Joan Crawford plays Sadie McKee, a maid in the household of the Alderson family. When Michael Alderson (Franchot Tone) insults her no-good boyfriend Tommy (Gene Raymond), Sadie quits. She runs off to the city with Tommy, presumably to get married, but Tommy abandons her. Instead of finally believing Tommy is a rat, Sadie still blames it all on Michael. Seeing a chance to get back at him and to become wealthy herself, Sadie marries Michael's friend Jack Brennan (Edward Arnold). Jack is an alcoholic and Michael comes to despise Sadie for marrying him, even thinking she's trying to drive him into his grave so she and Tommy can collect his money. But his mind changes when he sees Sadie help Jack overcome his alcoholism. There's a lot more plot to go from here. Sadie will take more twists and turns before the movie is through.
On the surface it looks like yet another of Joan's forgettable soapers from the '30s. Franchot Tone's in the cast, as he usually was. But, surprisingly, it's actually better than those films. The thing that makes it better is that it has a different tone to it. It's treated as a serious dramatic film, not a melodramatic soap opera. Even though it deals, as most of Joan's films from this period, with characters of moral complexity I didn't find myself hating everybody. I was pretty frustrated with Joan's character here, mainly because she kept loving dirtbag Raymond despite the movie never showing us one good thing about him. But her performance was sincere enough I didn't find myself hating her even though I didn't like her always. Tone gives a great performance. One of the best of any of his films with Joan. Arnold is very good in an atypical role for him. Gene Raymond is bland as ever but inoffensive. He gets to sing the song "All I Do Is Dream of You " repeatedly in the movie. I'm not a big fan of Raymond's but he sings the song well. Anyway, it's a good movie let down some by a contrived ending and Sadie's fanatical devotion to the undeserving Tommy.
On the surface it looks like yet another of Joan's forgettable soapers from the '30s. Franchot Tone's in the cast, as he usually was. But, surprisingly, it's actually better than those films. The thing that makes it better is that it has a different tone to it. It's treated as a serious dramatic film, not a melodramatic soap opera. Even though it deals, as most of Joan's films from this period, with characters of moral complexity I didn't find myself hating everybody. I was pretty frustrated with Joan's character here, mainly because she kept loving dirtbag Raymond despite the movie never showing us one good thing about him. But her performance was sincere enough I didn't find myself hating her even though I didn't like her always. Tone gives a great performance. One of the best of any of his films with Joan. Arnold is very good in an atypical role for him. Gene Raymond is bland as ever but inoffensive. He gets to sing the song "All I Do Is Dream of You " repeatedly in the movie. I'm not a big fan of Raymond's but he sings the song well. Anyway, it's a good movie let down some by a contrived ending and Sadie's fanatical devotion to the undeserving Tommy.