Silent Sundays: A Woman of Affairs (1928)

There have been so many classic films I have enjoyed so much and found out they are not available on DVD (Test Pilot being the ultimate). A Woman of Affairs if one of them and honestly I am so shocked this is not available on DVD because it is a Greta Garbo film and one of her silents. Of the Garbo films I have seen A Woman of Affairs is the most outstanding. From beginning to end I was taken with it. The story is very melodramatic but the acting and the cinematography and the direction are incredible to the point where I feel that this should be shown in a film class.

            Diana (Garbo), Neville (John Gilbert), and David (Johnny Mack Brown) have all been friends since they were kids. Diana and Neville have loved each other in all that time. Diana and her brother Jeffry (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) are wealthy and reckless and Neville is poor. His father does not like Diana’s family and will not have his son be with Diana. Meanwhile, Jeffry hero worships David and wants his sister to be with him. Neville tells Diana one day that he is leaving for Egypt for a new job and will be away for two years. Diana is angry because she knows his father is sending him so far to be away from her. Neville and Diana plan to marry the night before he leaves but his father talks him out of it and he speaks to Diana himself.

            Two years go by and Diana has been reckless. David has always been at her beck and call. He eventually gets her to marry him. On their honeymoon in London, two men come. David gets a wild look of fear of desperation in his eyes he runs towards the window and jumps. Everyone believes David’s death was an accident that he had been drinking. Jeffry is there and he says his sister is lying David never drank. Diana confesses that he killed himself for decency because she had been with men before him. For years everyone accepts her story and she wanders around Europe.

            Seven years later Diana returns to London. Neville is now happily engaged to a woman named Constance (Dorothy Sebastian) and they are to be married in three days time. Diana goes to Neville’s house because he knows an old family friend and doctor named Hugh will be there. She needs Hugh’s help for her brother who is now seriously ill. Hugh tries to excuse himself but no one believes his lie so he tells them about Diana being back and Jeffry being ill. All of Neville’s old feelings for Diana storm his emotions. He tells Constance he loves only her that he was with Diana a long time ago. Not being able to handle his feelings for Diana any longer he leaves the party and finds her in the street outside Jeffry’s apartment. Neville takes Diana back to his apartment. She sees a photograph of Constance, comments that Constance’s eyes are true and clean unlike her own. Their feelings of love and compassion and longing take over and they spend the night together. The next morning Hugh comes by the apartment and tells them both Jeffry has died.

            Months later, Constance and Neville are happily married. Neville gets a letter from Hugh who is writing from a hospital in France. He writes that Diana is very ill and delirious and calls out his (Neville’s) name constantly. Hugh feels that if he comes Diana will have the will to live. Neville tells Constance he has to go as an old friend and asks her to come with him. At the hospital Neville is told that Diana has had a miscarriage and has no will to live. At first she does not recognize Neville as she lays in her hospital bed. She does when she comes out of her room panicking looking for her flowers. Diana turns to David and tells her how much she loves him. She turns around and recognizes Constance. At once Diana feels terrible she can see how much Constance loves Neville.

            Back in England Neville has become impossible. He is irritable and snaps at Constance. Neville drives out to Hugh’s place not knowing that the doctor has brought Diana back to England. He tells his old friend that he is in love with Diana. The doctor sends Neville up to Diana. Neville says to Diana that all he wants is their happiness, she asks about Constance. Neville replies that Constance knows about his love for her (Diana). They plan to run away to South America the following night.

            Diana receives a letter from Neville’s father asking to meet with him. Almost as soon as Diana shows up Neville comes with Constance. Neville is sick and tired of everyone seeing Diana as a villain who killed David for her indecency. He tells the truth that David was a thief he had embezzled thousands and was about to be arrested the night he died. Rather than go to jail he killed himself. Diana as David’s wife paid off his theft. Neville’s father sees Diana much differently and better now. Diana does not stay she goes to leave and Neville follows. He comes back though saying that she had told him that Constance was going to have a baby. Constance says that is not true she told him that to get him back in the house. Neville, Hugh, and the father race out to reach Diana but it is too late, she crashed her car into the tree where she and Neville proclaimed their love for eternity.

