Virtue (1932)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Edward Buzzell

Writers:

Robert Riskin (screenplay)
Ethel Hill (story)

Release Date:

25 October 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Yesterday A Lady With A Past. Today The Wife Of The Man She Loved!

Plot:

A relationship gradually develops between a savvy New York street girl and a good-hearted cab driver--who first meet when she stiffs him for the fare--but other matters keep getting in their way, including financial problems and a murder. |

Plot Keywords:

Waitress | Train | Manslaughter | Infidelity | Marriage

Cast

Carole Lombard	...	Mae
Pat O'Brien	...	Jimmy Doyle
Ward Bond	...	Frank
Shirley Grey	...	Gert Hanlon
Mayo Methot	...	Lil Blair
Jack La Rue	...	Toots O'Neil
Willard Robertson	...	Detective MacKenzie
Lew Kelly	...	Magistrate (scenes deleted)
Fred Santley	...	Hank (scenes deleted)
Arthur Wanzer	...	Flanagan
Jessie Arnold	...	Landlady
Edwin Stanley	...	District Attorney

Runtime:

68 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

USA:TV-PG (TV rating)

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Edward LeSaint' in the role as "Magistrate" is in studio records/casting call lists as a cast member, but he did not appear or was not identifiable in the movie. The role of "Magistrate" was credited onscreen to Lew Kelly, but he also did not appear. And neither did Fred Santley, credited onscreen as "Hank."

Quotes:

[first lines]
Flanagan: [at the ticket window at a train station] Pretty soft for you, sister, getting the city to pay your fare to Danbury.
Mae: Pretty soft for the city I don't live in Australia. C'mon, grandpa.
Flanagan: [on the train, placing Mae's luggage on the rack] There y'are.
[to the conductor]
Flanagan: The lady goes to Danbury, chief.
[to Mae]
Flanagan: Now take my advice, sister, and keep out of New York.
Mae: [snidely] OK, grandpa. I'll remember all your advice: I'll watch my diet, go to the dentist twice a year, keep my nose clean, and pray for you every night - to break a couple of legs.
[...]

Soundtrack:

My Gal Sal

Sharp melodrama from screenwiter Robert Riskin

Screenwriter Robert Riskin may be best known for his collaborations with director Frank Capra, but this well written, character driven melodrama will make you want to check out his other credits. The always terrific Carole Lombard is the tough but sweet woman with a past, and Pat O'Brien is her man, a soft-hearted blowhard. Mayo Methot is Lombard's world weary best pal, and Jack LaRue is her good looking but dumb as a box of hammers gangster boyfriend. Walking cliches, one would expect, but the script is careful with details, and the characters act logically and believably, even in the most unbelievable situations. The good writing clearly energizes the actors, with O'Brien and Methot, in particular, rising to the occasion. You might come away suspecting that Robert Riskin just may be more interesting than Frank Capra.