Mack Sennett once called Sally Eilers "the most beautiful brunette in Hollywood" and she was very eye catching, even in roles that didn't give her much to do. Then Frank Borzage started a hunt for a couple of unknowns for a film he was directing called "Bad Girl". Sylvia Sidney had starred in the original Broadway production which was an adaptation of a best selling book by Vina Delmar and ran for 85 performances in 1930. Borzage wanted to find a new romantic team to rival Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell and originally he had wanted Spencer Tracy but he was unavailable. Sally was picked and for the male lead, a young, fresh faced actor from Broadway - James Dunn. For a film debut he had the ease and confidence of a veteran. He was sensational and should have been nominated for an Academy Award.
This was not a typical "boy meets girl in the big city" romance. It had more in common with "The Crowd" although without "The Crowd"'s bleakness. When we first meet Dorothy (Sally Eilers) she is modeling bridal wear but she is not at all dewy eyed - she has all the answers and knows all the lines to keep the "wolves" at arms length. She meets Eddie (James Dunn) at Coney Island and while it definitely isn't "love at first sight", they end the evening in a heart to heart talk at the bottom of the stairs. Eddie is a rough diamond who claims he can't talk to women but somehow he seems to get on with Dorothy. Their's is a bitter sweet romance - it's real and something the audiences of the day could probably relate to. They marry and Eddie can see his long cherished dream of owning his own radio shop within his grasp. Sally has some news of her own - and after Eddie has a tirade about the stupidity of bringing a child into a world of poverty - confesses she is going to have a baby.
The rest of the film is concerned with mistaken feelings. Eddie thinks Sally is not keen to have a child but she is only trying to hide her joy because of his gruffness. Inside he is tickled to death and often stops parents with prams in the street to ask their advice, he is also working overtime and risking his life doing amateur boxing to get Dorothy the best possible care. She doesn't know and thinks he is spending his time in bars and getting into fights. In one of the most heart wrenching scenes, James Dunn plays with all the emotion he can muster, trying to convince a society doctor to deliver Dorothy's baby. And for once a friend wasn't just part of the furniture. Minna Gombell was great as Edna, Dorothy's best friend and mentor. It was a 3 dimensional part - Edna was hard boiled and tough but astute enough to realise that Eddie was a genuine guy.
This role should have made Sally a star but it didn't. She and Dunn were paired several times but she became fed up and apparently refused to do "Jimmy and Sally" with him (Claire Trevor was substituted). James Dunn became an overnight star. He was extremely likable and also had a warmth and talent that both critics and the public liked.
Highly, Highly Recommended.
This was not a typical "boy meets girl in the big city" romance. It had more in common with "The Crowd" although without "The Crowd"'s bleakness. When we first meet Dorothy (Sally Eilers) she is modeling bridal wear but she is not at all dewy eyed - she has all the answers and knows all the lines to keep the "wolves" at arms length. She meets Eddie (James Dunn) at Coney Island and while it definitely isn't "love at first sight", they end the evening in a heart to heart talk at the bottom of the stairs. Eddie is a rough diamond who claims he can't talk to women but somehow he seems to get on with Dorothy. Their's is a bitter sweet romance - it's real and something the audiences of the day could probably relate to. They marry and Eddie can see his long cherished dream of owning his own radio shop within his grasp. Sally has some news of her own - and after Eddie has a tirade about the stupidity of bringing a child into a world of poverty - confesses she is going to have a baby.
The rest of the film is concerned with mistaken feelings. Eddie thinks Sally is not keen to have a child but she is only trying to hide her joy because of his gruffness. Inside he is tickled to death and often stops parents with prams in the street to ask their advice, he is also working overtime and risking his life doing amateur boxing to get Dorothy the best possible care. She doesn't know and thinks he is spending his time in bars and getting into fights. In one of the most heart wrenching scenes, James Dunn plays with all the emotion he can muster, trying to convince a society doctor to deliver Dorothy's baby. And for once a friend wasn't just part of the furniture. Minna Gombell was great as Edna, Dorothy's best friend and mentor. It was a 3 dimensional part - Edna was hard boiled and tough but astute enough to realise that Eddie was a genuine guy.
This role should have made Sally a star but it didn't. She and Dunn were paired several times but she became fed up and apparently refused to do "Jimmy and Sally" with him (Claire Trevor was substituted). James Dunn became an overnight star. He was extremely likable and also had a warmth and talent that both critics and the public liked.
Highly, Highly Recommended.