Despite having heard her name a number of times,I have somehow never got round to seeing Joan Crawford in a film!,which led to me searching around on Amazon UK for a film that would allow me to finally break my non-Crawford watching chain.
The plot:
Meeting up with her long-term lover Richard I. Field,mistress Diane Lovering starts to hope that she is about to become part of Field's cruise ship business empire,thanks to Field announcing to Lovering that he is finally going to divorce his wife Louise.Despite having hardly seen his wife for over a year,Field's plans are left in tatters,when Louise reveals that she won't divorce him,due to the doors that have opened since she has gotten the 'Mrs.Field' title.
Desperate to heal the sadness that Lovering has suffered from his failure to get a divorce,Field arranges for Lovering to go on a cruise ship of his,which will allow her to go on an all expenses paid South American cruise.Spending time on her own thinking about Field,Lovering soon catches the attention of a wealthy ranch owner called Michael 'Mike' Bradley,which will lead to Lovering wondering if she is really chained to Field's love.
View on the film:
Teaming up for the 4th (of 8) times,Clark Gable and Joan Crawford each give excellent performances,with Gable showing a devilish side which contains real warmth,as Bradley finds himself getting closer to Lovering.Walking round the cruise ship with a dazzling elegance,Crawford places Lovering's concern for Field right at the heart of the character,thanks to Crawford showing a real charm in the largely improvised scenes she shares with Gable,which along with showing the characters flirtatious side,also displays Lovering's fear of someone getting hurt.
Taking the character in an unexpected route,Otto Kruger gives a masterful performance as Richard I. Field,as Kruger keeps away from dipping in sleaze,to instead give Field a genuine sense of sincerity,as Field finds himself unable to stop the chain that he has with Lovering from breaking.
Filmed just after prohibition had been lifted in the US,director Clarence Brown displays the wealthy world that the character's inhabit by covering the movie with lashings of booze,which are joined by glamorous tracking shots which show Crawford's beauty and also show the beauty of the luxury cruise (something that only the very rich could afford at the time) that Lovering is on.Sadly not being able to match the glamour that Crawford gives the movie,or the stylish tracking shoots that Brown uses,the screenplay by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, John Lee Mahin and Edgar Selwyn keeps away from looking at the seedier aspects of the title,which leads to no real sparks being allowed to set off between Lovering and her would-be lover's,that cause this chain to break apart far too soon.
The plot:
Meeting up with her long-term lover Richard I. Field,mistress Diane Lovering starts to hope that she is about to become part of Field's cruise ship business empire,thanks to Field announcing to Lovering that he is finally going to divorce his wife Louise.Despite having hardly seen his wife for over a year,Field's plans are left in tatters,when Louise reveals that she won't divorce him,due to the doors that have opened since she has gotten the 'Mrs.Field' title.
Desperate to heal the sadness that Lovering has suffered from his failure to get a divorce,Field arranges for Lovering to go on a cruise ship of his,which will allow her to go on an all expenses paid South American cruise.Spending time on her own thinking about Field,Lovering soon catches the attention of a wealthy ranch owner called Michael 'Mike' Bradley,which will lead to Lovering wondering if she is really chained to Field's love.
View on the film:
Teaming up for the 4th (of 8) times,Clark Gable and Joan Crawford each give excellent performances,with Gable showing a devilish side which contains real warmth,as Bradley finds himself getting closer to Lovering.Walking round the cruise ship with a dazzling elegance,Crawford places Lovering's concern for Field right at the heart of the character,thanks to Crawford showing a real charm in the largely improvised scenes she shares with Gable,which along with showing the characters flirtatious side,also displays Lovering's fear of someone getting hurt.
Taking the character in an unexpected route,Otto Kruger gives a masterful performance as Richard I. Field,as Kruger keeps away from dipping in sleaze,to instead give Field a genuine sense of sincerity,as Field finds himself unable to stop the chain that he has with Lovering from breaking.
Filmed just after prohibition had been lifted in the US,director Clarence Brown displays the wealthy world that the character's inhabit by covering the movie with lashings of booze,which are joined by glamorous tracking shots which show Crawford's beauty and also show the beauty of the luxury cruise (something that only the very rich could afford at the time) that Lovering is on.Sadly not being able to match the glamour that Crawford gives the movie,or the stylish tracking shoots that Brown uses,the screenplay by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, John Lee Mahin and Edgar Selwyn keeps away from looking at the seedier aspects of the title,which leads to no real sparks being allowed to set off between Lovering and her would-be lover's,that cause this chain to break apart far too soon.