Well, maybe there isn't any adage that says such a thing but, after seeing this movie, I'm coining one. This is what can only be termed a "tearjerker" or a "weepy" in much the same vein as that "AFFAIR TO REMEMBER" that everyone's always mooning about. However, ONE WAY PASSAGE isn't as sloppy or as overwrought as the later film. In fact, ONE WAY PASSAGE is fairly sober and unmelodramatic considering its themes. Joan (the ravishing Kay Francis ... or the wavishing Kay Fwancis as her nickname usually referred to her lisp) meets Dan (William Powell) when she upsets his Paradise cocktail. Sparks immediately fly and they begin a shipboard romance as their vessel sails to San Francisco by way of Honolulu. Joan and Dan seem perfect for each other as their romance heats up. Sadly, there's a snag. Well, two snags. And rather substantial ones. Dan is a convicted murderer who is being conveyed to prison by policeman Steve (Warren Hymer) to be executed. And Joan doesn't have an idea. Of course, Dan's not the only one with a secret. Joan is dying with a terminal (and unspecified) disease and may kick off at any moment. Naturally, Dan has no inkling of this either. So both lovers go through the movie withholding this vital information from the other in order to spare them heartache. Of course, this only GUARANTEES heartache aplenty. Also along for the (boat)ride are petty thief Skippy (Frank McHugh) and con woman Barrel House Betty (Aline MacMahon) who is masquerading as a Countess in order to fleece some rich passenger. Naturally, Betty and Skippy both know Dan and do their best to help him shake Steve the Cop and jump ship; they also aid in the matchmaking department as far as Dan and Joan's romance is concerned. While we are told in no uncertain terms that Dan is a convicted murderer, no excuses are made by the screenplay (that it was self-defense or he's actually wrongly accused or it was an accident etc.).
Monday, April 23, 2012
ONE WAY PASSAGE (1932)
Well, maybe there isn't any adage that says such a thing but, after seeing this movie, I'm coining one. This is what can only be termed a "tearjerker" or a "weepy" in much the same vein as that "AFFAIR TO REMEMBER" that everyone's always mooning about. However, ONE WAY PASSAGE isn't as sloppy or as overwrought as the later film. In fact, ONE WAY PASSAGE is fairly sober and unmelodramatic considering its themes. Joan (the ravishing Kay Francis ... or the wavishing Kay Fwancis as her nickname usually referred to her lisp) meets Dan (William Powell) when she upsets his Paradise cocktail. Sparks immediately fly and they begin a shipboard romance as their vessel sails to San Francisco by way of Honolulu. Joan and Dan seem perfect for each other as their romance heats up. Sadly, there's a snag. Well, two snags. And rather substantial ones. Dan is a convicted murderer who is being conveyed to prison by policeman Steve (Warren Hymer) to be executed. And Joan doesn't have an idea. Of course, Dan's not the only one with a secret. Joan is dying with a terminal (and unspecified) disease and may kick off at any moment. Naturally, Dan has no inkling of this either. So both lovers go through the movie withholding this vital information from the other in order to spare them heartache. Of course, this only GUARANTEES heartache aplenty. Also along for the (boat)ride are petty thief Skippy (Frank McHugh) and con woman Barrel House Betty (Aline MacMahon) who is masquerading as a Countess in order to fleece some rich passenger. Naturally, Betty and Skippy both know Dan and do their best to help him shake Steve the Cop and jump ship; they also aid in the matchmaking department as far as Dan and Joan's romance is concerned. While we are told in no uncertain terms that Dan is a convicted murderer, no excuses are made by the screenplay (that it was self-defense or he's actually wrongly accused or it was an accident etc.).
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1 comment:
Doomed lovers. The stuff that dreams are made of
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