I can't decide if this is so bad it's good, so dirty it's clean or so serious, it's funny. But whichever one of those this is, I can't deny, I still like it! "She", who must be obeyed, is Ruth Chatterton, the heiress to an automobile factory who is ruthless in the boardroom and calculating in the bedroom. She does one of three things with each lover she vodkas up after she's done with them-Sends one to her Montreal office to avoid future harassment (or perhaps a lawsuit!), gives another a bonus while ignoring them, and most positively, sends another off to Paris to continue his art education. (Now that's financial aid!) But each of these young men have one thing in common: they aren't willing to accept this one night stand from the other, mainly because this isn't allowed when it's a woman!
The aging Chatterton (she was 41 when this came out) is an odd choice to play this sex-crazed C.E.O. But she obviously is enjoying this hard-hearted working girl who declares "I'm not fond of sweeping. I'm not at all domestic". Of course, she's referring to being swept off her feet when answering an unwanted marriage proposal, but when he-man George Brent comes along, her typical games do not come off. He's wiser to her intentions, and doesn't mince words to let her down gently. Her aging right-hand man (Dudley Digges) sees right though her, and he knows that it is only a matter of time before the tables are turned.
To tell the truth, this isn't really a very good film, but as far as pre-code drama goes, it is certainly fun to study, and at only an hour in length, flies by. Chatterton is rather mannish in her demeanor and her actions, so her way of seduction is right on, as if never having been given feminine guidance. Of course, she knows she's a woman deep inside, so it comes off that she has been lying to herself for years, a predictable turn to take during a pre-feminist era. There's no middle ground here, even when the head of an automobile retail outlet (Douglas Dumbrille) offers to double each of their profits through their joining in marriage. She has to be in charge. What do you think the changes of that happening with macho minded Brent will be?
Art deco sets (including the outrageous location of an organ being played in her home) and a constant repeat of "Footlight Parade's" "Shanghai Lil" in the background (as seduction music), plus the use of the same swimming pool utilized for the "By a Waterfall" production number in that film. Delightful character performances by Ruth Donnelly (as a shy secretary being romanced by Digges), Rafaela Ottiano (the rather severe looking maid who all of a sudden breaks into "Shuffle Off to Buffalo") and Charley Grapewin (as a 14th Street drunk) are fun touches, while Lois Wilson has a nice small role as Chatterton's college chum who gets the earful of how this "female" lives her life.
The aging Chatterton (she was 41 when this came out) is an odd choice to play this sex-crazed C.E.O. But she obviously is enjoying this hard-hearted working girl who declares "I'm not fond of sweeping. I'm not at all domestic". Of course, she's referring to being swept off her feet when answering an unwanted marriage proposal, but when he-man George Brent comes along, her typical games do not come off. He's wiser to her intentions, and doesn't mince words to let her down gently. Her aging right-hand man (Dudley Digges) sees right though her, and he knows that it is only a matter of time before the tables are turned.
To tell the truth, this isn't really a very good film, but as far as pre-code drama goes, it is certainly fun to study, and at only an hour in length, flies by. Chatterton is rather mannish in her demeanor and her actions, so her way of seduction is right on, as if never having been given feminine guidance. Of course, she knows she's a woman deep inside, so it comes off that she has been lying to herself for years, a predictable turn to take during a pre-feminist era. There's no middle ground here, even when the head of an automobile retail outlet (Douglas Dumbrille) offers to double each of their profits through their joining in marriage. She has to be in charge. What do you think the changes of that happening with macho minded Brent will be?
Art deco sets (including the outrageous location of an organ being played in her home) and a constant repeat of "Footlight Parade's" "Shanghai Lil" in the background (as seduction music), plus the use of the same swimming pool utilized for the "By a Waterfall" production number in that film. Delightful character performances by Ruth Donnelly (as a shy secretary being romanced by Digges), Rafaela Ottiano (the rather severe looking maid who all of a sudden breaks into "Shuffle Off to Buffalo") and Charley Grapewin (as a 14th Street drunk) are fun touches, while Lois Wilson has a nice small role as Chatterton's college chum who gets the earful of how this "female" lives her life.