            Greta Garbo… honestly I do not know even know what to say she was so brilliant. She was outstanding. I can see why Garbo was such a huge box office draw even in silent films she had such a magnetism. I could not look away from her whenever she came on the screen. Of the Garbo films I have seen her acting was so raw and incredibly emotional and she never looked more beautiful. I like hearing Garbo speak I like her accent but it was interesting not hearing her speak and just watching her facial expressions they said more than words ever could. I loved Garbo's chemistry with John Gilbert. There was a scene where they kiss at the beginning that you can completely tell they were in love with each other off screen the kiss and the embrace were so real. John Gilbert was so handsome and so good. Dorothy Sebastian nearly stole the film from Garbo (in my opinion). She was so pretty. At the end where Constance is at Neville’s father’s house, Sebastian acted the hell out of that scene she was amazing. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in his few scenes is excellent. Jeffry was a tortured character right from the beginning with this awful rage and pain and Fairbanks just took off with it that you would swear he was not acting at all. I must mention that Fairbanks was only nineteen years old!! And he pulled this role off to perfection!

            Of the silent films I have seen so far A Woman of Affairs was stunningly and amazingly directed to the point where, as I mentioned, it should be shown in film classes. I have seen some of Clarence Brown’s other films but never have they caught my eye like this one. I felt like I was watching a really good German or French silent film not an American one. There were some amazing close ups and tracking shots. I do not know the technical terms for the shots I wish I did to better describe them.  This is a perfect example of how the direction greatly enhances a film and its story.

          I must also praise Adrian for his costumes. To me in the other films I have seen Garbo in her outfits mostly look awkward on her or she looks awkward in them. This film was different she was in the flapper fashion of the time with the cloche hats, the skirts, and the shoes and she looked beautiful. Garbo looked comfortable in the clothes they did not dominate her or distract from her. 

            A Woman of Affairs is silent filmmaking perfection. I was so surprised that this was made at MGM during the silent era, I cannot pinpoint why but I just am. I was blown away with how stunning this film was made and acted. The day I find out A Woman of Affairs is coming out on DVD (whenever that will be) I will be so happy and will be buying it the day it is released.

You watch the film here

Gunga Din (1939)

"Though I've belted you and flayed you / By the living God that made you / You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din." 

Gunga Din, based very loosely on a poem by Rudyard Kipling, was the second highest grossing film of 1939 behind Gone with the Wind. Although not as epic and awesome as Gone with the Wind, Gunga Din is still an excellent film and I can see why it made so much money. It is a mix of drama, comedy, action, and suspense. Also it has an excellent cast with Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Joan Fontaine, Victor McLagen, and Sam Jaffe.

            In Imperial India the British army is having issues with the resurgence of the evil Thugee cult who worship the blood goddess Kali and go on murderess rampages. A whole village was wiped out by this group. The colonel sends his best sergeants- Cutter, MacChesney, and Ballantine- to inspect the village. The sergeants are more like school children when we are first introduced to them. Cutter (Cary Grant) bought a map to some buried treasure but then found out they were swindled. MacChesney (Victor McLagen) and Ballantine (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) join in on the fight.

            The three sergeants arrive at the village. All is quiet and eerily still. Soldiers that had been assigned to posts either on roof tops or cliff tops disappears by the hands of Thugee assassins. Ballantine finds a group of Thugees hiding in a building. At first everything is under control until more of the assassins come and a small battle breaks out. The three friends make it out of the battle unharmed.

            Once back at headquarters Ballantine tells his friends that in a few days when his time in the army is over he is getting married and working in the tea business. MacChesney and Cutter are not happy about this news whatsoever and give Ballantine a very hard time. They see Ballantine being affectionate to his fiancé Emmy (Joan Fontaine) in the street and they just stare him down until they move around the building. At their engagement party Cutter and MacChesney get the replacement officer sick so Ballantine will have to go back to the village with them the next day. Their plan works and neither Ballantine nor Emmy is very happy.

            On the last day of Ballantine’s duty as a soldier, Cutter is thrown into the brig when he tries to get MacChesney to follow Gunga Din (Sam Jaffe) to a palace made of gold. MacChesney went through the same thing before with the map and wants none of Cutter’s nonsense but Cutter is drunk and keeps annoying MacChensey so he gets thrown in the brig. Gunga Din is friends with Cutter and with the help of an elephant name Annie gets Cutter out of his cell. Din takes Cutter to the palace of gold which happens to be the headquarters for the Thugee cult. Cutter creates a distraction while Din gets away to tell MacChesney and Ballantine they found the Thugee’s leader and hide out.

