A Free Soul (1931) User Reviews

Not With My Daughter

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 5 November 2007]

For those of you who did not have the dubious pleasure of seeing one of Elizabeth Taylor's lesser films, The Girl Who Had Everything, here's the original film it was taken from. A Free Soul is the story of a girl who misuses the freedom her father gave her in her upbringing.

The film is based on a story Adela Rogers St. John wrote, that drew from her relationship with her father, famed criminal defense attorney Earl Rogers. Rogers set the mold for the famous criminal attorneys we've seen in action down to today. Unfortunately he was a man with a severe drinking problem which in the end got the better of him.

He did not come from the upper crust that Lionel Barrymore as Stephen Ashe comes from. In fact the real Earl Rogers's father was a minister. Yet Barrymore creates a compelling and brilliant, but dissolute figure who raises his daughter to be broadminded and tolerant and to despise some of the snobs from her class.

Norma Shearer takes the lessons to heart only too well. She leaves stalwart beau, polo playing Leslie Howard, for gambler/racketeer Clark Gable. Gable's a client of Barrymore's who Barrymore got off on a gambit that Johnnie Cochran used successfully defending O.J. Simpson and he's rather full of himself.

Barrymore turns out to be a bit of a snob himself in the end, telling Gable he's not good enough for his little girl. Of course Norma has her own ideas.

This film was the first really big break for Clark Gable. Movie audiences went for his animal magnetism in a big way. Even though Barrymore won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance by virtue of an unforgettable courtroom speech at the finish, it was Gable who got all the newspaper print.

Norma Shearer got a Best Actress nomination, but lost to fellow MGM contract player Marie Dressler for Min and Bill. A Free Soul which was a pre-Code film, explored the theme of sexual satisfaction ever so gingerly, but in a way after 1935 could not be seen for thirty years on the screen. Shearer is also giving one of her best screen performances.

Leslie Howard I'm afraid had real little to do, but look patient and noble as the society polo player. Howard exuded class and distinction even when he's penniless as in The Petrified Forest. So much the better for him when he's dressed in tails.

A Free Soul is light years better than The Girl Who Had Everything and holds up very well for today's audience.

The beginning of Gable

[nnnn45089191 · 6/10 · 9 January 2007]

"A Free Soul" made Hollywood take notice of a young actor by the name of Clark Gable.Slapping leading lady Norma Shearer around,he portrayed masculinity like no star,with the exception of perhaps Jim my Cagney, had done before him.Lionel Barrymore won the Oscar for his very good performance of the alcoholic defense lawyer. I've always found him overacting his parts but he's very believable in this movie.Norma Shearer is also very good,but still overdoes the dramatics with her silent screen acting.But she's really a stunner in the quiet parts. Leslie Howard has once again one of his thankless parts which doesn't tax his ability at all.A very enjoyable picture.

If it doesn't fit, you must acquit!

[Ursula_Two_Point_Seven_T · 8/10 · 14 February 2005]

Johnny Cochrane must've learned some legal tricks from this old movie. For example, at the beginning of the movie, Lionel Barrymore gets Clark Gable acquitted of first degree murder when he places the hat found at the scene of the crime on Clark's head ... clearly the hat is too small. The court and jury laugh, and Clark is set free!

This entire movie was great -- much better than I had expected. I saw two Norma Shearer movies recently with a similar-sounding plot recap: Their Own Desire (Norma Shearer falls for the son of her father's illicit lover), and this one, A Free Soul (Norma Shearer falls for her lawyer father's mobster client). Having watched Their Own Desire first and not being impressed with it, I wondered if I should even bother with A Free Soul. But bother I did, and I'm glad for it. It was an excellent movie.

Lionel Barrymore is the black sheep of his snooty, well-heeled family. His wife died while giving birth to their only child, Jan (Norma Shearer). Being the black sheep, Lionel raised Norma to be a "free soul", to not be afraid of anyone or anything, to not be afraid to make mistakes, and to pick herself up and dust herself off whenever she did find herself in trouble. This has apparently worked well for Norma, until she meets and eventually tries to get away from Clark Gable. Norma finally learns there are consequences to all actions, that one can't be a "free soul" without it having some type of repercussion on one's life.

We also have Lionel Barrymore (whom I always love in anything I see him in) this time very compelling as a brilliant alcoholic lawyer who loves his daughter more than anything but who ultimately doesn't know how to protect her. He disappoints her, and he disappoints himself, but in the end he seeks to right his wrongs by defending Norma's ex-fiancé (to say more would be to possibly spoil the movie).

This movie was fresh, and the characters were sympathetically developed without ever resorting to being maudlin or melodramatic. This movie was also chock-full of great lines. For example:

(Lionel to Clark, upon learning Clark wants to marry Norma) - "The only time I hate democracy is when one of you mongrels forgets where you belong!"

