She was a white angel as Florence Nightingale, and she's suffered much for the children she was forced to give up or struggle to support. She was also a home wrecking vamp, a con artist and the leader of organized crime. She's Kay Francis, a dark haired, widow peaked beauty, a clothes horse and the queen of Warner Brothers throughout the mid 1930's. Some of her films are silly women's films, others historical dramas or screwball comedies. She didn't sing, but danced nicely with a bevy of handsome men. In this silly melodrama, she's the chief clerk at San Francisco's union depot who provides assistance to travelers in need. Often, the situations are absurd and seemingly forced, but when she finds romance, you'll be rooting for her to succeed because she truly deserves it.
The man she finds love with is the somewhat temperamental George Brent. Francis's devotion to her job annoys him, and if I had to be in a car with five giggling ninnies I'd never met before, I'd be pretty upset, too. There is really not much to the story, however, and after a while, I began to wonder how this one slipped out of the writer's building at Warners and onto a studio soundstage. There's some drama concerning Brent and bullying Barton MacLane, but at times, it seems barely a part of the plot.
Somewhat aggravating at times (particularly the scene with the giggly girls), this is a difficult film to really embrace. There are touching moments, particularly her offer of lodging to a sad old man who refuses to take charity and her finding of family and work to young Frankie Darro. But the presence of Patricia Ellis as a flighty socialite using her position with Kay to fool her mother, then becoming upset when Brent chooses Francis over her, is just disturbing. If it wasn't for Kay and her undeniable charisma, I doubt that I'd even rank this as **.
The man she finds love with is the somewhat temperamental George Brent. Francis's devotion to her job annoys him, and if I had to be in a car with five giggling ninnies I'd never met before, I'd be pretty upset, too. There is really not much to the story, however, and after a while, I began to wonder how this one slipped out of the writer's building at Warners and onto a studio soundstage. There's some drama concerning Brent and bullying Barton MacLane, but at times, it seems barely a part of the plot.
Somewhat aggravating at times (particularly the scene with the giggly girls), this is a difficult film to really embrace. There are touching moments, particularly her offer of lodging to a sad old man who refuses to take charity and her finding of family and work to young Frankie Darro. But the presence of Patricia Ellis as a flighty socialite using her position with Kay to fool her mother, then becoming upset when Brent chooses Francis over her, is just disturbing. If it wasn't for Kay and her undeniable charisma, I doubt that I'd even rank this as **.