Marion Davies plays a trapeze artist who comes to a small conservative community with her circus troupe. Not only does she face opposition from the town's more prudish denizens over her racy costume, she gets off on the wrong foot with a local pastor (Clark Gable).
The night her big performance occurs she misjudges part of her routine, loses her balance and plummets 50 feet. Upon crashing to the ground (no safety net was in place), she is severely injured.
Conveniently she is taken to the home of the very single pastor to recuperate. This development is most unrealistic, as a hospital would be the best place for such a recovery. We must endure her initial anger, taking the mishap out on Gable.
MGM adapted the story from an old stage play; and in fact, it had already been filmed fifteen years earlier as a silent picture in 1917. It's not that Miss Davies comes across slightly miscast, it's that I don't think she really connects with some of the material. It might have been better if the story had been revised to make her a glamorous actress, maybe hit by a car and hiding out from her adoring public and loved ones.
Because the premise is rather hokey and because Miss Davies lacks gravitas as a serious dramatic actress, her character's convalescence doesn't really resonate with great emotional impact. At least not until the end, when the story has her contemplate suicide. By comparison, the crippling that is experienced by Irene Dunne's character in LOVE AFFAIR is done with much more resonance, finesse and daresay skill.
We know Davies and Gable will eventually find happiness as a married couple, regardless of what the people in such a narrow-minded town may think. There is no surprise in them overcoming all odds. But at least the two leads share good rapport in their scenes together. They'd team up again in 1936's CAIN AND MABEL.
Adding to the picture's entertainment value is C. Aubrey Smith as Gable's well-meaning uncle, who's another man of the cloth. Plus we see a variety of circus performer types when our heroine returns to life under the big top. The final portion of the narrative has her attempt a grand comeback that may prove fatal, if she falls again.
The night her big performance occurs she misjudges part of her routine, loses her balance and plummets 50 feet. Upon crashing to the ground (no safety net was in place), she is severely injured.
Conveniently she is taken to the home of the very single pastor to recuperate. This development is most unrealistic, as a hospital would be the best place for such a recovery. We must endure her initial anger, taking the mishap out on Gable.
MGM adapted the story from an old stage play; and in fact, it had already been filmed fifteen years earlier as a silent picture in 1917. It's not that Miss Davies comes across slightly miscast, it's that I don't think she really connects with some of the material. It might have been better if the story had been revised to make her a glamorous actress, maybe hit by a car and hiding out from her adoring public and loved ones.
Because the premise is rather hokey and because Miss Davies lacks gravitas as a serious dramatic actress, her character's convalescence doesn't really resonate with great emotional impact. At least not until the end, when the story has her contemplate suicide. By comparison, the crippling that is experienced by Irene Dunne's character in LOVE AFFAIR is done with much more resonance, finesse and daresay skill.
We know Davies and Gable will eventually find happiness as a married couple, regardless of what the people in such a narrow-minded town may think. There is no surprise in them overcoming all odds. But at least the two leads share good rapport in their scenes together. They'd team up again in 1936's CAIN AND MABEL.
Adding to the picture's entertainment value is C. Aubrey Smith as Gable's well-meaning uncle, who's another man of the cloth. Plus we see a variety of circus performer types when our heroine returns to life under the big top. The final portion of the narrative has her attempt a grand comeback that may prove fatal, if she falls again.