(Norma to Clark, trying to get Clark to quit talking and make love to her) - "Men of action are better in action; they don't talk well."

Great early pre-code movie.

A world of addiction

[rsyung · 3 December 2002]

I thought A Free Soul an interesting exploration into the world of addiction--father Stephen Ashe, as played by Lionel Barrymore, struggles to balance his career as a defense lawyer and the disastrous effects his alcoholism has on his family and social life. Daughter Jan (Norma Shearer) has a similar problem--but her addiction is to a free and easy lifestyle, with no commitments and no responsibility. Both seem to be ways of dealing with an unspoken loss--perhaps that of a wife and mother. Again, as with all good storytelling, backstory is only hinted at but the characters are rich enough to imply a great deal of history. Refreshing to see Clark Gable as a suave, handsome but ultimately despicable character. A surprising lack of stereotypes for such a film-the Ashes are a patrician, proper family who virtually disown Stephen and his daughter, but they are shown to be intelligent, unique people none the less. A wonderful, melodramatic exploration of the relationship of a father and daughter. Some nice location work for an early talkie.

Shearer is an 11, the script is a 5

[Nate-48 · 7/10 · 19 February 2019]

To get an idea of how great magnetic and radiant shearer is here, consider that she matches her scenes with Clark Gable, lionel Barrymore and Leslie Howard and wipes the floor with all of them. Don't get me wrong they are all very good here but this movie is a star vehicle for shearer and it is her movie. She does all of the shining. If you appreciate her, this movie is a must see even though the film drags on and the script is average at best. I wouldn't be surprised if this served as an inspiration to courtroom dramas like Perry Mason and Matlock later on.

Nice Cast Elevates This Shearer Soaper

[ccthemovieman-1 · 6/10 · 10 February 2009]

Norma Shearer slinks and giggles her way through another melodrama, this one noted for not only her but the presence of Lionel Barrymore, Clark Gable and Leslie Howard.

Not a bad cast, eh?

The story has a lot to it, too - too much to go into here. It's basically a father-daughter story with the daughter having a good guy and a bad guy both after her, and her taking in all the attention she can get. I've only seen two Norma Shearer films but she played a similar character in both. She's likes to giggle, show off her body and flirt but doesn't want commitments. (The Divorcée was the other film in which I saw her.) For much of this film, this is a gender-reversal with the woman being the "heel."

Barrymore plays her dad, an alcoholic defense attorney. If, for nothing else in this movie, he's remembered for his impassioned speech at the end of the trial. It WILL get your attention! Clark Gable plays the toughie and Howard plays the suave nice-guy both vying for Shearer's love.

There is truth to a number of things in this film such as "Jan Ashe" (Shearer) finding the not-so-nice guy more "exciting" over a genuine gentleman. Why many women are like that - preferring the grubby-looking thug - who knows, but Shearer is good at playing that role. Shearer's Harlow-like attire and no-bra look got my (and Gable's) attention, too.

The movie should be enjoyed by most who like this kind of a melodrama and/or appreciate good acting and a bit of star-gazing.

Overdone melodrama!

[JohnHowardReid · 6/10 · 20 October 2017]

Copyright 3 June 1931 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp. New York opening at the Astor, 2 June 1931. 10 reels. 91 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: Society girl falls for a gangster.

NOTES: Academy Award, Best Actor, Lionel Barrymore (defeating Jackie Cooper in Skippy, Richard Dix in Cimarron, Fredric March in The Royal Family of Broadway and Adolphe Menjou in The Front Page).

Norma Shearer was nominated for Best Actress, but lost to Marie Dressler in MGM's Min and Bill. Brown was nominated for Directing, but lost to Norman Taurog (Skippy).

Number nine in the 1931 Film Daily poll of U.S. film critics. Filmed on a 31-day shooting schedule, negative cost was $529,000. Initial net domestic rentals amounted to $773,000, leaving a tidy profit of $244,000 for the studio — plus the cream of overseas sales.

MGM re-made this picture in 1953 as The Girl Who Had Everything with Elizabeth Taylor, William Powell and Fernando Lamas.

The stage play opened on 12 January 1928 in Broadway's Playhouse Theatre and ran for 100 performances. Kay Johnson was the socialite, Lester Lonergan had the Barrymore part, and Melvyn Douglas played the gangster, Ace Wilfong. The director was none other than George Cukor.

COMMENT: An odd film on many counts. (1) It's not stage-giggling Oscar-nominee, Norma Shearer, or even fulsomely theatrical Oscar- winner, Lionel Barrymore, who walks off with all the acting honors, but newcomer Clark Gable who effortlessly steals every scene in which he appears. And fortunately, they are many. Leslie Howard, by contrast, has only a small part. It's a key role, but, for some reason — maybe as a protest against the scene-chewing antics of Shearer and Barrymore (who are often abetted by James Gleason, who doesn't so much over- act as never fail to draw attention to himself) — Howard seems determined to underplay. It's only in his final brief scene with Gable and the long prison encounter with Shearer that he comes across forcefully and effectively.

