Free, Blonde and 21 (1940)
Stories of women who live in an all-women hotel. One (Bari) works hard and marries a millionaire; another (Hughes) cheats and goes to jail.
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Too much of everything
It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.
It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
The film was mediocre at best, but was fun to watch, knowing the quality of story-lines of the era. Lynn Bari gives a good performance as the stalwart woman while, at first, I did not like Mary Beth Hughes as the perpetual "bad girl", after reflection, I believe that she gave the best performance of any of the actors in the film. She was believable! The only problem I could see in the film was the in the resolution of the plot: that I felt sorry for the used and jilted Doctor Steve, and wondered what happen to him when all was done. I found Joan Davis to be interesting as the comedienne character - it seemed that every film of that era had one. Enough of a comedienne, in fact, to peak my interest to find out more about her. I found myself comparing her to Phillyis Diller, Martha Rae, and even Carmen Miranda, and that, though she may not have become as well known (depending on whom a person asks), she could have been. A note: she did a lot later on in that new media - television.As in so many of the films of the era, and by today's standards, it is so shocking and amazing as to the infringements of rights by law enforcement back then.All in all, it was a fun film to watch - especially in pre-World War II.