Stronger Than Desire (1939) User Reviews

top-notch MGM B-pic

[rduchmann · 7/10 · 5 June 2000]

Slick, smart lawyer Walter Pidgeon defends a woman for a murder he comes to believe was committed by his own wife. The finale, in which Pidgeon unravels the more complicated truth during a series of wilder and wilder turns during cross-exam and summation, is a bit of a jaw-dropper and comes fairly close to violation of the day's Production Code.

This is a remake of EVELYN PRENTICE (1934), an earlier MGM version of the same story, based on a novel by W E Woodward, and starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. For my money the remake, STRONGER THAN DESIRE, is far and away the better of the two, with substantially stronger performances and script, and particularly better direction. Virginia Bruce has one of her best MGM roles, ever-reliable Pidgeon is terrific as the smart lawyer, and Ann Dvorak has the smaller but crucial role of the woman Pidgeon must defend. (Dvorak's then-husband, ex-actor Leslie Fenton, was the director).

This is just a B-picture from the factory at MGM, yet in casting, production values, and quality it compares to an A-release from virtually any other studio in Hollywood of that day. TCM doesn't run this one nearly often enough, though the PRENTICE version plays fairly frequently. STRONGER THAN DESIRE is the one to watch.

Good Courtroom Drama

[Panamint · 7/10 · 25 July 2014]

Some say that 1939 was the best movie year ever. Well, rack up another good one for 1939: "Stronger Than Desire".

This is sort of an under-the-radar women's picture that is not your big splashy ballyhoo project but it is worthwhile being just what it is. Beyond the murder, criminal trial etc. it should be mentioned that the lead actresses Virginia Bruce and Ann Dvorak stay totally in character and deliver some true emotion, seriously and no kidding. You can tell they were both committed to their roles and to this film's point of view.

It has a rather ordinary plot but it is elevated by excellent performances and overall film craftsmanship that is far beyond the b-movie budget. All the acting is first-rate. For example, even the little girl gives a superior child-actor performance. And the gigolo/heel part is very well written and performed- you will be convinced that this guy is really evil.

This film has some cautionary points to make and an effective overall theme that some things are stronger than mere desire/flirtation. You will "get it". "Stronger Than Desire" is a good example of a lawyer/courtroom type film, with emphasis more on drama rather than accurate legal proceedings.

good remake starring Walter Pidgeon as an attorney

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 5 July 2005]

This B-remake of Evelyn Prentice stars Walter Pidgeon as an expensive defense lawyer who defends a woman for murder, not realizing that his own wife is involved in the case. Virginia Bruce plays Pigeon's wife, Ann Dvorak the pro bono client.

Although Stronger than Desire is a B film, it is a solid one. Pidgeon is marvelous as an attorney unsuccessfully trying to juggle home and a busy career, and Bruce is lovely as the wife with something to hide.

Rita Johnson has a fun supporting role as a defendant who is acquitted with Pidgeon's help and then wants to thank him - personally, and Ilka Chase is a family friend. A good viewing experience.

Good movie, better than the original

[jdeamara · 21 May 2011]

The movie flows better than the original. It also features quite a bevy of beauties in Virginia Bruce, Ann Dvorak, and Rita Johnson. All bring their A game to this B picture.

Rita Johnson made 3 B films with Walter Pidgeon in 1939. Their first film together, 6,000 Enemies, has Rita playing Pidgeon's put-upon love interest, unjustly imprisoned. After seeing her in that movie, where she acts all innocent, demure and heroic, this film was quite a revelation; she just smolders as a vamp, especially in the scene on the train.

Virginia Bruce made 2 B films with Pidgeon in 1939; I prefer this one to their other one together, Society Lawyer; the acting and story are better. Virigina Bruce was one of the most exquisite beauties of the era. She really shines here, giving one of her better acting performances.

Ann Dvorak steals the movie. She is here directed by her then husband. She really makes you feel her character, especially in the climatic courtroom scene. It was great to see her in a B film that actually showcased her talents. It's a shame she was relegated to B pictures by the late 30s; she could have done so much more.

