Sadie McKee, from 1934, is a romantic drama starring Joan Crawford, Gene Raymond, Franchot Tone, and Edward Arnold. The third of seven films pairing Crawford and Tone (who would marry in 1935), this sweet little pre-code story, which chronicles the loves of working class-girl, Sadie McKee, is one I enjoyed as part of my Joan Crawford birthday month celebration.
With her mother a cook at the home of the wealthy Aldersons, Sadie McKee (Joan Crawford) has long enjoyed a friendship with the family's son, Michael (Franchot Tone). Their relationship is strictly platonic, though, as Sadie has a boyfriend...Tommy Wallace (Gene Raymond), a man who has recently lost his job due to his crooked ways. Sadie, who trusts Tommy completely, doesn't believe he has done anything wrong and runs off to New York with him.
After making plans to meet Tommy at City Hall, where they will be married, Sadie hits the New York streets, leaving Tommy behind at a cheap boarding house. When another tenant in the house flirts with him, Tommy flirts right back and ends up not only standing Sadie up, but abandoning her as well. Brokenhearted, yet determined to succeed, Sadie takes a job as a dancer in a club, where she meets drunken millionaire Jack Brennan (Edward Arnold).
Completely smitten with Sadie, the wealthy Mr. Brennan asks her to marry him. However, his good friend and lawyer is none other than Michael Alderson---and he no longer trusts Sadie. Insisting that she's nothing more than a chiseler, who will take the kindhearted man for everything he's got, Michael warns Sadie to stay away.
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Will Sadie take Brennan for everything? Does she care about him? And what happens when Tommy, for whom Sadie still carries a torch, comes back into her life? And what exactly are Michael's feelings toward his childhood friend? These are the questions which play out in this sweet little film.
Sadie McKee is an interesting, enjoyable film, and although Joan Crawford gets top billing and does a great job in her role, the absolute star of the show is Edward Arnold. He is beyond fabulous as the drunken millionaire. The way he played every scene was completely perfect!! Joan is quite lovely at this point in her career, and her portrayal of Sadie was extremely heartwarming. I really came to care about Sadie. Franchot Tone was solid...and dashing as always. Gene Raymond, whose character is hardly likeable, strums a ukulele and sings "All I Do Is Dream of You," a song written specifically for this film.
Initially, I was going to go with 4 stars on this; however, the ending was rather abrupt and didn't seem to flow right, so I went with 3. Even so, though, this is a good, solid film, which I recommend---especially to Joan Crawford fans.
The film is out on DVD so it ought to be fairly easy to track down. Happy viewing!!
Sounds like another good one. I love all the photos in your sidebar, too, with links to your reviews.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Eileen. I love all the photos, too, and intend to add some more. I used to have my actor, actress, and movie lists on my sidebar, but just the other day, I decided to put them on stand-alone pages, because I felt there was too much "stuff" on the side. (The pages can be accessed at the very top of the sidebar.)
DeleteI do like Joan Crawford when she's young. And I've loved Franchot Tone ever since I saw him in Mutiny on the Bounty. I think this sounds like a really cool movie!
ReplyDeleteDeb, MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY is the film which opened my eyes to Franchot as well. I loved him in that! (I'm thinking you will get this return comment. To the best of my knowledge, it is only when a blog is set up with the "comments embedded below post" that there is now the option of having email notification of other comments. Which means, we can't control it, because unless a blogger changes their settings, which I did last week, a commenter cannot get notifications.)
DeleteWow--another classic film you have made me want to see--YESTERDAY!!!
ReplyDeleteLove the way you describe the characters and plot. I also enjoy your critiques and "stars."
Joan got a little scary later in her life, no?
You always make me wish I had 48 hours in a day, Patti!
Hugs,
ELC
ELC, want to hear something funny. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE is one of my favorite Joan Crawford films. Of course, Bette's the scary one in that movie, not Joan. As for the whole "Mommie Dearest" thing, I read where Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (Joan's 1st husband) said that the Joan of that book was absolutely not the Joan he ever knew (and they were divorced when he said that.) So, who knows if she was really like that, or if it was just a sensationalist book for a quick buck.
ReplyDeleteAbout the 48 hours in a day...I wish I had that too. However, I watch almost no TV. With the exception of THE AMAZING RACE, THE SANDWICH KING, and Food Network competition shows, I don't watch any TV shows. For that reason, I'm able to watch a movie (sometimes 2) every night (except Sunday).
Oh, I also watch DOWNTON ABBEY, but the season is over now. Other than those few shows, it's old movies for me.
DeleteI've always wanted to see this one! I'm also a huge Franchot Tone fan. I was always surprised that he and Joan Crawford were married - a total mismatch in my mind. I always thought he would go better with someone more light hearted, like Jean Harlow or Ginger Rogers :)
ReplyDeleteYes, they do seem an odd pair. I guess that's why the marriage lasted only 4 years.
DeleteDid you know that Franchot is one reason for the longstanding Joan Crawford/Bette Davis rivalry. Bette co-starred with him in DANGEROUS in 1935, and they were romantically involved. He ended up marrying Joan that same year, and according to BETTE DAVIS, LARGER THAN LIFE Joan stealing him from her upset Bette.