            Instead of bringing the whole cavalry only Ballantine and MacChesney arrive to save their friend. They are held hostage by the Guru of the cult on the roof top. He tells the three men that he is their shield without them they will die and also of his plans for when their regiment comes to rescue them. He plans a surprise attack by his highly skilled mountain fighters. The regiment draws closer and closer. Gunga Din and Cutter have been stabbed and MacChesney and Ballantine have had their mouths gagged. Gunga Din with the little strength that he has finds a bugle and sounds the signal for the regiment to get into fighting mode.

            The English army winds the victory and puts an end to the cult. Gunga Din died when he was shot down on the tower as he was blowing the bugle. The colonel posthumously makes Gunga Din a corporal and gives him full military burial and recognition for his heroic deeds.

            Grant, Fairbanks, and McLagen were excellent together. They were each funny and entertaining. Cary Grant was hilarious he put on his cockney accent and was such a nut. McLagen I do not believe I have ever in a film before this he was good but he was the tough guy who ran the regiment. Fairbanks was so handsome. I liked him as the straight man. Joan Fontaine was barely in the film but she was adorable. It is funny to see Fontaine in her early films in the thirties because she looks and sounds so much like her sister and after the thirties you cannot even tell they are sisters they changed so much in appearance (yet another parallel with the sisters: Olivia was in Gone with the Wind which was the highest grossing film of the year and Joan was in the second highest grossing film of the year). Sam Jaffe was of Jewish decent but he pulled off playing an Indian very well. His performance borders on the cute to the really creepy. The creepy coming from the brown makeup the makeup department put on him as well as some of his faces.

            Gunga Din is a great entertaining film I enjoyed sitting through it so much. Gunga Din is without a doubt one of the best films to have been released in 1939. 

Joy of Living (1938)

“But I'm not a Garret, I'm a Brewster. And we Brewsters do what we want to do when we want to do it.”

            No Classic Hollywood film can ever go wrong when Irene Dunne is playing the lead. The woman was uber talented making any role she played whether it be dramatic or comedic look effortless. My favorite Irene Dunne films are her comedic ones like The Awful Truth or Theodora Goes Wild because usually she has a scene where she falls apart a bit but still manages to look like such a lady. I can now add Joy of Living to my favorite Irene Dunne comedies.

            Maggie Garret (Dunne) is a successful Broadway, movie, and singing star. She cannot go anywhere without being mobbed by adoring fans and most especially her mooching family. Maggie has a very nice apartment where she lets her family consisting of her younger sister Salina (Lucille Ball) and her husband and twin girls and their parents. The family guilts Maggie into everything and everything by saying that if she does not support them she is being a bad daughter/sister.

            After a show one night she meets a smitten fan named Dan Brewster (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.). He follows her but she sees him more as a nuisance and has an officer take him away. The officer turned out to be a friend of Dan’s so nothing happens to him. Dan can clearly see Maggie’s problem with her life… she does not live it she just goes through with it mechanically. She does nothing for her own sake.

            Dan once again finds Maggie only he is tailing her by hitching a ride on the back of her car on the way to rehearsal. This time she has had it she has the driver pull up to the police station and wants him arrested for bothering her. The police officer is yet again the same friend from the other night. Maggie satisfied she thinks she has finally gotten Dan leaves. The officer tells Dan he is turning his back so he can say that Dan got away but Dan will not go he wants to get arrested. Since Dan has been brought up on charges it means that Maggie has to appear in court. The judge rules that either Dan goes to jail for six months or is put on probation. Maggie does not want him to go to jail but she does not want to be the one Dan reports to for his probation since he does not know anyone personally to report to in New York. Maggie reluctantly agrees to be Dan’s probation officer so he will not go to jail.

            On the way home from court Dan has Maggie drop him off at his ship that he runs. He tells her that his family are all bankers but he did not want to get stuck doing what they did he wanted to live his own life and do what he wanted so he runs a cargo ship. He wants Maggie to do the same thing he wants her to get away from her family and live for herself. Maggie is blind to that idea and goes away.