Gable, on the other hand, makes a solid impression right from the start. If anything, he gets more fascinating as the plot progresses as he strips away his initial surface veneer of ingratiating charm.

(2) Clarence Brown, the distinguished director of The Eagle and The Goose Woman (both 1925), Flesh and the Devil (1926) and more than a dozen other captivating silents, seems to be even less at home with sound here than he was the previous year with Anna Christie. The choice of camera angles is often jarring, using intercut, ill-matching close-ups which serve to break up the rhythm of a scene rather than re-inforce it. He seems to have exercised little control over his players either, letting them do much as they like, and making no effort to integrate the various acting styles on offer. It's astonishing that Robert Z. Leonard, not exactly noted as the world's finest craftsman, did a much smoother and far more polished job with Shearer on The Divorcée (1929). And just two months after the release of A Free Soul, W.S. Van Dyke's supremely polished work with Barrymore on Guilty Hands (shot in half the time on a fraction of the budget) made Brown look like a rank amateur.

(3) The script. Its trick opening creates a mood of uncertainty in the mind of a viewer, even if the implication of incest was meant to be taken seriously. Perhaps it was. Perhaps the whole point of the script is that the relationship between father and daughter was potentially or mentally incestuous even though no further physical contact than the hugging and cuddling we see on the screen actually took place. In this connection it's worth bearing in mind Barrymore's next assignment for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, W.S. Van Dyke's Guilty Hands, which, as previously mentioned, was released just two months later. In outline, Bayard Veiller's script bears remarkable similarities (even in minor details like its trick opening): Once again, Barrymore is a famous lawyer and once again he is determined to prevent his daughter (this time played by the lovely Madge Evans) marrying a scoundrel. But this time, there is absolutely no doubt that the Barrymore character's apparent concern for his daughter is plainly incestuous. (Guilty Hands, incidentally, is a far, far superior film on all counts than the comparatively tacky A Free Soul).

(4) Despite Gable's saving performance, the overall impression the 2004 viewer takes away from A Free Soul, is that, aside from the Gable scenes, it's a creaky old melodrama, a museum piece typical of so-called "vintage" movies, almost laughable in its overdone theatrics. To me, it's a great shame that this wheezy, outdated, predictably plotted, impossibly outmoded "actors' holiday" is presented again and again on TV, whereas a contemporary masterpiece like "Guilty Hands" from the very same studio lies forgotten and neglected. Is Norma Shearer really that sublime an actress? To judge from her contrived performance here (and to a lesser extent in "The Divorcée") definitely not.

Gable Upstages Shearer with a Slap.

[nycritic · 7/10 · 25 August 2005]

Like almost all of the movies released in the 30s, A FREE SOUL has become little more than soap-opera, but at the time, the inclusion of violence against the leading lady who in turn was the one who initiated a sexual tryst with a man from the wrong side of the tracks was ground-breaking, and Norma Shearer, the quintessential Modern Woman thanks to her portrayals of headstrong, complicated women, was up for the challenge.

She plays Jan Ashe, a young woman who falls for her father Stephen Ashe's client Ace Wilfong and breaks her engagement to Dwight Winthrop, but soon finds out that Ace is a dangerous man. Gable, playing Ace with his preternaturally masculine energy which hasn't been matched since (although Russell Crowe and Colin Farrell are clearly up for the challenge), macho's Shearer in every scene he shares with her and walks away with the entire movie. There is no one else you can think of in this movie -- certainly not the usually quiet, bland Leslie Howard who plays Dwight as the long-suffering, patient second man in Jan's life, and until the end when he outshines them all, Lionel Barrymore doesn't generate anything as much as an afterthought with his Stephen Ashe. However, his fourteen minute monologue stands in cinema history as one of the most riveting, and gave him his only Oscar nomination and win for Best Actor even though technically he was not the male lead, but shorter performances have won the Academy Award.

Not a great movie by all means but it did give Norma yet another Oscar nod and was remade as THE GIRL WHO HAD EVERYTHING starring Elizabeth Taylor. However, it has some strong moments, especially a tense scene between Gable and Shearer as he threatens her into marriage, and to some that can seem a little disturbing, especially when he played the hero in subsequent films, most notably of course Rhett Butler. It would have been a feast for the people who saw how badly his character treated Shearer here to see the tables turned in GONE WITH THE WIND, but of course, all intrigues and stories would fall by the wayside and Vivien Leigh would play Scarlett.

Lionel Barrymore Gives An Oscar Winning Acting Lesson

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 23 April 2000]

They are alike, this father & daughter. Liberal, passionate, willful - they live life on their own terms, disdaining their narrow-minded relations. Few regrets & even fewer apologies cloud either conscious - yet each harbors a character trait that threatens to destroy them. Hers is emotional instability; his, acute alcoholism. Although both will make bad choices that will haunt them, each will continue to see their reflection in the other, unique & individual, A FREE SOUL.

