Victor Jory, a French Foreign Legion medic unjustly charged with murdering a superior officer, escapes the firing squad with the aid of best pal David Manners. He finds sanctuary in Loretta Young's mission and falls in love with her, not knowing that just a few months ago she was in Paris and met and became engaged to... David Manners! Other implausibilities and co-inky-dinks dot this sub-Hemingway nonsense, which also features the alleged comic relief of Herbert Mundin and Vivienne Osborne as Jory's old flame -- an independent-minded, self-sacrificing, and thoroughly admirable Bad Woman who makes the Latin Quarter of whatever North African outpost this is supposed to be look infinitely more fun than the virtuous surroundings of Young's mission. Young, required only to look pretty and play holier-than-thou, does so competently, and the director, William (still billed as "Wilhelm" at this point in his career) Dieterle, was always good for some striking compositions. It's also interesting to see Jory, usually in supporting and/or villainous roles, attempt a Gary Cooper-type hero. He's a little stolid and you're never aware of anything much going on in his head, but that would be asking a lot of a character drawn this broadly. An amiable time-waster with a pointless title, and it's fun to watch the audacious turns of plot and twists of fate pile up.
Review of The Devil's in Love