            Dan finally gets Maggie to go out with him after he saves her from autograph hounds outside the theater where her show is. He brings her to a beergarten. The proprietor calls Maggie out but Dan defends her and says he has the wrong person Maggie is not really Maggie Garret just some lady. They are left alone for the night until Maggie is hilariously drunk and they get thrown out of the place. The night gets even more crazy with Maggie drunk on both beer and fun. Dan bring her to a roller rink which turns into a near disaster. Near the end of the night Maggie manages to get Dan drunk and when they start dancing they start slapping each other.

                                          

            The next morning Maggie’s nieces find Dan sleeping on the couch in the sitting room part of her room. The girls rush to Salina and their grandparents to tell them Aunt Maggie has a man in her room. The family is in arms because they just think that the man is after Maggie’s money and that he will take her away from them. Maggie defends her family when Dan tries to tell them the truth and he leaves angry with her. Later on with some nudging from her maid Maggie finds Dan ready to ship off but she stops him and says she wants to get married. That night they get married. He wants to take her to his island but she wants to continue with her show since she has a contract. Dan is upset because he felt Maggie was finally letting go and living but she was not willing to give up her work. Back at the house the family belittles her saying she was not thinking of them and they were afraid they would not look after them anymore. Maggie finally grows some nerves and tells her family they can get along with her. On her way out she gives her shoes to Salina saying that she always wanted to walk in her shoes and now she finally can. Maggie runs out in the rain barefoot looking for Dan who was standing right by her door waiting.

            Irene Dunne and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. are incredibly adorable and charming together. Dunne playing a drunk scene was one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen. As I said even when her characters were falling apart a bit she always looked like such a lady and even stumbling drunk Dunne still looked like a lady. I was dying in the scene when they leave the beergarten because she was doing this drunken swagger walk and her face was so funny. Then at the door she started doing this dance she saw and Fairbanks just pulls her away. You would have to see it I was cracking up. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was nothing short of incredible handsome and charismatic. I wish Dunne and Fairbanks had made more films together they had great chemistry… but then again who did Dunne not have great chemistry with?

            Lucille Ball plays Salina. She is not in the film for very long just bits of scenes here and there. Her character was a brat and we are not supposed to like her. I love seeing early Lucille Ball before she became Lucy Ricardo since everyone is so used to seeing her as this screwball and several of her early roles were serious or sarcastic.

            Joy of Living is a very cute film. The story is not that strong but Irene Dunne and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. make up for it. Joy of Living is fun to watch and I have to say it does motivate you to live a little more and hand fun with your life. Hey if Irene Dunne one of the greatest sophisticated ladies of Classic Hollywood can let go with her characters why can’t I. 

Union Depot (1932)

Whenever I take the train home from Penn Station and I have to wait a bit for the train I like to sit and people watch. If you have never been to Penn Station in New York City it is always busy and crowded. It is fun to imagine where people are going and why and who they are visiting or going home to. The 1932 Pre- Code film Union Depot offers the audience an inside glance at peoples’ comings and goings through a train station.

            At the Union Depot train station passengers are running off and running to their next train. Some say goodbye to their loved ones as they are left behind. Business transactions of all kinds happen within the station. Outside in the back of the station is Chick Miller (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) and his vagrant friend Scrap Iron. Through bars on a window Chick steals a man conductor’s uniform, puts it on, and walks through the station into the men’s waiting room. Chick’s luck is really good when a drunk man is late for his train and runs out of the room without his bag. He finds a suit in the bag and puts in on. His luck gets better and better when he finds a wad of cash in the back pocket of the suit.

            Chick grabs a large dinner from the station diner with the money he has found. Walking out he sees a young girl sitting on a bench by herself. He goes over and talks to her. She is not a prostitute like Chick though but an ex-chorine named Ruth (Joan Blondell) looking to get away from a man she got mixed up with and is down on her luck without a job after she got hurt. He likes her and decides to help her out the best he can.

            A while later Chick’s luck really kicks in when Scrap Iron finds a ticket for a holding container in the station. When he goes to claim his ticket he is given a violin case but when he opens it he finds thousands of dollars in cash inside! Unfortunately the bills are fake and Chick’s luck begins to change.

            The story as I described it may sound boring but trust me it is not. There are many detailed things going on that make it very interesting and several other stories that come together in the end that involve Chick and Ruth. Warner Bros had the great advantage of not being one of the most polished studios with releasing gritty films Pre- Code films. Union Depot is gritty and more appealing to the common audience. Chick is not the common “hero” of the film. He is a vagrant who has just gotten out of prison and is doing what he can to get by in the hard times. Ruth also has done what she could do to get by after injuring her ankle going so far as to work for a dirty old doctor.