Based on a book by Adela Rogers St. Johns, Norma Shearer gets top billing in this aged but enjoyable soap opera, and she is very good, turning on the histrionics most effectively. But it is Lionel Barrymore who gets full honors - and a Best Actor Oscar - for his portrayal of her brilliant, tragic, lawyer father. Masterfully, he dominates his every scene. His final appearance, a tempestuous summation to a murder trial jury, is considered a classic.

Playing the two very different men in Shearer's life are Clark Gable & Leslie Howard. Gable is excellent, oozing the virility that was about to make him a huge star. Howard deftly underplays his less flashy role and becomes the film's calm center. James Gleason as Barrymore's factotum, and Lucy Beaumont as Barrymore's patrician mother, both give memorable performances. Film mavens will spot Edward Brophy as one of Gable's henchmen & master stutterer Roscoe Ates as the man in the washroom window.

Clark Gable gives the film's most natural performance...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 18 February 2010]

At some point in a courtroom scene, someone says, "This is too theatrical." His comment fits a description of this Clarence Brown movie that features NORMA SHEARER, LESLIE HOWARD and LIONEL BARRYMORE in leading roles.

But the actor who commands the most attention whenever he appears is CLARK GABLE, then being groomed for stardom by MGM. He was given another "dangerous guy" role as a gangster who had once been a client of Shearer's father (Barrymore) and set free. Complications ensue when Shearer falls in love with the man she treats as a "boy toy" and the melodrama gets steamier when Leslie Howard has to protect her by shooting Gable.

Remade in the '50s for an Elizabeth Taylor film called "The Girl Who Had Everything," it's hampered by the '31 conventions of early talkies, all of them featuring performers who were still using silent film technique for their acting styles. Thus, you can expect a lot of overacting, especially from Lionel Barrymore who uses all of his mannerisms to the nth degree in the final courtroom confrontation. Yet, he won a Best Actor Oscar for his very theatrical performance.

Summing up: It's a matter of taste--and whether or not you can tolerate all the talky dialogue played out in stage-like fashion by a cast of talented players trying to make the transition to sound films. Of the cast members, it's Clark Gable who actually gives the most natural performance in the film--and whom one can easily spot as a candidate for stardom.

Daddy's Girl

[richardchatten · 3/10 · 21 January 2020]

Atmospherically photographed by Bill Daniels, a high-powered cast talk (and talk) about sex, booze and marriage, but it all proves wilfully uninvolving; and even an attempt at a drive-by shooting of gangster Clark Gable is strangely casually staged. There are, however, always the shiny and diaphanous gowns in which Norma Shearer sashays about the luxurious settings to keep you watching; her magnificent profile always turned to the camera as pappy Lionel Barrymore attempts to swear off the booze with as little success as Ms Shearer is attempting to swear off low-life boyfriend Clark Gable.

Leslie Howard, meanwhile, has as thankless a role as Gable's rival for the hand of the female lead as he did eight years later as Ashley Wilkes in 'Gone With the Wind'.

I think the world of the acting, the story, and the modern issues so plainly confronted

[secondtake · 9/10 · 29 January 2010]

A Free Soul (1931)

Clark Gable says, "I'm telling you." And Norma Shearer, dressed in a sexy silk dress, replies, "Oh no, you're not. Nobody is."

That sums up this astonishing movie. I can't believe A Free Soul is so little known, or that so many viewers don't get the depth of its meaning then...and now. Throw in three of the most amazing actors of the early 1930s--Lionel Barrymore, Clark Gable, and Norma Shearer--and you can't help be impressed, and moved, and intrigued. It's about strength of character (three or four characters, in fact). It's about being a modern person, and having modern problems. And it's about facing them, openly, honestly.

So what holds it back? Well, for one thing, it has a lot of talk, a lot of simple dialog about some very not simple things. If you accept the characters and their need to talk, you will see a very honest confrontation with alcoholism, and with what is at first a kind of sex addiction, or what is later developed to be simply unbridled love for a man outside of marriage. But the parallel between two temptations is real, and rather powerful, and the sacrifices each of the two afflicted characters make is intense. Barrymore (as the one nipping the bottle) and Shearer (as the one too much in love, or in love with lovemaking) play their parts perfectly. They have moments of extraordinary clarity, and moments of abandonment. And they confront each other in a way that is completely reasonable.

There are other aspects here worth at least lifting an eyebrow at, namely the very close relationship, almost as platonic lovers, between these two. Gable as a lovable but brutal and deceptive gangster is perfect, too--gorgeous and hard, charming and untrustworthy. The milieu is well developed, from barroom to hotel room to courtroom. This isn't a Warner Brothers knock-you-out crime film, it isn't even Three on a Match, for an example of a compromise between a woman's picture and a gangster flick. It's a heady drama, beautifully laid out and progressively involving, with director Clarence Brown (famous for a whole string of such interpersonal, romantic dramas over several decades) knowing what makes a film really matter.

