Under Eighteen

Moviecut—Under Eighteen

source: Under Eighteen

Under Eighteen

I expected this to be better. It's an old-style melodrama but misses its mark in contrasting the lives of the haves and the have-nots of depression drenched New York. It's not boring but it feels very superficial and lacks the grit, dirt and despair which you know was really there. Everyone is a just little too nice. It was made to cheer folks up, it wasn't meant to be a scathing attack of social inequalities and government incompetence which is understandable considering when it was made. It wasn't made for us, it was made to a standard formula for a very different population who wanted uplifting. As such, other than as a snapshot of the bland pulp fiction being served up in 1931, there's not much in this for us. One thing which is totally unforgivable is the stylist who put Warren William in that absurd swimming costume -surprised he ever worked again after wearing that!

This pre-code film was not quite as scandalous as I'd expected based upon the title, but it still delivers some pre-production code bits you wouldn't see on film for another 40 something years, including divorce, ladies undressing, drunken parties and wife beating. Archie Mayo directed this story a about the young Marian Marsh who refuses to marry her milk truck driver boyfriend because she doesn't want to live in poverty like her older sister. Forgettable, but the pre-code elements made it worth watching.

What a ridiculous title. Ignore it, it has nothing to do with this movie about two sisters, one of whom (Anita Page) is married to an abusive deadbeat (Norman Foster), and the other of whom (Marian Marsh) is dating a humble deliveryman (Regis Toomey). As Marsh witnesses Page's marriage and her need for money for a divorce, she resolves to marry for money instead of love, and later catches a rich man's eye (Warren William) when she fills in for a model. She goes up to William's wild penthouse pool party where William practically salivates over her, asking her to swim in his suave voice by saying "Why not take off your clothes and stay awhile?" He's great in the film, and it's a pretty strong cast. There are the seemingly requisite pre-code underwear scenes, as well as some pretty snappy 30's dialog between the couples, which keep the film entertaining, but I hated the way the film played out, so it's a mixed bag for me.