Passion Flower
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Passion Flower |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1930 |
| length | 89 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | William C. de Mille |
| script | Martin Flavin |
| production | William C. de Mille for MGM |
| camera | Hal Rosson |
| cut | Conrad A. Annoying |
| occupation | |
| |
Passion Flower is a 1930 American film starring Kay Francis .
action
Katherine 'Cassy' Pringle is the daughter of a wealthy, respected, social class family. She falls in love with her chauffeur, Dan Wallace, and marries him against her parents' wishes and is subsequently disinherited. Meanwhile, Cassy's cousin Dulce Morado has married a rich, boring old man from Napa Valley. She supports Cassy and her husband financially and makes sure that they both move closer to her. Gradually, Dulce and Dan discover their passionate feelings for each other and begin an affair. Both marriages threaten to fail and Dulce goes to Europe with Dan. However, a letter from Cassy brings Dan back to his senses and he returns to his family. Dulce remains sadly behind, hiding a broken heart under several yards of mink , as a review from the time appropriately summed up her state of mind.
background
Within a few months, Kay Francis had risen to become a popular actress in the melodramatic fate of women, even if her home studio Paramount didn't really know how to use it. After some successes with William Powell , Francis was especially popular among female viewers for her ability to carry extravagant wardrobes on the screen with the utmost ease. MGM offered the actress the lead role in The Sin of Madelon Claudet , but Francis declined. Drastically and honestly, as was her way, she justified the decision:
“I would have to be completely crazy to play that stupid French prostitute. Why is this stupid goose selling just to buy clothes for her son? Bah. How can you create sympathy for such a limited woman? "
Helen Hayes had fewer reservations and took on the role. She won for her performance at the Oscars in 1932 the Oscar for Best Actress . Kay Francis chose the role in Passion Flower instead , mainly because she was contractually guaranteed top billing , i.e. the announcement of her name over the title as star of the production, while at Paramount she rarely got beyond the status of a featured player , i.e. a supporting actress . The script was based on a story by Kathleen Norris and fell into the popular category of rich girl - poor man - depraved vamp . The success for Francis was short-term, however, as Paramount still did not know what to do with the actress. A short time later, she moved with Ruth Chatterton and William Powell in early 1932 to Warner Brothers , who promised her better pay and bigger roles.
Theatrical release
At $ 259,000 in production, Passion Flower was an inexpensive film by MGM standards. At the box office, he was successful with domestic revenues of $ 470,000 and an additional $ 172,000 from abroad. Total box office revenue of $ 642,000 resulted in a profit of $ 138,000 for the studio.
Reviews
The New York Times had words of praise for the female star:
"Kay Francis stands out as the fashionable Dulce."
Web links
- Passionflower in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Background information
Literature on the subject of pre-code films
- Mark A. Viera: Sin in Soft Focus: Pre-Code Hollywood, ISBN 978-0810944756
- Mick LaSalle: Complicated Women: Sex and Power in Pre-Code Hollywood - ISBN 978-0312284312
- Thomas Doherty: Pre-Code Hollywood. ISBN 978-0231110952
- Lea Jacobs: The Wages of Sin: Censorship and the Fallen Woman Film, 1928-1942 - ISBN 978-0520207905
Footnotes
- ↑ I would have to be out of my mind to play that silly French prostitute. Why that dumb little bunny actually walked the streets so that she could buy clothes for her son? Phooey! How can you generate sympathy for such a shallow woman?
- ↑ Kay Francis does exceptionally well as the fashionable-clad Dulce.