Enjoyable MGM Bread & Butter film; Formula fluff but fun.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 3 April 2013]

Every studio by the end of the 1930's was looking back into its archives for stories, and MGM was no exception. This is a remake of a William Powell/Myrna Loy film called "Evelyn Prentice", and while the character names have been changed, the situation is exactly the same. Walter Pidgeon is an overworked defense attorney, one of the best in New York, getting his clients off with last minute surprise testimonies and evidence that the prosecution didn't see coming. He's so good that his female clients (particularly Rita Johnson) are ever so grateful, willing to show their gratitude in ways not in keeping with proper attorney/client etiquette. Pidgeon's beautiful wife (Virginia Bruce) has been devoted to him, but when he cancels their planned trip to Europe for an out of town case, she is briefly tempted by a handsome rogue (Lee Bowman) who is already married (to Ann Dvorak) but bored in his lower middle class existence. Bowman ends up a victim of his own immorality and Pidgeon ends up defending his wife for murder which results in a dramatic declaration at the last minute.

Following the original story almost to the letter, this is still interesting. MGM's "B" films were of "A" quality at other studios, and this is as lavish as anything the other studios were filming as their biggest releases. It is appropriate that Pidgeon would take over for Powell, an irony considering that Powell had played Florenz Ziegeld a few years earlier and that Pidgeon would take on that role in "Funny Girl" many years later. The beautiful Bruce shines as the neglected wife. She had been in films for over a decade, and hadn't aged at all in the past decade. Dvorak, one of the best actresses never to become a superstar, is intense as a murder suspect, and she reveals the inner workings of this unhappy lady who had every reason to want to see her husband dead, no matter how much she loved him.

The only character I couldn't abide here was the one played by Ilka Chase, a trouble-maker who urges Bruce to utilize Bowman's companionship without regards for her supposed friend's marriage. The writing for her is beyond comprehension as she never gets her come-uppance for her involvement in the whole ordeal. There are some silly plot twists and details (how Bruce is discovered by Pidgeon to be "the other woman" is silly beyond belief) but that's what makes these films so much fun. As over the top as they can be, they are always entertaining, and for that are always worth repeat viewings.

Great Female players In A Decent Movie

[Handlinghandel · 5/10 · 18 November 2004]

This is part pre-noir, part white telephone women's picture. Walter Pigeon is less annoying than he generally was. The fancy-schmancy diction that was by no means limited to him works in this role as a rich lawyer.

The ladies are a great bunch: Virginia Bruce as his suffering wife who is accused of murder. Rita Johnson as a society girl he gets off a murder rap. Ilka Chase as Bruce's pal. And the great Ann Dvorak, not at her peak here but always good, as the wife of the cad who is murdered -- maybe by Bruce.

Thr dialogue is snappy, the plot moves along. But the denouement is annoying: Yes, Dvorak shot her husband to death but he was such a nasty person he deserved it. The jury buys this and Pigeon, Bruce, and their darling child are off on a long vacation in Europe.

Stronger than the average B movie

[misctidsandbits · 23 September 2011]

Stronger Than Desire - what is it exactly? Ambition, survival, conscience? Will have to watch it again to check on that. Sometimes these titles seemed pretty random ... But, this is a good movie, not one that limped through on the strength of the stars or performances or scenery or some particular aspect which kind of made up for something else. It was overall good, I thought.

Everyone has favorites. Someone here cracked on Walter Pidgeon's diction - watch it! :-) Hey, they all spoke and dressed bigger than life in that era. Remember, movies were not mirrored to everyday life people back then. I personally enjoyed that.

Man, Lee Bowman's character should go down on the super slimy list. Don't remember seeing him do one like this before.

There really were a lot of characters in this. Ilka Chase (or "Jo") stood out to me. Didn't notice her in anything before this movie. True, her friend support was pretty effusive, but I liked her. If unknown to you and you are curious as well, click on her name in the cast listing for IMDb's info on her. Very interesting. Surprising.

Entertaining but it also appears like two very different films merged into one.

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 10 April 2007]

The first portion of this film and the last are so different that it almost looks like they started to make a film and then scrapped the original plot. But, not wanting to waste money, decided to just morph the new plot into the existing footage. While the overall effect is still very entertaining and worth seeing, the film is very disjoint and leaves a lot of dangling plot points.

