Donald Wood is on a toot after being fired from his job on the paper. Ann Doran, with whom he has an understanding, suggests they get married, but he says he can't do it until he gets a job. He also gets a proposal from Erin O'Brien-Moore, the daughter of John Miltern, the paper's publisher. When one of his newspaper pals tells him she got him fired, he wakes at 2AM from a drunken stupor, calls her and accepts.
It's a disaster, of course. Her friends snub him as a climber, and Miss Doran tries to kill herself, then shows up with what she claims is another man's ring. Things go from bad to worse after Wood leaves to try to get a job or his play written and produced. Miltern's bank goes under and he kills himself, leaving only two thousand dollars.
Miss O'Brien-Moore is terrific. Director Charles Lamont gives her a few silent moments as she looks around her empty home and she layers stoicism on top of palpable grief in a manner worthy of a skilled silent actor. Her character grows and shrinks simultaneously. Other, better-remembered actors, like John Qualen, have their moments, but she makes this a superior movie.
She wasn't a silent actress. Born in 1902, she was taken from Broadway in the early 1930s, with a contract from Warner Brothers. Over the years she had roles in John Ford pictures and PEYTON PLACE, but worked more often in TV. Her last roles were in 1972 and she died five years later, aged 77.
It's a disaster, of course. Her friends snub him as a climber, and Miss Doran tries to kill herself, then shows up with what she claims is another man's ring. Things go from bad to worse after Wood leaves to try to get a job or his play written and produced. Miltern's bank goes under and he kills himself, leaving only two thousand dollars.
Miss O'Brien-Moore is terrific. Director Charles Lamont gives her a few silent moments as she looks around her empty home and she layers stoicism on top of palpable grief in a manner worthy of a skilled silent actor. Her character grows and shrinks simultaneously. Other, better-remembered actors, like John Qualen, have their moments, but she makes this a superior movie.
She wasn't a silent actress. Born in 1902, she was taken from Broadway in the early 1930s, with a contract from Warner Brothers. Over the years she had roles in John Ford pictures and PEYTON PLACE, but worked more often in TV. Her last roles were in 1972 and she died five years later, aged 77.