I think it's important to watch movies from the earliest era and work your way forward if you love movies. That way you can see the genesis of some of the newer ideas and you can see the original version of the same movies that came later. It's very telling that in 1933 Hollywood was already shooting the same movies with different actors and different titles.
"Ex-Lady" is nearly IDENTICAL to "Illicit" (1931) and only slightly different than "Perfect Understanding" (1933). When I say identical, I am not exaggerating.
What happened in "Illicit?"
Staying unwed was a problem for Dick (James Rennie) if for no other reason than the optics. As it was he and Anne (Barbara Stanwyck) were sneaking around trying to keep their affair private. Eventually, Dick was able to badger Anne into marrying him.
Waiting on the wings were Price Baines (Ricardo Cortez) and Margie True (Natalie Moorhead). Price was in love with Anne and Margie was in love with Dick. Should the two falter as a married couple the exes were sitting on the bench ready to be put into the game.
Anne did the traditional marriage thing for two years before she began to get bored. She was going to stick it out until Dick came home late one night lying about where he'd been. He claimed to have been with a colleague conducting business when the truth was that he was with Margie having a blast. That was the last straw for Anne. She didn't want a divorce, only a separation whereby she lived in her own place and Dick lived in his. It would be just like old times, he could visit her and they could go on dates and have fun. The separation would only make them desire each other more.
The two did their own thing until Dick saw Anne with Price Baines. His response was to go back to Margie True. After that move Anne tearily consented to a traditional marriage.
What happened in "Ex-Lady?"
THE EXACT SAME THING.
Helen Bauer (Bette Davis) and Don Peterson (Gene Raymond) were sneaking around because Helen didn't believe in marriage. Don badgered her into marrying him. Orbiting Helen was Nick Malvyn (Monroe Owsley) waiting for a chance to be with her should she tire of Don.
Helen and Don's marriage hit a rocky patch that was exacerbated by Don lying about working when he was out having fun with Peggy Smith (Kay Strozzi). At that point Helen was done with the traditional marriage set up. She'd get a separate place whereby they could go back to being like the lovers they were before marriage.
All was going fine until Helen accepted a date with Nick Malvyn. Upon hearing that news Don went on a date with Peggy. When Helen saw Don with Peggy she was peeved. As a result she tearily consented to being in a traditional marriage.
The whole movie started off on the wrong foot. The moment Helen said she didn't want to get married I rolled my eyes because I knew that if anything happened, she would get married. "Ex-Lady" was such a tired rehash and I don't like Bette Davis when she plays a society gal. I don't like the stuffy, proper feigned indifference to everything. If the aristocratic men and women were anything like they were depicted on screen in the 30's, they were some awful people.
Free on Odnoklassniki.
"Ex-Lady" is nearly IDENTICAL to "Illicit" (1931) and only slightly different than "Perfect Understanding" (1933). When I say identical, I am not exaggerating.
What happened in "Illicit?"
Staying unwed was a problem for Dick (James Rennie) if for no other reason than the optics. As it was he and Anne (Barbara Stanwyck) were sneaking around trying to keep their affair private. Eventually, Dick was able to badger Anne into marrying him.
Waiting on the wings were Price Baines (Ricardo Cortez) and Margie True (Natalie Moorhead). Price was in love with Anne and Margie was in love with Dick. Should the two falter as a married couple the exes were sitting on the bench ready to be put into the game.
Anne did the traditional marriage thing for two years before she began to get bored. She was going to stick it out until Dick came home late one night lying about where he'd been. He claimed to have been with a colleague conducting business when the truth was that he was with Margie having a blast. That was the last straw for Anne. She didn't want a divorce, only a separation whereby she lived in her own place and Dick lived in his. It would be just like old times, he could visit her and they could go on dates and have fun. The separation would only make them desire each other more.
The two did their own thing until Dick saw Anne with Price Baines. His response was to go back to Margie True. After that move Anne tearily consented to a traditional marriage.
What happened in "Ex-Lady?"
THE EXACT SAME THING.
Helen Bauer (Bette Davis) and Don Peterson (Gene Raymond) were sneaking around because Helen didn't believe in marriage. Don badgered her into marrying him. Orbiting Helen was Nick Malvyn (Monroe Owsley) waiting for a chance to be with her should she tire of Don.
Helen and Don's marriage hit a rocky patch that was exacerbated by Don lying about working when he was out having fun with Peggy Smith (Kay Strozzi). At that point Helen was done with the traditional marriage set up. She'd get a separate place whereby they could go back to being like the lovers they were before marriage.
All was going fine until Helen accepted a date with Nick Malvyn. Upon hearing that news Don went on a date with Peggy. When Helen saw Don with Peggy she was peeved. As a result she tearily consented to being in a traditional marriage.
The whole movie started off on the wrong foot. The moment Helen said she didn't want to get married I rolled my eyes because I knew that if anything happened, she would get married. "Ex-Lady" was such a tired rehash and I don't like Bette Davis when she plays a society gal. I don't like the stuffy, proper feigned indifference to everything. If the aristocratic men and women were anything like they were depicted on screen in the 30's, they were some awful people.
Free on Odnoklassniki.