The common law

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Movie
Original title The common law
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1931
length 74 minutes
Rod
Director Paul L. Stein
script John Farrow ,
Horace Jackson
production Charles R. Rogers
music Arthur Lange
camera Hal Mohr
cut Charles Craft
occupation

The Common Law is a 1931 American film starring Constance Bennett . With its open portrayal of extramarital relationships, the film is typical of the lax handling of the censorship regulations before the Production Code came into force .

action

The young, fun-loving American Valerie West was the mistress of the fabulously rich Dick Cardemon for several years. Now she's tired of him and on a trip to Paris she leaves him head over heels to model naked for the young and poor artist John Neville. At first their relationship remains purely platonic, but gradually love develops between the two. Just as Valerie is about to confess her past to John, he learns every unsavory detail about Valerie from his sister, Mrs. Claire Collins. When John breaks up with Valerie and raises moral concerns, the young woman gives him a lecture in which she accuses him of his double standards and narrow-mindedness. Valerie storms out of the studio and John discovers how much he loves her. He hurries after her and meets her again in a seedy nightclub, where Valerie is in the company of a rich man with dishonorable intentions. Again the two argue about morality and decency and Valerie asks John for forgiveness for her past sins. Both decide to live together for the next year openly, without a marriage license, to find out whether they really want to get married. Many entanglements later, the two people stand happily in front of the altar and say yes to each other.

background

The film was one of the very few financial successes for the studio in one of the most economically difficult years for the entire industry and established Constance Bennett as the main star for RKO . Since her appearance in Common Clay from the previous year, Bennett has been successful in portraying young women who find a husband and their place in society with charm, discipline and wit. The film brought her back together with her lover at the time, Joel McCrea , with whom she stood in front of the camera four times.

The common law is typical of the genre confession movie , which during the Great Depression mainly attracted the female audiences. Most of the films revolve around the problems of women who get into trouble through a love story with a man of weak character. The underlying script asks the fundamental question of whether, in a time of economic uncertainty, values ​​such as virtue and morality have any significance of their own. Or whether the circumstances do not call for economic security to be achieved through morally questionable decisions, such as the liaison with a rich man. Sometimes the women in these films end up on the streets to support themselves and their children and / or family. Helen Hayes in The Sin of Madelon Claudet or Marlene Dietrich in Blonde Venus varied the subject matter. Often the women also became the lovers of older men or pursued unworthy occupations in order to survive: Barbara Stanwyck in Shopworn , Constance Bennett in Herz at the crossroads . Most women tried to hide the illegitimate origin of their children: Kay Francis in I Found Stella Parrish and Give Me Your Heart , Irene Dunne in The Secret of Madame Blanche , Ruth Chatterton in Madame X, and Frisco Jenny or Ann Harding in The Life of Vergie Winters .

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