Saturday, November 26, 2022

Morals for Women (1931)

 'Morals for Women' is a kinda lose sequel to the 1925 silent film 'Morals for Men' (which I have not seen). The carry through between the two seems to be confined to similar titles, presumably similar themes, the presence of actor Conway Tearel (though he plays a different character in each), and that both movies were produced by the same low budget studio. Tiffany Films was a "poverty row" studio which operated from 1921 to 1932, upon  bankruptcy its film stock was sold to MGM and it's lot to Columbia.

The film stars Bessie Love on loan out from MGM, she had stared in 1929's Oscar best picture winner 'The Broadway Melody", which was a huge hit making Love a big get for Tiffany. At the time this movie came out however musicals were in decline, so Metro seemed to be losing interest in Love, or maybe they were just trying to punish her producer husband William Hawks for something.

'Morals for Women' isn't a musical, comedy or adventure film, the genras Love was best known for at the time, rather it's a drama. Love plays Helen Houston, a pretty young woman who leaves Albany for New York City to work and help support her financially strained family (papa tends to drink and lose jobs), after her intended (John Holland) heads out to seek his fourtune. The young man finds his fourtine then tracks Helen to the big city with the intent to marry her.

When Holland finds Love she acts a little awkward, non commital, keeps saying they have to discuss something, then Holland has to go away on a short buisness trip before things are resolved. Though this is a pre code film, it seems awfully reluctant to say perscially what it is Love has done to be ashamed of. As beast I can figure Love's boss, the afore mentioned Conway Tearel, was paying her a vastly inflated office salery to be sexually avilable for himself and his buisness associates. That's some solid set up for conflict, could have been intersting, but nothing much happens in this film, and Love apparently tells and is forgiven by Holland off screen, in the final scene the two are in a loving embrace.

The film isn't horrible, but it's not exactly good, besides Love the best thing it has going for it is only being around an hour in length, so you don't have much time to get bored. It also sent me on a modesty interesting dive through Wikipedia looking for something to talk about. *1/2


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