If it doesn't fit, you must acquit

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 17 March 2007]

Norma Shearer is "A Free Soul" in this 1931 film also starring Lionel Barrymore, Clark Gable, Leslie Howard, and James Gleason. Though this is an early talkie, the actors handle the dialogue well, and there are not the awkward rhythms, pauses, or echoes one often hears during these first years.

Shearer plays Jan Ashe, the daughter of an alcoholic attorney, Stephen Ashe (Barrymore). Ashe successfully defends a mobster named Ace Wilfong against murder charges by showing that the hat bearing his initials, found next to the body, doesn't fit him. Shades of O.J. Wonder if Johnny Cochran saw this film. The minute Jan meets Ace (Gable), there is an instant attraction, although she's engaged to Dwight (Howard). Soon she is sleeping with Ace. Her father finds this unacceptable. Desperate to get him to stop drinking, Jan agrees to stop seeing Ace if he will lay off the booze. They leave the city with Stephen's friend (Gleason) and rough it for three months. Just before they're due to return to the city, Jan catches Stephen drunk. He disappears on a passing train, and she returns to Ace. This time, however, she realizes he's a cruel brute and no longer wants him. It is then that the film takes an unexpected turn.

The themes in "A Free Soul" are dated today, having to do with the class system and a woman being a tramp if she sleeps with someone outside of marriage. Norma Shearer gives a very good performance as the flapper Jan, conveying a daughter's devotion and a determination to remain independent and not follow the norm. Not a great beauty, Shearer was a hard-working actress who had glamor, sophistication, and was ultra-feminine. The latter is especially evident in newsreels where she's only playing Norma Shearer. Lionel Barrymore is not yet in a wheelchair due to arthritis here. He does a great job as a man who is a shadow of what he was but still retains elements of greatness.

It's certainly interesting to see Rhett and Ashley with a woman between them 8 years before "Gone With the Wind." This was one of Gable's breakthrough performances. Unmustached and looking very young, his persona is fitting into place - when he slaps Jan, he packs a wallop, and he kisses a woman like he means it. Leslie Howard is an elegant, gentle, and romantic Dwight. I happen to like his Ashley - his idealism, impracticality and mixed signals are what make him attractive to Scarlett. Here, he's as honorable as Ashley, with his protection of Jan being the only thing that matters to him.

"A Free Soul" is a turgid melodrama, and some of the acting may seem a little over the top today, but it's still recommended for the performances and especially for the young Gable, who would be packing a wallop and kissing like he meant it for another 30 years.

Roll over, Earl

[lurch-17 · 4/10 · 30 June 2005]

This was loosely supposed to be a story of Earl Rogers (Stephen Ashe), celebrity attorney practicing in Southern California 1900 - 1920. One of the most notable American attorneys of all time, he broke ground in many areas of the law including forensics, cross examination, and procedures. Earl's daughter, Adela Rogers St. Johns, claimed her own fame as a Hearst sob-sister and author of the book this flick was fashioned after.

Earl Rogers beat Clarence Darrow, who was defending the bombers in the LA Times bombing, then turned around and represented Darrow in Darrow's subsequent jury tampering trial (of which he was most guilty but acquitted). Darrow did his own closing arguments, a fact that was brought out in the OJ trial ninety years later as precedent for allowing a defendant to present his own closing arguments.

The 1932 bestselling biography of Earl Rogers 'Take the Witness' is now used as a textbook in some university law schools. It is definitely worth the read.

But the movie is an overacted melodrama featuring a little-too-close relationship between father and daughter. Hardly worth watching except to see Clark Gable's premier starring role.

Adela's second book about her father, Final Verdict (1962), was made into a 1992 TV movie starring Treat Williams and Glenn Ford. It was also not very good - poorly written screen adaptation after Adela's death.

The Big Speech

[tedg · 10 October 2006]

Some movies are theatrical in the sense that all their values and methods are derived from stage values. This is one.

Some movies are in that sweet spot after talkies got going and before the code was enforced, so they have a vitality that is lacking for a few decades afterwards.

This fits those two overlapping pockets and is a fine example of theatrical acting. The story is simple: a woman from a "fine" family spends time with a gangster for exciting sex. She has an unnatural bond with her "mountebank" father, a drunken lawyer both of which characteristics give him an excuse to be broad in his acting style.

The father forbids the affair and dramatic complications arise. Its an excuse for speechifying, which is done fabulously so long as you understand the tradition. Barrymore is perhaps the last great speechifier in this tradition, though Olivier would hang on for much longer and be celebrated out of nostalgia.

