Are You Listening?

source: Are You Listening?

Moviecut—Are You Listening?

Are You Listening?

For those of you who are expecting to see smirky and smart alecky William Haines in Are You Listening you will be in for a shock. Haines is subdued and serious and a result looks a bit lost in the part of an unhappily married radio writer. He would like to get married to Madge Evans a cute and perky young thing. He's asked for a divorce from Karen Morley. Morley is the one who really carries this film. She puts some real bite into the part. Her answer to Haines is, I'll stay married to you until you get a good enough job with a big enough salary so I can get some decent alimony to live on. A woman like that, I'll bet you could have heard the hisses outside the theater from the audience when Morley offered those sentiments. It all ends rather badly in this pre-Code melodrama for some in the cast. Think of the Dr. Crippen case from the United Kingdom and you will know.

Is it possible to combine a soap opera, a send-up and a melodrama in one neat little package? That was no problem at MGM back in 1932. The sudsy part is devoted to three sisters, the "good girl" who's madly in love with a married man, the playgirl who stays out all night boozing and the wide-eyed kid who can't tell a marriage proposal from a con job. The satire is set at a radio station where the lovers, scriptwriter William Haines and actress Madge Evans, work with an inept sound effects man, a lovelorn crooner and mindless sponsors of ludicrous products. As for the melodrama, that's provided by Karen Morley as Haines' hellion of a wife who pays dearly for her continual nagging. Watch "Are You Listening?" and you'll realize how radically movies changed within the next few years.

Although this film starts off like a typical Billy Haines comedy, it quickly becomes deadly serious. Haines plays a very unhappily married man, who finds himself with a very dead body on his hands & few plausible explanations. This gives him a chance to play a role quite different from his usual silly billys. Haines' character is a radioman and the scenes in and around the broadcasting studio are quite well done. An unusual number of lovely ladies can be found in support in this film: Anita Page, Madge Evans, Joan Marsh & Karen Morley. Jean Hersholt is also on hand to lend his grave presence to the proceedings. ARE YOU LISTENING? was made only two years after Haines was king of the Hollywood box office. But his days at MGM were growing short. The following year, 1933, would be his last at the studio. Today his movies are all but forgotten.

Some Pre-Code Girly Imagery is on hand here as this rather Routine Drama is Enhanced by some Really-Cool looks inside the 1932 Radio Studio at the Machinations and Machinery, Technology and Radio-Art on Display that are Historic and Interesting. It is that Backdrop that sets this Apart from the Routine as the Radio is also used as a Tool to Track the Couple on the Lam. Notice how the Announcer on Air calls Him a Killer and not a Suspect or Alleged Killer, that is Important as a Snapshot of the Media in the Early Thirties and is Priceless. Slightly Above Average for the Aforementioned and is Certainly Worth a Watch in a Time Travel Cultural Context and the Production is Glossy and Slick. It's the Drama that is Pedestrian but it does have just Enough Entertainment Value to Pass as a Light-Weight Crime-Drama.

It certainly was pre-code, wasn't it? More than the usual amount of girls getting out of the shower, girls standing around in their nighties. Pretty strong story and acting performances though. William Haines and friends work at a radio station, and that figures into the investigation when the un-expected happens. (Don't want to give too much away!) I think having lots of big names in this one helped - Madge Evans, Anita Paige, Neil Hamilton. I always loved Jean Hersholt. Even Hattie McDaniel in here. Ethel Griffies is Mrs. Peters. Country girl and her sisters move to the big city and the adventures they have! Was fun seeing the sound effect machines at the radio station. Reminded me of the Bob Hope films, where he works in radio and gets caught up in capers. Directed by Harry Beaumont, who had been around Hollywood since day one, just about! He had also directed Joan Crawford in her early stuff. This is a fun watch. Caught it on TCM.