The film begins with workaholic Walter Pidgeon working hard to get a super-annoying playgirl acquitted of Manslaughter charges. This lady was SO annoying and worthless, that I really WAS rooting for her to get serious prison time, but this was not the case--due to Pidgeon's expertise. Now here is where the film SEEMS like it will be an ordinary domestic drama--as this kooky rich lady actively tries to steal Pidgeon away from his lovely wife and daughter. Plus, he is SUCH a workaholic that it looks as if the marriage is heading for the rocks. All this was pretty interesting and this seemed as if it was the plot--but this was only a diversion! An apparently minor subplot involves Lee Bowman trying to seduce Pidgeon's nice wife (Virginia Bruce). He tries, but the relationship between them never materializes into an affair--they are only cordial acquaintances. Then, out of no where, Bowman threatens to blackmail Bruce unless she pays him to go away and destroy some very innocent letters she sent him. Now IF there really was something for Bruce to be ashamed of, then what happened next would have made sense. As it was, the story lost credibility when she appears to shoot him dead as they scuffled over the not at all incriminating letters!!! Where this came from was frankly beyond me. Ms. Bruce simply could have said NO to Bowman's threat or told her understanding husband. The shooting just seemed to come out of no where! Bruce runs from the apartment and assumes no one saw her. Unfortunately, Bowman's wife is accused of killing him and the rest of the film concerns how Ms. Bruce struggles with herself and her need to do the right thing. This aspect of the film was also quite interesting.

So overall this is a good film but it's almost like two dissimilar films tossed together. Either on its own would have made a fine film but together they were a bit odd. The whole shooting incident seems contrived and was more of a plot device than a rational behavior by a seemingly intelligent woman. Plus, this film was actually a remake of EVELYN PRENTICE--a film with similar plot difficulties.

"I Know A Lot Of Good Boring People Who Work For Money"

[davidcarniglia · 5/10 · 3 May 2019]

Although Stronger Than Desire is eighty years old, it has a modern quality which I'll call Lifetime Movie Channel Syndrome. Meaning that an otherwise promising plot is abruptly hi-jacked by needless melodrama. In this case, a murder is dropped in the midst of a dangerous liaison. Two unsteadily-married couples cross paths; one of the husbands attempts to blackmail the married woman he's enamoured with. As others have said, the blackmail letters are hardly lurid, and, Elizabeth (Virginia Bruce) is batty to offer so much for them. Particularly since her husband Tyler (Walter Pidgeon) has been on-the-make with ex-client Barbara (Rita Johnson). It's not likely he can afford to be high and mighty. She's even more foolish to shoot Michael (Lee Bowman). The fact that her shot missed isn't revealed until the end, so her guilt over inadvertently framing Michael's wife Eva (Ann Dvorak) does add some flavor and suspense.

Tyler not only ends up defending Eva, but also cross-examines Elizabeth (is that legal?) after her courtroom confession. In fact both women confess, and, incredibly, both get off--Elizabeth tried to shoot Michael; Eva actually did. At least Elizabeth was provoked. Since there were no other witnesses, how can Eva justify self-defense? Michael's a dirt-bag alright. But, had things been a bit more rational, maybe Tyler unloads on him when Michael gets found out. Or, leave in the attempted shooting, and Elizabeth goes home to Tyler, and then Michael gets his comeuppance. But it's just too much to accept that Elizabeth would want to kill him.

Barbara's role was underwritten. There's probably more chemistry between her and Tyler as between Elizabeth and Michael; but there's very few of the more interesting 'attorney/client' scenes. On the other hand, Jo's (Ilka Chase's) character is ever-present--sort of a bad angel plunked on Elizabeth's guilty shoulder. All of her advice is horrible: she enables Elizabeth's fascination with Michael, keeps Tyler in the dark about it, acts as if it's no big deal that Elizabeth might've killed Michael, and that it doesn't much matter that Eva gets blamed for it. If Jo is going to stir up so much, make her a major character for whom there's consequences.