There's an interesting fold in this. The audience has a surrogate on screen, in the jury. Courtroom movies have since this grown into a solid tradition. As the case is made to the jury, it is made to us. This is special because was an early edition of that model, say before Mockingbird and Christie. Because of that, the speechifying to us/jury is fresher, more direct, less burdened with mature movieness.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

The famous slap that wasn't

[rhoda-9 · 6/10 · 11 September 2016]

For decades I thought of this film as the one in which Clark Gable famously slaps Norma Shearer, inaugurating an era in rough loving that made women swoon at his brutality. I had read about this in numerous movie-history books and had even read that the studio was inundated with letters from women who wanted Gable to slap them. Well, nothing of the sort. Gable gently shoves Shearer onto a sofa, but that's it. The only slap is the one Shearer gives her father (Lionel Barrymore) when he is about to call her a tramp but before he can say the word. Somehow the slap, during the decades when the film went unseen, got transferred to Gable hitting Shearer. Don't believe everything you read!

Another discovery on watching it was that much of the film is taken up not with the romance between the gangster and the Nob Hill lady but with Shearer's attempts to cure her father of alcoholism. Too much. Indeed, too much of these two altogether. Shearer, with her big nose and wonky eyes, was never a beauty, though she certainly carried on like one, with lots of arch, coy silent-movie mannerisms (head thrown back, back of hand covering face). Barrymore is, as usual, grade-B ham, getting sloppily sozzled and, when sober, full of maudlin pleas for sympathy.

The legal aspect is laughable. The evidence that acquits Gable during the trial that begins the movie is so obviously absurd that this would have been discovered long before the trial began; also, it is not sufficient to be exculpatory on its own. In the trial at the end, legal procedure is violated or ignored, as anyone who has watched an episode of Law and Order--or perhaps even Perry Mason--can tell. The movie also wants to have the title both ways. Though we are frequently told that the Shearer character is over 21 (she looks older than her real age, 29) and has been brought up to be independent, we are also supposed to feel sorry for her because her father was weak and unable to protect her. Sorry, you can have only one verdict.

Even so, the movie is well worth watching for occasionally snappy dialogue and its record of past manners and morals and for Adrian's fabulous, slinky gowns. Above all, for Gable, looking so beautiful, as he did in his other early movies, without the face fuzz. Amid all the phoniness, he is a real human being and a real man. Leslie Howard, too, is more interesting than the leads in his small and stereotypical part, making his character not merely a snobbish narrow-minded socialite but a man who is painfully and touchingly repressed.

I presume the name of Gable's gangster--Ace Wilfong--is from the Adela Rogers St. John novel on which the film is based. If so, a pity that no one had the nerve to tell her this ludicrous combination of an aviator and a Chinese laundryman showed she wasn't so au fait with San Francisco low life as she thought.

Mammaries and Mongrels

[LeonLouisRicci · 7/10 · 7 March 2014]

There is a Lot of Talk in this Early Pre-Code Talkie, but most of it is Interesting Enough to make this a Good Watch and the Star Power is there to Ogle as Well. Clark Gable does Scorch the Screen with His Dynamo of a Gangster, Norma Shear is Elegant as a Trashy Upper Crust who Likes Slumming and Slumbering with Her Macho-Man, and Lionel Barrymore is Bursting at the Seams for a Drink and More Scene Stealing.

"The only time I hate Democracy is when you Mongrels don't know your place. A little dirty money and a clean shirt and you cross the railroad tracks."

This Famous Quote comes when Gangster Gable tells Stuffy Barrymore that He wants to Marry HIs Daughter. Leslie Howard is also on Hand to Complete the Triangle and makes the Most of a Few Important Encounters with His Rival.

There is Much Pre-Code Inclusion of Alcoholism that is Unfettered and Gut-Wrenching. Some Physical Female Abuse and Premarital Sex Laid Bare are Here along with some Slinky See-Through Dresses. The Courtroom Scene at the End is Famous for its One Long Take (holds the record), but is Pure Fiction and its Motivation Severely Dated.

Rhett Vs Ashley

[mmallon4 · 7/10 · 31 August 2017]

I find Clarence Brown is not a terribly remarkable director with many of his films being by the numbers but he does have has a few worthwhile movies under his belt. A Free Soul isn't a great film as the plot is on the ordinary side but it does have enough to elevate the film above this - plus I am a sucker for the MGM product of the 1930's. The common elements of a contemporary, pre-code melodrama are here; alcoholism, adultery, gangsters, corruption of authority etc.

Norma Shearer's nude silhouette in the first shot sets the tone of A Free Soul; a movie full of lust and sexual desire. One of the biggest stars of the film itself is the slinky silk dress Shearer wears to Grandma's party and Clark Gable's apartment. The dress is sexually suggestive, to say the least, and shows off a lot of skin. The design of the dress is cut to slide over her body in all the right ways to make her appear naked without actually being so as well as show off her assets. It's clear that costume design was taken very seriously in the days of old Hollywood as well as the art of how to wear clothes.

