She's a Twelve O'Clock girl in a Nine O'Clock neighborhood! And she's not Bette Davis!
Yes, Bette Davis is in this early talkie, ironically her first film, and she's a secondary character, a be-speckled shy girl, the plain Jane of the family, and in the shadow of Sidney Fox (also her film debut), the selfish, squeaky voiced lead character, and quite determined to get her way no matter who gets hurt. For her father (Charles Winninger) and mother (Emma Dunn), she seems like the sweetest girl around, but she turns down the handsome neighborhood doctor (Conrad Nagel) to go out with a fast-talking big city business shark (Humphrey Bogart in one of his earliest films). Bogart and Davis, the two biggest Warner Brothers stars of the 1940's, do share some screen time together, but this is a far cry from their later pairings in "The Petrified Forest", "Marked Woman" and "Kid Galahad". Nagel is graceful in letting Fox go, and when he turns to Davis, Fox sets out to get him back after things turn sour with Bogart.
Comic relief is provided by David Durand as the smart-talking baby of the family, Bert Roach as an overweight suitor of Fox's who doesn't stand a chance, Zasu Pitts as the frustrated housekeeper and funny looking Slim Summerville as a dinner guest of Winninger's who enjoys a flirtation with Pitts. His presence in the film reminds me of Davis's quote about her early years in Hollywood where she claims she overheard a Universal executive claiming that she had all the sex appeal of Slim Summerville.
This is fast paced and amusing, but not for the reasons film historians might think so. Davis's most ardent fans will be disappointed by her lack of a plot involvement in this (other than to be more worthy of love than Fox's bad sister), while Bogart is suave and sleazy as he uses false charm to swindle Winninger and other people in this small town. Fox has a great explosive scene which reminded me of Davis's later explosions in "Of Human Bondage" and "Dangerous" where her annihilation of certain characters left them speechless and almost destroyed. Fox and Bogart were later paired together in an independent crime drama "Midnight" (aka "Call It Murder") which turned out to be one of her last films in a sad and tragic life.
Yes, Bette Davis is in this early talkie, ironically her first film, and she's a secondary character, a be-speckled shy girl, the plain Jane of the family, and in the shadow of Sidney Fox (also her film debut), the selfish, squeaky voiced lead character, and quite determined to get her way no matter who gets hurt. For her father (Charles Winninger) and mother (Emma Dunn), she seems like the sweetest girl around, but she turns down the handsome neighborhood doctor (Conrad Nagel) to go out with a fast-talking big city business shark (Humphrey Bogart in one of his earliest films). Bogart and Davis, the two biggest Warner Brothers stars of the 1940's, do share some screen time together, but this is a far cry from their later pairings in "The Petrified Forest", "Marked Woman" and "Kid Galahad". Nagel is graceful in letting Fox go, and when he turns to Davis, Fox sets out to get him back after things turn sour with Bogart.
Comic relief is provided by David Durand as the smart-talking baby of the family, Bert Roach as an overweight suitor of Fox's who doesn't stand a chance, Zasu Pitts as the frustrated housekeeper and funny looking Slim Summerville as a dinner guest of Winninger's who enjoys a flirtation with Pitts. His presence in the film reminds me of Davis's quote about her early years in Hollywood where she claims she overheard a Universal executive claiming that she had all the sex appeal of Slim Summerville.
This is fast paced and amusing, but not for the reasons film historians might think so. Davis's most ardent fans will be disappointed by her lack of a plot involvement in this (other than to be more worthy of love than Fox's bad sister), while Bogart is suave and sleazy as he uses false charm to swindle Winninger and other people in this small town. Fox has a great explosive scene which reminded me of Davis's later explosions in "Of Human Bondage" and "Dangerous" where her annihilation of certain characters left them speechless and almost destroyed. Fox and Bogart were later paired together in an independent crime drama "Midnight" (aka "Call It Murder") which turned out to be one of her last films in a sad and tragic life.