I liked the performances in Stronger Than Desire. And, up until the murder, the movie was pretty entertaining. But, not only does the second part completely diverge from the lover-affair premise, it doesn't have enough inner consistency to maintain suspension of disbelief. Very promising, but fairly disappointing.

Strong performances bolster melodramatic programmer...

[Doylenf · 23 September 2011]

WALTER PIDGEON stars as a man famous for being a defense lawyer who gets women cleared of murder charges in circumstantial cases.

Little does he know that he's soon going to be taking a case where a woman (ANN DVORAK) is charged with murdering her husband--and that his own wife (VIRGINIA BRUCE) was involved with the murdered man (LEE BOWMAN). In fact, his wife thinks she murdered Bowman in an accidental struggle over a gun. All of this leads to a courtroom scene where a plot twist reveals what really happened.

What distinguishes this little programmer from most B-films produced by MGM are the performances. Particularly effective are Virginia Bruce who manages to overcome a tendency to be bland by giving a very earnest performance as the woman who finds herself in difficult circumstances after realizing her friendship with Lee Bowman is really a set-up for blackmail.

And ANN DVORAK, never one of my favorite actresses, is really outstanding here as Bowman's long suffering wife who doesn't know that her lawyer's wife is "the other woman" involved with her husband. Not only is she photographed attractively, but she makes the most of a meaty supporting role.

RICHARD LANE does his usual competent job in a supporting role but it's the ladies who stand out in performances worthy of a better script. ILKA CHASE does her usual "best friend of the leading lady" bit, the sort of role she was relegated to throughout most of her career. Little ANN TODD is tolerable as the child who wishes her father could spend more time with her.

While Pidgeon is solid as the lawyer, it's Virginia Bruce and Ann Dvorak who have the most rewarding roles and take most of the spotlight.

The rare film that is too short

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 25 October 2011]

I think most films run about the right length. If not, they're typically too long and seem to drag. This is that rare film which could have been a little longer, though that's not to say that it's a perfect film.

Walter Pidgeon plays a defense attorney who is just a little too busy to pay the amount of attention to his wife (Virginia Bruce) and young daughter that they deserve. Busy on an important case, Pidgeon flies to another city, and his wife has a fling -- albeit an innocent one of companionship -- with a scumbag (Lee Bowman) who then blackmails her with a photo and innocent, yet suspicious notes that Bowman's wife can use to claim that Pidgeon's wife is the correspondent in a divorce case. In a showdown, Pidgeon's wife accidentally discharges a gun and flees, thinking she has killed the blackmailer. At her urging, Pidgeon defends the blackmailer's wife while Pidgeon's wife frets over her guilt and sending an innocent woman to the death house. At the last moment, during the closing moments of the trail, Pidgeon's wife admits her guilt to the court.

Up until that point, the script is going well. But then, in a move that probably would not be allowed, Pidgeon cross examines the blackmailer's wife to prove that she actually shot her husband dead, after realizing he was still alive. At that point she confesses that after the accidental gun discharged and Pidgeon's wife ran out of the apartment, she did, indeed, kill her husband. Pidgeon then defends the murderer and she is acquitted, and Pidgeon forgives his wife.

Now it sounds very soapy, but for most of the film it actually works very well. The three problems I have with the film is that Pidgeon makes his client testify against herself AND that there are times when Pidgeon's wife (Virginia Bruce) has an oddly calm look on her face as she remains silent, but is nearly caught in her imagined guilt. And, Pidgeon's wife's friend (Ilka Chase, who is generally an excellent character actress) is a little too smooth in accepting that the apparently wrong woman will go to her death.

But okay, it still works overall, and is rather dramatic. This is somewhat early in Pidgeon's career -- a couple of years before his successes with Greer Garson, which is probably why he was in what was clearly a B picture. I already mentioned some miscues on Bruce's part. Lee Bowman is just right as a sleazy blackmailer...not playing it over the top. Ann Dvorak is very good as the wronged wife.

This is a good film and worth watching, although it probably won't rate a place on your DVD shelf. Perhaps by extending the length of the film a bit (it was only 78 minutes long), they could have ironed out the problems I had with the film.