Outfits are one thing though, with Shearer and Gable's scenes together steaming things up, in contrast to her fiancé played by Leslie Howard of whom she shares nowhere near the same level of sexual chemistry with. Gable played a number of gangsters in his career but none as such a player as Ace Wilfong (his gangster's hideout and apartment are to be envied). Likewise, there is an unusually intimate relationship between Norma Shearer and her father played by Lionel Barrymore. Their interactions feel more like what you would expect between husband and wife as she refers to him as "darling", "dear" and "sweetheart" while also being extremely affectionate with him such as the scene at the very beginning of the film in which she asks him to fetch her undies.

I'm astounded at Norma Shearer's ability to burst off the screen with her sheer presence and I do wish I could call myself a bigger fan but her filmography is a bit lacklustre in my view. Regardless there is enough melodramatic theatrics to keep A Free Soul interesting including a character's much-unexpected death by the last character you would expect and a courtroom finale in which Barrymore tears the scenery (I just have to ask though would questioning your own daughter not be a conflict of interest?). The only scene which really disrupts the tone of the film is the moment in which Barrymore pulls a Buster Keaton by grabbing onto a train as it goes past and disappears out of sight, very odd.

Free spirit and addiction

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 12 March 2020]

The story sounded interesting and while Clarence Brown was not a consistent director, depending on the material of course, when he was on top form his films were very good and even great. It was the cast though that drew me into seeing 'A Free Soul'. Clark Gable is the most familiar name to me and had a very high number of good and more performances. Likewise with Norma Shearer, while Lionel Barrymore always gave it his all (at times a little too much) no matter what he was given and when his character was interesting Leslie Howard was also known to be good.

'A Free Soul' is not a great film but it is an enjoyable one and at its best great. Shearer, Barrymore and Gable are on their A-game and the material suits Brown surprisingly well. Howard though has been much better, while the story does require a good deal of suspension of disbelief and some may find the father-daughter relationship on the unintentionally creepy side now. A matter of taste though and others are going to think differently, which is absolutely fine.

Production values are high, 'A Free Soul' is very stylishly photographed and it is hard to not look away from Shearer's quite stunning clothes which she wears beautifully in. The music avoids being overpowering or overused, while Brown's direction is always engaging and lets the material come alive to almost gun-blazing effect. Do prefer his more understated approach but that was not the directing style required here as such and he just about keeps things controlled to a point.

It is a snappily scripted film, without being too talk-heavy or rambling, and while the climactic courtroom scene may come over as melodramatic today to me it is a powerfully written scene. Well a powerful and quite gripping scene overall, and it didn't come over award-baiting to me. The story very rarely loses energy and always grips and fascinates in its depiction of addiction, the father-daughter relationship was fine to me and had heart and intensity. The film didn't feel creaky or stage bound. Mostly 'A Free Soul' is well acted, despite Barrymore winning the Oscar and Shearer being nominated am going to agree that the fierce Gable gives the best performance. Shearer though still gives a very deeply felt performances and Barrymore wrings so much juice out of his character to thrilling and sometimes scary effect.

By all means 'A Free Soul' is far from perfect. Howard is pretty much wasted, he has nothing to work with and is very bland. Probably the most underwritten character and dullest performance he ever gave.

Some serious suspension of disbelief is needed, like can be the case with melodrama the storytelling can be very silly with some forced plot elements. The melodrama can be over-heated to overkill effect too.

Overall though, it's a well executed and interesting film that's well performed, made and directed. Despite some flawed storytelling and one not so good performance. 7/10

A New Kind of Man in a New Kind of World

[laddie5 · 8/10 · 18 May 2008]

Yeah, yeah, it's Gable and Howard 8 years before Gone With the Wind, and even then the former makes the latter look like a eunuch. A number of posters seem flummoxed by this little coincidence and by the early-talkie theatricality of this movie. But for its time it really moves and breathes, particularly in the impressive scenes of Norma Shearer and Lionel Barrymore camping in the Sierras, trying and failing to leave their addictions behind and repair their broken relationship.

Technically, this movie may be primitive, but in terms of content and meaning you couldn't get it made today: it's the story of a woman who uses a thug only for her own sexual pleasure, and the baffled and violent way the men in her life react. All three of them are outwardly brilliant and successful -- the lawyer, the gangster, and the rich polo player -- but have their vanity and weakness exposed when confronted with a powerful woman making her own choices. Some of the quieter moments of this movie are pretty devastating.

p.s. strange how the myth that Gable "slaps" Shearer persists... are people really watching this movie? He shoves her back onto a couch twice, and that's it. The real violence is what she does to him by treating him as a boy toy.

Theatrical performance at Courthouse an American trademark!!!