            There are so many little instances and occurrences that make this one of the perfect examples of Pre- Code Hollywood. There are prostitutes around the station with one even propositioning Chick. He notices she is a prostitute because she has money in her sticking and he swipes the lipstick off her lips smearing it. A woman waves goodbye to her porter husband as a train leaves telling him to write to her and tell her when he is coming home. As the train nears its end a man jumps off and comes the woman turns around to him and they leave together. The man Ruth is trying to get away with had her read him dirty stories and she became afraid of him after reading the stories a few times and he would look at her lustfully. There is counterfeiting and attempted murder thrown into the mix.

            The scene where Chick is in the men’s waiting room and the drunk man was talking was interesting. The drunk man talks about serving in World War I. I do not know why I liked it. I think it is interesting to hear someone talk about in a film of this time period rather than see an entire film about the War set in its time period. 

            I really enjoyed Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Joan Blondell together. I have seen Blondell in a film before but at the time I was not paying attention to the whole film and really did not take notice of her. I liked her she was a good actress. I have a ton of her films recorded I cannot wait to see more of her.

            The direction Alfred E. Green was really creative and very different. The opening scene is a sweeping shot of the train station beginning with a bird’s-eye-view down to eye level roaming through the station like a passenger. The cinematography is very good as well.

            Union Depot is a very good Pre- Code film. It is not very long but packs a lot of story and action into its run. This film is one of them many film why I love the Pre- Code genre. I find all Pre- Code films to be different from one another and not boring at all. If you like story and like good acting then definitely see Union Depot. 

Love is a Racket (1932)



“Love is just a mental disorder.”

            Love is a Racket is an enjoyable pre-code film. Unlike most pre-code films this film is light, but of course there is a murder and the murderer never gets caught and there is a mystery involved.

            Douglas Fairbanks Jr. plays Jimmy Russell. Jimmy writes for the New York Globe for the theater section called “Up and Down Broadway.” The section is a gossip section for what is happening in the world of theater. With the help of his friends Stan (Lee Tracy) and Sally (Ann Dvorak) as “witnesses” every week they sit at Sardi’s waiting for something to happen or see some Broadway stars so Jimmy can report it.

            Jimmy is currently seeing an aspiring actress named Mary Wodehouse (Frances Dee). He is totally smitten with Mary but she is more interested in her career. One day Mary comes to Jimmy with a problem, she has written checks for stores with no money in the bank for them to clear. Mary needs Jimmy help she figures he might be able to pull to some strings and see if the checks can clear at a later date. When Jimmy goes to some of the stores the employees tell him that the checks have been paid for by a man. The reporter figures it must be a man named Eddie Shaw (Lyle Talbot). Shaw is a gangster who is currently involved in a racket involving bad milk (I am not making this up. The character is head of a racket involving the selling of bad milk) and a reporter friend of Jimmy’s at The Globe is covering it.

            Shaw has been sweet on Mary for some time which is why he paid the bills for her. He is the last person she would ever want to pay for her things. Now the gangster wants the actress to come up to his apartment one night. Mary does not want to go and neither does Jimmy or her Aunt Hattie.

            After receiving a cable that was made to be as if Shaw had sent it from Atlantic City telling Jimmy to come down to work things out, Jimmy is just able to get back to New York in time to get to Shaw’s penthouse before Mary was set to be there. But when Jimmy gets there he sees someone walk out of the penthouse in a hurry and hiding a gun in a flower pot. When he gets inside he sees Shaw dead from a gunshot. Jimmy rearranges the room and plants the dead man’s fingerprints on glasses to make it look like Shaw had been drinking and then he dumps the dead gangster’s body over the balcony to make it look like the man was drunk and fell over.

            The conclusion of the story I liked because it was not what you think would happen in a love story. The killer depending on how you see it is someone you would not expect.     

