Entertaining pre-code drama
Byron Kolln | the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood | 05/18/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This 1932 update of Gustave Flaubert's "Madame Bovary" works well enough, with a sharp cast including Joyce Compton, H.B. Warner and Lila Lee.
When young Dr. Jerry Gregory (Lyle Talbot) marries Sheila (Joyce Compton), the daughter of the family gardner, he turns his back on would-be fianceé Jane Bradford (Lila Lee) and the social set in which they once lived. Although his father (H.B. Warner) later gives the unorthodox union his blessing, sweet and innocent Sheila soon reveals her true colours, spending her every spare moment at a private country house with reckless playboy Alex Stockmar (Ivan Lebedeff). When Jerry's father and Jane learn of the true character of Sheila, it sets into motion a chain-reaction of events which will spell tragedy...
Typical pre-code drawing room fare with an engaging script by Frances Hyland; enlivened no end by it's strong cast, in particular H.B. Warner and Joyce Compton, a second-tier Jean Harlow type (best remembered for her supporting role in the screwball favourite "The Awful Truth") who completely devours the scenery in her performance as wanton Sheila.
Alpha's DVD print is very strong with sharp picture and sound. One of the best I've encountered from this company in a long time."