AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Usamah Harvey The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

tedg Here's an interesting old movie, one of the earliest examples of a formula that would later define a whole genre, more a whole industry. Man meets girl and immediately falls in love. There is an event followed by a misunderstanding that send them apart. They rejoin at the end. Later this ending would require a public avowal, something missing here.This is also an example of somethings that did not stick. Deep in the depression, many movies featured the ultra rich - people who just seemed to have money for no reason. Because this was before comical prudery changed films starting with the Code, we have the situation that guy knocks up the girl.But I found it interesting for yet another reason. Movies from this era were far more willing to question gender roles than now is the case. Oh, today we worry about professions and opportunity. I'm talking about what it means to be a woman or man. In this film, we have our girl, with appealing innocence. She is the child of Manhattan, with clear immigrant, lower class heritage. Both she and the rich guy are noble people, but she far more. The film is about her decisions.Sturges has taken the time to introduce four older women. They are shoehorned in and have nothing at all to do with the story; they are there only to show strong women, sometimes frustrated strength. There is the older woman at the dance hall where our girl works, who is much loved as she takes care of her girls. We have the aunt of our rich guy who is shown as a forceful nut job.Then we have the girl's mother. We learn a lot about her past and values. She turns her daughter out on the street when she gets pregnant by her then boyfriend. This woman slaps her adult kids, hard. We spend the final third of the movie with the girl's aunt, something of a world traveller, a poor person's playgirl. She drinks too much but always seems to be on top of things.Four strong women form the situation-of-womanhood in which we interpret our girl's life. Nothing like that today in mainstream films.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

oneillrobyn I saw this movie this morning by accident. I love 30s movies for the clothes, the beauty of which hit me during the "first" mini era. I was a teenager and I had never seen such gorgeous clothes.The movie is predictable, but Nancy Carroll is adorable and I can see what her appeal was. With that pretty face and hair, she would have absolutely no chance of getting any job as an actress today, in this world of gaunt, giraffe-like women-men. Too bad we don't have any visual differences among the "leading actresses of today", all those interchangeable bland flat-haired blondes.Those clothes are wonderful. Too bad we'll never see their like again -- after all, how can anyone be attractive wearing anything other a mini or jeans?Hey, wasn't Buck Jones handsome! I won't contrast him with our "leading men" today. I leave that up to you.

MartinHafer This is an old fashioned Pre-Code film--the sort of movie that managed both to offend many in its day due to the sometimes racy subject matter yet also followed a very old and predictable formula. While all this makes it sound as if I didn't like the film, this certainly is not the case. It's just that many modern viewers may both be surprised at the candor of the film when it comes to topics like illegitimate births as well as how predictable and melodramatic it all became. This is true to the style of the day and for its time, this was a pretty good movie.A rich guy (John Boles) visits a dance hall at the request of his stuffy aunt. The family owns the property and wants the tenants thrown out because the place is evil. She thinks this might be a "den of iniquity" and Boles good naturedly agrees to check it out--though it's obvious he's just humoring her. Once there, he sees it's just a normal dance hall--no "hoochie koochie" girls or strippers. However, he is also surprised to find that he's very smitten with one of the ladies who works there. They begin dating and it's obvious they care about each other. However, in a scene that is mostly alluded to, he and the girl (Nancy Carroll) apparently have sex and she becomes pregnant (either that, or it's another virgin birth--it is a tad sketchy). They marry but she can't help but think that Boles only married her out of obligation. When the baby dies shortly after birth, Carroll imagines that it's for the best and runs off to Mexico to divorce Boles. She thinks she's not good enough for him and he'd be much happier in the long run with a rich society dame--especially since no one seems to know about their marriage.Where the film goes from there isn't all that surprising, but I'd rather not spoil it. Despite some predictability, I still liked the film and this style film was common in the day it was made--so it shouldn't be penalized for this. A good script, good acting and deft direction make this a very nice time-passer and is worth a look.

overseer-3 I admit I obtained this film because I wanted to see John Boles' performance (he's always been a heart throb of mine) but it was Nancy Carroll's superb and sensitive performance of a common dance hall girl from Brooklyn with a heart of gold which kept me watching, especially considering the poor quality of the print I obtained.With this multi-faceted performance Nancy proved she was capable of much more than silly flapper roles. Her character is not self-serving in the least, while John Boles' character Paul is indecipherable. After admitting he is totally in love with the dance hall girl he then states he doesn't want to marry her. An unexpected pregnancy forces his hand and he does the honorable thing by marrying her, but the marriage is a secret one. We are to assume it was to protect his older daughter, but since we never see this daughter we don't have much sympathy for Paul's concerns.The audience receives a typical happy Hollywood ending in Child of Manhattan but somehow it doesn't quite fit the sum total of the film.Watch Child Of Manhattan (if you can find it) to see Nancy Carroll at her best.Update: TCM has recently broadcast this film in a lovely print. That's the one to see.