            Although I liked the story I did not find it that strong and the dialogue is a bit silly at times but it full of great cynicism and sarcasm. The four leads definitely give the story and the dialogue a boost. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was very good as Jimmy. I think Fairbanks Jr. is underrated as an actor. He was perfect as the foolishly in love reporter trying to save his girlfriend. He may not have been handsome or as talented as some of the other leading men during the 1930s but in the films I have seen with him I think he did very well with his leading ladies and the material he was given (the first film I ever saw him in was Having a Wonderful Time with Ginger Rogers and that film was not too great but I liked Fairbanks and his character). Dvorak I do not believe I ever saw her in a film before Love is a Racket. I liked her as Jimmy’s sidekick Sally. At the beginning of the film when Sally is introduced she and Jimmy have a kind of brother-sister relationship but she really likes him. When Jimmy introduces Mary to her she responds “Oh fine. Just a touch of leprosy”. Dvorak was sarcastic and carried it off well. Frances Dee plays Mary. Just looking at Dee you are not surprised that a man like Jimmy would be totally in love with her she is so pretty. One scene where I thought she did a great job is when Jimmy kisses Mary very long and deeply and she falls to the couch and gives a sigh. Tracy gave a great comedic performance as Stan. He had all the funny lines and kept the film light.

            Love is a Racket is a good entertaining, fast paced pre-code film. It was acted very well and the story is a bit different from other pre-codes. For all the film’s entertainment and acting value it is a shame that it is not well known today.

            The film is not available on DVD or on YouTube. If TCM ever airs the film again give it a watch.

Morning Glory (1933)



“Youth has its hour of glory... but too often it's only a morning glory, the flower that fades before the sun is very high.”

            Morning Glory tells the story about a young, aspiring actress named Eva Lovelace (Katharine Hepburn). She does not have a lot of experience on stage; she only played in some small parts in her local theater in her hometown of Vermont. Eva has traveled to New York like all aspiring young actresses do to try to gain a job on Broadway. She goes to the office of Lewis Easton (Adolph Menjou) who is a theatrical agent looking to cast a new show. Eva waits and waits but is never seen. While waiting she meets a veteran actor named Bob Hedges. She asks Bob if she could be his student and he agrees.

            A few months go by and Bob sees Eva in the window of a coffee shop sitting by herself. Eva has not had any jobs in the past few months but she does not let Bob know that she lies and tells him she has had a few parts here and there. She has been getting by by doing small stock theater and fashion shows.

            Bob takes Eva with him to a party where there will be theater people. At the party there is an important theater critic and an author and a young playwright named Joseph Sheridan (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.). Joseph saw Eva in Easton’s office. He takes a great liking to her. Many of the men in the room want to help Eva’s career. After she does two Shakespeare soliloquies everyone sees she has genuine talent.

            The night of the show the lead actress backs out; in her vanity she asked for more money but when she does not get it she walks out. Joseph runs to get Eva who is the main understudy. Easton has some qualms about Eva playing the role when she has not even rehearsed on the stage even though she knows all the lines.

            Eva winds up stealing the show. Easton wants to sign her to the show for as long as it runs. Eva has gotten everything she has ever dreamed about.

            The ending of the film is not that great it just kind of ends and Katharine Hepburn overacts.

            Katharine Hepburn earned her first Oscar for Morning Glory and it was only her third film of her career. She deserved it she was so good. Eva was the aspiring actress with stars in her eyes. She had a dream to be a great actress and she knew what she wanted and eventually her dream came true. I sometimes find Hepburn to be annoying in some of her roles she has a tendency to overact but for the most part in this film she was perfect. She played Eva with the perfect amount of nervous confidence and ambition. The first scene we see Eva she is looking at the portraits of Sarah Bernhardt, Ethel Barrymore, and John Drew. I could not help but think that if I were to see three portraits of the greatest film actresses hanging in a theater I would want to see Hepburn along with Garbo and Mary Pickford. I would want to look up to them like Hepburn looked up to the theatrical greats. She had such a look of great admiration on her face.

            C. Aubrey Smith played Bob Hedges. I liked him as the older character mentoring and being nice to a young aspiring actress. Adolph Menjou and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. were very good in their parts as well. I liked how all three of the men wanted to help to Eva with her stage career and were not fresh (well that is how I saw it anyway).

            Morning Glory is a good early Katharine Hepburn film. The story is alright but the acting by the three principle cast members is really good. Morning Glory is available on DVD in a pack of the actress. I happened to catch the film when TCM aired it. If the film is ever on TV or you can find it online give it a try.  I found it interesting to see a young Katharine Hepburn (she was twenty-six years old).