Bad Girl

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Louisa E Okay. (Imagine I said that with a little salute thing - you'll know if you've watched the movie). There were some clever elements in this movie. I fell for the wedding insinuation! Lovely dresses and flowers! The dialogue is excellent - witty and fast. There was a sense of character development as the characters revealed their true selves to the grieving woman. And the plot gets cute. But then, an hour in, it reverts to one of the laziest troupes of couples misunderstanding each other, jumping to conclusions, and keeping secrets. That stuff infuriates me. I would have been happier if the whole plot had been as good as the first half. The acting was adequate, and I was impressed with the chemistry between the two leads. My favourite actress, though, was Minna Gombell as Edna Driggs. I thought she was fantastic and genuine. There were some great cinematographic elements; my favourite was the wedding scenes at the beginning. The costumes and sets were good, especially (again) with the wedding scene. If the whole movie were like the first half, I would have given it maybe an 8, but I was disappointed and frustrated in the second half, which bumped the score right down. It's got fantastic dialogue and comes across well. I really like Borzage films, so while I'm glad he won the Oscar here, I'm not sure this was the movie to win it with. It didn't seem to have much directional brilliance. (I preferred 7th Heaven). 6.8/10. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/09/23 Full Review Audience Member The plot follows the courtship and marriage of two young, working class people and the misunderstandings that result from their not having learned to trust and communicate with one another. It propelled then unknown actors Eilers and Dunn to stardom. It won Best Director (Borzage) and best Adapted Screenplay (Edwin Burke). At the time it was viewed as a modern take on contemporary life at the time. Dunn was a sensitive, nervous, conscientious young husband which was an astonishingly strong performance. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review william d While contemporary reviews were positive, I almost dozed off. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review steve d Eilers is really good, the rest is not. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member When looking at the poster of this film and considering it's title I assumed it was either going to be a bawdy sex comedy in the style of She Done Him Wrong (1933) or a tale of a hooker with a heart of gold being saved by a man as in The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1932). What I got instead was a relatively sweet romantic drama concerning a young married couple that felt like an antecedent to Father's Little Dividend (1951) and in some ways Barefoot in the Park (1967). It had the issues of most films from this era as it was light on plot and largely content to rely on the excitement of simply witnessing moving images of Coney Island and attractive young women. Department store model Dorothy Haley, Sally Eilers, faces unwanted advances from the men she encounters at work and her employers who she must bat off by referencing a possessive and physically powerful boyfriend. She is supported by her plucky friend and fellow model Edna Driggs, Minna Gombell, whom she accompanies to Coney Island. While there the two are pursued by several lascivious older men and eventually make a bet based on who can seduce the one man who has not attempted to seduce them, radio shop employee Eddie Collins, James Dunn. While Haley and Collins initially rub each other the wrong way they come to like one another and begin a relationship. Collins wants to own his own radio shop one day and has been saving up for years to achieve this ambition but with his marriage to Haley she becomes unexpectedly pregnant and tries to hide this from him. When he discovers her pregnancy he believes that she does not want it which creates friction between the two leading to the demise of their relationship. What I appreciated about the film was the simplicity of the central story and the effort made to focus more on character development than the progression of the conflict in the film. Fortunately Haley and Collins feel like real people and their romance is remarkably sweet and honest, especially for a film from this time period, as the film does not make efforts to glamorize them and instead appreciates them as down on their luck youths in love. They have one of those classic meet cutes where she annoys him before charming him with her pure wit and resilience and I liked the fact that we cut from them arguing to them completely besotted with one another. There is also something to the fact that they each value one another and their separate desires are considered as Haley does not want the financial burden of having a child to stop her husband from owning his radio shop and Collins wants his wife to be comfortable as a mother. Director Frank Borzage won the Academy Award for Best Director for his work on this film and it is easy to see why when watching it as there are many beautiful shots in the film and he handles the tonal shifts with aplomb. The opening scenes at Coney Island feature shots from the perspective of people on a rollercoaster, the bright lights of the theme park and the large crowds that feel like they could have come out of a film made 20 years later. When compared to fellow Best Picture nominee Shanghai Express (1932) you see how advanced this film is as Borzage is able to move from light comedy at the beginning of the film to dramatic romance and there is never tonal confusion or the uncomfortable feeling of a struggle like unwanted pregnancy being undercut by humor. Borzage's main competition was probably King Vidor for the overly sentimental The Champ (1931) which while entertaining is let down by a weak central performance from Wallace Beery of all actors and some awkwardly shot scenes of boxing. One must take into account when watching most films from this era the limitations of the time as they did not have access to the materials available today and the screenplay can feel dated but this film had timeless pleasures. Perhaps those who do not enjoy romances will not find themselves as engaged as I was but to me this was an unexpected delight. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Of all the "classic" / 1930s talkies I've seen, "Bad Girl" is probably the smartest one I've seen so far. It's a clever study of marriage, though the gender politics have dated a bit and it's not as intrusive as modern films like "Gone Girl". It asks big questions about love and commitment and marriage and parenthood, and is powered by three genuinely great performances - Sally Eilers and James Dunn as the couple in the center of the film, she pregnant and scared she'll die in childbirth, and he scared they won't be able to afford the nice life they dream of with a child to care for and his small job as a radio salesman. They're guided by her sassy friend, played by Minna Gombell, who is legitimately hilarious and scathing even by today's standards. The rightful winner of the Oscars for Best Director and Screenplay at the 5th Academy Awards (1932), Bad Girl is an imperfect but highly entertaining example of a dramedy, one that has barely aged apart from the way characters talk and a few minor changes in political and socioeconomic beliefs. Also, this line: "not a Chinaman's Chance!" Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Bad Girl

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