of Priscilla's first films and her inexperience shows. She's stiff and not very believable but perhaps it was her discomfort with the selfish, thoughtless and mean spirited character she's stuck playing.

A prime candidate for one of the worst films of the thirties. Skip it.