[elo-equipamentos · 7/10 · 24 March 2019]

Even didn't has a sexy appeal from others gorgeous girls from those past time Norma Shearer had an outstanding career at Hollywood, this picture revels all this statement, a pre code movie she wears a silk dress, showing us her shape body almost perfectly, having a compassionate father as Lionel Barrymore, she has an advanced behavior to its time, Leslie Howard a loser in every movie as can remember played his fiancé, but appears Clark Gable, which Leslie don't has any chance at all, the little sins of the picture was introduce a contrived theatrical performance at Courthouse, a truly American trademark, attempt proves by emotional speeches trying change the jury and the bargain between daughter and father, too much predicable when talk about an addiction, a compelling picture!!

Resume:

First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.5

A Free Soul

[dukeakasmudge · 4/10 · 5 May 2017]

Here's the way I see things..... Norma Shearer's character Jan falls in love with a gangster played by you know who even though she's going out with a nice guy.The gangster is something exciting while the nice guy is quickly forgotten.What girl wouldn't want to be in constant danger of being shot at instead of horseback rides on the beach? Daddy, who's a lawyer & alcoholic, was OK with the gangster (Hey he's bringing in business, right?) until he found out the gangster is going out with his daughter.Now there's a problem & this causes a rift in the once tight bond between father & daughter, her family as well.Eventually the daughter realizes her & the gangster's relationship is going nowhere & he realizes that she's never going to publicly acknowledge their relationship (She always sneaking in the backdoor to see him) She sees what a mistake shes made & that she was actually better off with the nice guy.The gangster let's her know he's never, NEVER going anywhere & in steps the nice guy to save her from the gangster.BOOM.Now they go & find her father who was doing well but slipped & fell off the wagon a little ways back & hopped a train to ??? to bring him back to try & help the nice guy beat the case.THE END.I wasn't into this movie as much I hoped or thought I would be.It was just something to sit back & watch.I think I might have dozed off once or twice & had to rewind it back.Go ahead & give A Free Soul a shot.You'll probably enjoy it more than I did

Free Soul

[janetkucera · 10/10 · 22 March 2008]

One of the interesting things for me was seeing Clark Gable and Lesley Howard act together 8 yrs prior to Gone with the Wind. Kind of the same casting type-Lesley Howard the smart,cool headed guy and Clark Gable hotheaded, physical type.Maybe that was why I was shocked at how the LH character handled the situation with CG. This is the first time I've seen Lionel Barrymore in a lead role and was thinking he should have at least been nominated for an Oscar,so looked it up,and was pleased to see he won! Very deserved.I have an etching done by Lionel that my Mom had that shows his great talent in that area also. I saw this on Turner Classic Movies, after seeing the documentary about why the codes started. For it's time this is a very in your face movie. Alcohol abuse,co-habitating with no marriage. The obvious threat of an abusive marriage,or worse if she refuses the marriage. Also loved the scenes of 1931 San Francisco thru the window at the beginning, Yosemite and other areas.

Norma Shearer Plays a Daddy's Girl

[evanston_dad · 7/10 · 25 July 2008]

A Norma Shearer soap opera about a free-spirited woman and her alcoholic attorney father (Lionel Barrymore) who stand together against the disapproving snobbery of their family. Shearer falls in love with a thug who her father defended in court (Clark Gable), and finds that her father's talk about the second chances due to troubled souls does not extend to them when they're dating his daughter. The pair enter into an agreement: she'll stop seeing the thug if he'll stop drinking. Things take appropriately outlandish and melodramatic turns when Shearer's former fiancée (Leslie Howard) gets involved, kills Gable, and finds himself being defended in court by who?.....you guessed it, good old Barrymore, who just has time to finish an impassioned plea for the man's life before dropping dead.

Whew, that's a lot to pack into a 90 minute film. There's not much of note about this movie except for the good performances of Shearer and Barrymore (though she was better in the previous year's melodrama, "The Divorcée") and its frank treatment of alcoholism. Had this come out a few years later, after the Production Code was firmly in place, the film would not have even been able to admit that alcoholism existed.

Grade: B

a time passer,...nothing more

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 18 March 2006]

I think the only reason this film has a rating as high as it does is because it is a Clark Gable film and because any film with Lionel Barrymore is very watchable. 1931 was a big year for Clark Gable, as he finally got supporting and even lead roles, though none of these films were particularly good. Part of this is the material they gave him and part of it is the character "Clark Gable" still wasn't created by the studios. Many stars went through this, such as Humphrey Bogart, Jimmy Stewart and others. They just hadn't yet found their niche. So, Clark playing a gangster but a BAD gangster just isn't what his fans would have wanted by the mid-1930s---it just doesn't seem right.

Apart from this odd casting, the film is exceptionally melodramatic and predictable. While not a bad film at all, it isn't particularly good and is more of a time-passer--unless, like me, you are a major fan of Gable.

By the way, MGM remade this with William Powell as "The Girl Who Had Everything" and it was a MUCH better film--one I strongly recommend.