Nonureva Really Surprised!

Forumrxes Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

jarrodmcdonald-1 Dorothy Arzner is the director of this film, and though she does not make a lot of films, she usually makes rather substantial ones. This is certainly a substantial one.The most appealing aspect of this production is the chemistry and loveliness of the couple played on screen by Joan Crawford and Franchot Tone (married in real life). This is not the only film that MGM has costarred them in together, but in this picture, it is easy to see the magic they create.For his part, Robert Young is a worthy costar. And so is Joan's dazzling dress, referenced in the title. One must not forget to mention the always splendid Billie Burke, directed in several other pictures by Arzner. This time she portrays a real shrew, not her trademark scatterbrained character.

blanche-2 Joan Crawford stars in "The Bride Wore Red," a 1937 MGM film based on the play by Ferenc Molnar. Here, it's directed by Dorothy Arzner. Arzner was a fascinating woman - a female director amid a sea of men - very much ahead of her time in her dress, profession, and lifestyle, and highly intelligent. Was she a great director? Hard for me to say. I don't think she always got the best scripts. And in Crawford, she had a headstrong star as well.The story concerns a poor girl, Anni (Crawford) who sings in a sleazy café (read: with prostitution as a sideline)in the red light district of Trieste. A count she meets believes that the only thing separating the rich from the poor is money - it's not class, it's not breeding, it's not education. To make his point, he sends Anni to a fabulous resort with beautiful new clothes for two weeks. Anni meets Rudi (Robert Young), from an excellent and wealthy family, but he's engaged. With time short, Anni decides that it's Rudi she wants, and is determined to stick it out as long as necessary to get him. But it's not only a lack of funds and Rudi's fiancé standing in her way - it's also the postman, Giulio (Franchot Tone).Crawford is beautiful, and this was the type of role she played continuously in the 1930s with great success. Tone, Young, and Billie Burke give her good support.What is this business with the "no European accents" that someone mentioned? Actors do not use European accents when portraying foreigners in their own country or a nearby country. The characters aren't speaking English with a foreign accent in Poland, Switzerland, or Italy. They're speaking another language. If accents were necessary, all Chekov plays would be done with Russian accents. They aren't.I thought for what this was, the film took a little too long to make its point and was a bit slow in spots. It's not the best Crawford film, but she gives a strong performance as a willful woman determined to marry money. As for Arzner's direction, apparently she couldn't get anywhere with Crawford, so I'll withhold judgment.

beyondtheforest If this were the typical Cinderella tale, Anni (Joan Crawford), a beautiful but hardened prostitute from Trieste, would have been whisked away to the wealthy vacation resort with clothes and money to spare, and some rich and dashing prince in shining armor would have fallen in love and married her (social class issues notwithstanding). MGM tries their very best to make the film appear to be a Cinderella story of that sort, but I am not unhappy they failed.The story does not turn out that way at all. We have Anni, given such a stellar characterization by Crawford (so perfect as hardened women who seek, but have been constantly been denied, love, in a quintessential role for her), but she is not simply a poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks. She is a prostitute in a dingy bar. We can see from the very first closeup that she is completely hopeless and disillusioned. Crawford's expression as she sings "Who Wants Love?" (an appropriately and brilliantly cynical love ballad which sets the tone for the film) is so brilliant, evocative, and controlled; the work of a great actress, indeed.A very wealthy count discovers her and sets her up for a stay in a resort for other wealthy people, where she can pose as an heiress and possibly attract a man. The catch here is the count is not motivated by altruism; he simply wants to satisfy a bet with a friend that social class has nothing to do with breeding, but just luck. Although he is probably right, there is something unkind about the way he treats the girl. Although at first it seems a kind thing to do (and if this was the Cinderella story it would be), this is not a fantasy but the real world, and in the real world dreams can be broken..The theme of the film is that of dreams being broken. Anni dreams of finding love, wealth, happiness, but eventually she learns no amount of posing or pretending or scheming can get her those things. The rich man she tries to snare turns out to be a cad, only interested in her as a mistress and not as a wife. Another dream is broken.. In the end, although in keeping with the Cinderella aspect of the story it appears she has fallen in love with the postal delivery man, it's obvious she has settled. She has thrown the childhood hopes to the wind, and is ready to accept love in practical terms. And when she settles, we know the biggest dream of all has broken, and Crawford, great actress that she was, shows us her heartbreak by registering extremely subtle emotions in her face, through her walk, and mannerisms.A remarkable film. An undiscovered masterpiece; perhaps Dorothy Arzner's best work.

nickandrew Crawford in this 1937 MGM "women's picture," plays a middle-class cabaret dancer who poses as a rich society girl as a prank to secretly snag a wealthy husband. What a plot!!! There are some beautiful settings (obviously fake) and the black-and-white photography could never be better.