The Easiest Way

I love old movies. What got me annoyed with this movie was the first scene I watched about a half hour into the movie. I saw the main actor steal some meat from an Indigenous woman and then feed the meat to a dog. But I must assume that these old movies treated the Real Americans with disdain. Don't get me wrong, these old movies are enjoyable to watch. But why would someone shoot such despicable scene and put it into the movie? The scene really didn't fit. I must assume the scene was put into the movie to perpetuate the racist view of minorities by the white race. In this case an Indigenous person was robbed and was made to appear as a normal thing to do by a white person. I won't stop watching these classic movies, they're too enjoyable. It was just a product of the times I guess.

Wonderful story ruined by Hays Office has fabulous Constance Bennett escaping her New York slum upbringing by becoming a model and mistress to Adolphe Menjou. All is well until she runs into reporter Robert Montgomery in Colorado Springs (the Wild West in 1931). He's off to South America and asks Bennett to be good and wait for him. Well that lasts about a month. She runs out of money and goes back to Menjou. Better than it sounds until the hack ending. Solid performances by the stars, especially Bennett, and ably supported by Anita Page, Marjorie Rambeau, Clark Gable (his first MGM film), J. Farrell MacDonald, Clara Blandick, Jack Hanlon (as the sullen brother), and Hedda Hopper. The opening tenement scene is just wonderful. Gable is dynamic is his first big part. Rambeau is always terrific. Page is quite good in a supporting role. Menjou is slimy, but Constance Bennett is front and center and mesmerizing. She was a major star of her time--too bad she's mostly forgotten now.