Up until the middle of 1934, Hollywood's films were far more salacious than most would suspect today. There was no rating system for films and parents had no idea if a particular film was family-friendly or not. For instance, "Ben Hur" (1925) featured a couple nude scenes and an impaled head. "Parachute Jumper" showed Frank McHugh flipping someone the bird (so to speak). In "Platinum Blonde", Jean Harlow slept her way to the top and never got punished for it! And, "No Marriage Ties" is a story where the two main characters cohabitate--with absolutely no intention to ever marry. Things certainly were different in 'the good old days'! "No Marriage Ties" begins with Bruce Foster (Richard Dix) losing his job due to his heavy drinking. In the bar, he meets Peggy (Elizabeth Allen) and she takes him home after he passes out from the booze. She has no place to live and he invites her to live with him--no strings attached. Soon, Bruce lands on his feet. Although his drinking destroyed his job as a journalist, he is glib and has a way with words--and soon is taken on as a partner in an advertising agency. Because of him, the agency takes off and he's rich--very rich. It helps that he is rather sociopathic--willing to sell any sort of crap and make it sound like gold. In fact, this causes some tension with his partner who thinks this is immoral. Actually, this conflict made little sense, as I always thought advertising ALWAYS was trying to make crap sound wonderful--and I am sure all advertising agencies would heartily agree.
During the course of Bruce pretty much taking over the advertising world, he sets his sights on the Adrienne Deane Company. This makeup company has very old fashioned advertising BUT its president (Doris Kenyon) is adamant that things are fine as they are. But, using his smooth charm, Bruce is able to get close to Miss Deane--VERY close. Soon they are inseparable--which leaves Peggy feeling awkward and unneeded. So, her plan is to leave and forge a life for herself. But, who does Bruce really need to make him feel complete--his live-in or the sophisticated (and rich) cosmetics queen? In many ways, this film is very reminiscent of one of Clark Gable's better films, "The Hucksters". Both are rather no holds barred sorts of films--showing the seamier side of the industry. Clearly "No Marriage Ties" is seamier--with some scenes of scantily clad models, a HORRIBLY TRAGIC twist and the cohabitation element. In many ways, it reminded me of many of Warren Williams' films of the era--playing a money-grubbing cad. Overall, I really liked "No Marriage Ties" because towards the end, it deliberately avoided clichés and formula--which made it a terrific film from start to finish. My only complaint, after some WONDERFUL twists at the end, the final message from Bruce sounded a bit hard to believe--after all, he IS a horrible human being. Had the movie ended just BEFORE this speech, I would have given the film a 9!
During the course of Bruce pretty much taking over the advertising world, he sets his sights on the Adrienne Deane Company. This makeup company has very old fashioned advertising BUT its president (Doris Kenyon) is adamant that things are fine as they are. But, using his smooth charm, Bruce is able to get close to Miss Deane--VERY close. Soon they are inseparable--which leaves Peggy feeling awkward and unneeded. So, her plan is to leave and forge a life for herself. But, who does Bruce really need to make him feel complete--his live-in or the sophisticated (and rich) cosmetics queen? In many ways, this film is very reminiscent of one of Clark Gable's better films, "The Hucksters". Both are rather no holds barred sorts of films--showing the seamier side of the industry. Clearly "No Marriage Ties" is seamier--with some scenes of scantily clad models, a HORRIBLY TRAGIC twist and the cohabitation element. In many ways, it reminded me of many of Warren Williams' films of the era--playing a money-grubbing cad. Overall, I really liked "No Marriage Ties" because towards the end, it deliberately avoided clichés and formula--which made it a terrific film from start to finish. My only complaint, after some WONDERFUL twists at the end, the final message from Bruce sounded a bit hard to believe--after all, he IS a horrible human being. Had the movie ended just BEFORE this speech, I would have given the film a 9!