Lonely Hearts (1932)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Lonely Hearts |
| Original title | The purchase price |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1932 |
| length | 68 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | William A. Wellman |
| script | Robert Lord |
| production | Warner Brothers |
| camera | Sid Hickox |
| cut | William Holmes |
| occupation | |
| |
Einsame Herzen (OT: The Purchase Price ) is a feature film directed by William A. Wellman with Barbara Stanwyck in the leading role from 1932. It was based on the novel The Mudlark by Arthur Stringer.
action
Cabaret singer Joan Gordon ends her tumultuous relationship with gangster Eddie Fields to marry the wealthy Don Leslie. However, as Don’s father found out Joan's dubious past, the wedding is canceled. Instead of going back to the cynical Eddie, Joan flees to Montreal, where she works as a singer in a cheap establishment. Eddie's pals track down Joan in Canada too, however, and she feels threatened. Shortly afterwards, when she learns that her housekeeper has submitted Joan's photo to a marriage institute instead of her own, she takes the opportunity and travels to Elk's Crossing, North Dakota, instead of the housekeeper. There she married the wheat farmer James Gilson straight away after her arrival.
The marriage is anything but harmonious. On the first night, Joan is repulsed by the rough way Jim tries to approach her. It is only when Jim finds himself in dire financial straits that Joan realizes the value of Jim's moral steadfastness. She begins to fall in love with Jim. When she returns one night from visiting a neighbor, she finds Eddie in the living room. Eddie tries everything to get Joan to come to town with him. Jim is convinced that Joan is a worthless woman and shows her the door. Desperate, Joan asks Eddie to borrow her money so she can take out the mortgage on the farm.
Jim forgives Joan and they both work side by side when, just before the harvest, which will determine the fate of the farm, a fire hits the wheat fields. The couple fight the flames together and confess their love.
background
Barbara Stanwyck was already a household name in Hollywood when she came to Warner Brothers on a non-exclusive contract basis . This was preceded by considerable tension and quarrels with Columbia Pictures , where Stanwyck rose to star in 1930 with Ladies of Leisure , directed by Frank Capra . Warners paid the actress at least $ 50,000 per film and gave her a say on the scripts. Stanwyck's prestige was also reflected in the fact that she was announced as Miss Barbara Stanwyck , an honor the studio had previously only granted to George Arliss and John Barrymore , who each appeared with the prestigious addition of Mr. in front of the name in the opening credits.
William A. Wellman was at the beginning of the 1930s with Warner Brothers as a director under contract, where he mostly made films with a socially critical background. His work on Safe in Hell as well as the films with Barbara Stanwyck such as Night Nurse and The Purchase Price showed the desperation and material hardship that the Great Depression had triggered using the example of the dramatic fate of women. Shortly beforehand, the star and director had brought a drama about the arduous and hard life of farmer people to the screen when the Edna Ferber novel So Big was being adapted, which was met with cautious approval from critics and viewers. Wellman and Barbara Stanwyck got along well. In later years, the actress said she was positive about working with Wellman, who, contrary to his reputation as Wild Bill, was kind and patient.
The actress can be seen for the first time as a singer on the screen in the film with the song Take Me Away . Overall, however, the flick suffers from a largely implausible script and a multitude of illogical twists and turns.
The film first went into production under the title The Mudlark , then was renamed Night Flower , and finally came on sale under The Purchase Price .
criticism
Most of the critics criticized the complete lack of logic in the plot.
The New York Times found this critically:
“[The movie] is completely untrustworthy and offers one of the most desolate stories ever made into a film. [...] Some scenes are undoubtedly good, but overall one has the impression that 15 scriptwriters have worked on the story without any consultation with one another. "
Variety was also not satisfied with the result and was subtle:
“If the studio doesn't finally take Barbara Stanwyck back from the floe, her career will be on the floor. This is the second film in a row with a rural background. Both films had the same connection to earth and if this flick starts a little more exciting than the Edna Ferber film, the whole undertaking ends much more boring despite the nightclub glamor. [...] George Brent and Barbara Stanwyck are absolutely wrongly cast. "
In the Los Angeles Examiner magazine , the reviewer found Jerry Hoffman
“Barbara Stanwyck is coming to the cinemas again with a farmers drama. " So Big " gave her asparagus and cabbage as a background, now everything revolves around wheat. [...] The plot gives Miss Stanwyck an opportunity to do all the things that made her popular, but in the end the story doesn't quite have the strength of her previous films. [...] Miss Stanwyck's portrayal is, as usual, self-confident and that is exactly what makes her one of the best dramatic actresses. "
References
- ↑ [The film is] totally incomprehensible [and] one of the weirdest scenarios within the memory of man [...] Many individual scenes are undeniably good, but the effect is of fifteen scenarists collaborating on a story without consulting each other.
- ↑ If Warners don't get Barbara Stanwyck of the ground, she'll be in the ground cinematically. This her second straight with a pastoral motif. Both of her last two pictures have had the same toil-on-the-soil motivation, this one starting a bit more colorful than the Edna Ferber story, but despite some introductory nite club glamor it ends up much duller. [...] George Brent and Barbara Stanwyck are both 100% miscast.
- ^ Another saga of the soil comes to Warner's Hollywood Theater as a vehicle for Barbara Stanwyck. So big served to furnish her with a background of asparagus and cabbages [..] The Purchase Price , bringing wheat for its agricultural theme [...]. While it gives Miss Stanwyck an opportunity to do all the things with which she has won favor, the story hasn't the strength of some of her preceding vehicles. [...] Her work carries its usual sincerity and the depth of appeal that make her one of the screen's finest dramatic actresses.
Sources and further literature on pre-code films
- Frank T. Thompson: William A. Wellman, Scarecrow, London 1983, ISBN 978-0-81081594-0 .
- Homer Dickens: The Films of Barbara Stanwyck, ISBN 978-0-80651069-9
- Mark A. Viera: Sin in Soft Focus: Pre-Code Hollywood, ISBN 978-0-81094475-6
- Mick LaSalle: Complicated Women: Sex and Power in Pre-Code Hollywood - ISBN 978-0-31228431-2
- Thomas Doherty: Pre-Code Hollywood. ISBN 978-0-23111095--2
- Lea Jacobs: The Wages of Sin: Censorship and the Fallen Woman Film, 1928–1942 - ISBN 978-0-52020790-5