Plot
Lorry and Minnie are prostitutes who occasionally get hapless male admirers drunk before robbing them. After being released from a Louisiana jail, they head down the Mississippi River on a steamboat. Lorry steals $60 from a "Mr. Smith" she entertains in her room, and when she is confronted by the boat's captain, who accuses her of the theft, she escapes by jumping off the vessel into the river. She loses the $60 as she is rescued by cotton-barge skipper Dan, so she robs him, too.
Once in New Orleans, Lorry disguises herself as a newspaper writer to meet publishing magnate Stephen Paige of whom she took notice on the steamboat. She then gets him drunk, takes him to his home, and the next morning blackmails him into supporting her, including renting a lavish apartment for her. She returns to the cotton barge and repays Dan his "loan" and they fall in love. Minnie now arrives at Lorry's apartment, soon followed by Stephen, who threatens to expose her sordid past, causing her to leave him, but not to return to Dan, whom she had agreed to marry. When Stephen cannot persuade her to return to him, he realizes that she really does love Dan, and he brings about their reunion with the help of the now-married Minnie.
Reception
The film in 1933 received generally mediocre reviews in leading newspapers and trade papers. The one consistent exception in the print media's rather lukewarm reaction to the production was Pert Kelton, whose performance was widely praised. In his review for The New York Times, critic Mordaunt Hall views the "callous creature" portrayed by Constance Bennett as initially "disconcerting", and he finds parts of the story unbelievable, noting that its "characters do not always behave as if they were drawn from life." [6] Hall, however, does recognize Kelton for doing "remarkably well as the slangy Minnie". [6]
The Film Daily in its July 1, 1933, issue judges Bed of Roses as "average entertainment" and describes Bennett as moving "through her part without any distinction." [7] On the other hand, Kelton's performance also impressed the trade paper. "She fits the hard-boiled part perfectly", The Film Daily observes, "and scores repeatedly with hearty laughs." [7] Abel Green in his review for Variety, another widely read entertainment paper at the time, refers to the "so-so flicker" as "tawdry and unwholesome in the main". [8] He too preferred to focus on Kelton:
It's a short cast but Pert Kelton stands out head and shoulders above everything with a Maywestish hip-rolling, nasal-twanging, get-your-man routine which is something of a surprise. It so eclipses the rest of it, including the star (in some of those scenes she makes a stooge out of Bennett) that it evidences an unsuspected magnanimity on the part of the star or a physical handicap which forfended any further editing. Miss Kelton...does not suggest the robust Miss West in build, other than in general demeanor. Hers is a more slinky vamp, wise cracking and ever-effective, with the choicest phrases handed to her. [8]
Morning Glory is a 1933 American Pre-Code drama film which tells the story of an eager would-be actress and her journey to stardom, and her gains and losses. The picture stars Katharine Hepburn, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and Adolphe Menjou, was adapted by Howard J. Green from a then-unproduced stage play of the same name by Zoë Akins, and was directed by Lowell Sherman. Hepburn won her first Academy Award for Best Actress. Morning Glory was remade in 1958 under the title Stage Struck.
Gregory La Cava was an American film director of Italian descent best known for his films of the 1930s, including My Man Godfrey and Stage Door, which earned him nominations for Academy Award for Best Director.
Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he became best known.
Constance Campbell Bennett was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress and producer. She was a major Hollywood star during the 1920s and 1930s; during the early 1930s, she was the highest-paid actress in Hollywood. Bennett frequently played society women, focusing on melodramas in the early 1930s and then taking more comedic roles in the late 1930s and 1940s. She is best remembered for her leading roles in What Price Hollywood? (1932), Bed of Roses (1933), Topper (1937), Topper Takes a Trip (1938), and had a prominent supporting role in Greta Garbo's last film, Two-Faced Woman (1941).
What Price Hollywood? is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by George Cukor and starring Constance Bennett with Lowell Sherman. The screenplay by Gene Fowler, Rowland Brown, Jane Murfin and Ben Markson is based on a story by Adela Rogers St. Johns and Louis Stevens. The supporting cast features Neil Hamilton, Gregory Ratoff, Brooks Benedict, Louise Beavers and Eddie "Rochester" Anderson.
Pert L. Kelton was an American stage, movie, radio, and television actress. She was the original Alice Kramden in The Honeymooners with Jackie Gleason. During the 1930s, she was a prominent comedic supporting and leading actress in Hollywood films such as Gregory La Cava's Bed of Roses with Constance Bennett and Raoul Walsh's The Bowery with Wallace Beery and George Raft. She performed in a dozen Broadway productions between 1925 and 1968. Most famously, she created the role of 'Mrs. Paroo' in the original production of the musical The Music Man, which she reprised in the movie adaptation. In the early 1950s, her career was interrupted as a result of Hollywood blacklisting, leading to her departure from The Honeymooners.
The Bowery is a 1933 American pre-Code historical comedy-drama film set in the Lower East Side of Manhattan around the start of the 20th century directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Wallace Beery and George Raft. The supporting cast features Jackie Cooper, Fay Wray, and Pert Kelton.
The Music Man is a 1962 American musical film directed and produced by Morton DaCosta, based on Meredith Willson's 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which DaCosta also directed. Robert Preston reprises the title role from the stage version, starring alongside Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett, Hermione Gingold, Ronny Howard, and Paul Ford.
Rafter Romance is an American 1933 pre-Code romantic comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film, which was based on the 1932 novel of the same name by John Wells, stars Ginger Rogers, Norman Foster and George Sidney, and features Robert Benchley, Laura Hope Crews and Guinn Williams.
Stingaree is an American pre-Code romantic drama film directed by William A. Wellman released by RKO Radio Pictures in 1934. The film was based on a 1905 novel by Ernest William Hornung. Set in Australia, it stars Irene Dunne as Hilda Bouverie and Richard Dix as Stingaree. Hollywood had previously filmed the Hornung story as serials in 1915 and 1917, starring True Boardman.
After Tonight is a 1933 American pre-Code World War I spy film directed by George Archainbaud and starring Constance Bennett and Gilbert Roland. The studio considered firing Bennett after the film lost $100,000 at the box office.
Our Betters is a 1933 American pre-Code satirical comedy film directed by George Cukor and starring Constance Bennett, Anita Louise and Gilbert Roland. The screenplay by Jane Murfin and Harry Wagstaff Gribble is based on the 1917 play of the same title by Somerset Maugham. Tommy Atkins worked as assistant director, while the sets were designed by the art director Van Nest Polglase.
Rockabye is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film starring Constance Bennett, Joel McCrea, and Paul Lukas. The final version was directed by George Cukor after studio executives decided that the original film as directed by George Fitzmaurice was unreleasable. The screenplay by Jane Murfin is based on an unpublished play written by Lucia Bronder, based on her original short story.
Bed of roses is an English expression which means an easy and peaceful life.
Lady with a Past is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic comedy film starring Constance Bennett as a shy and very proper young lady who decides to invent a scandalous past for herself to spice up her life. It is based on the novel of the same name by Harriet Henry.
The Common Law is a 1931 American pre-Code romantic drama film directed by Paul L. Stein, produced by Charles R. Rogers and starring Constance Bennett and Joel McCrea. Based on Robert W. Chambers' 1911 novel of the same name, the film was the third film adaptation of the book, and the first during the sound-film era. It was received well both at the box office and by film critics, becoming one of RKO's most financially successful films of the year.
Born to Love is a 1931 American pre-Code melodrama film, directed by Paul L. Stein from an original screenplay by Ernest Pascal. It starred Constance Bennett, Joel McCrea and Paul Cavanagh in a lovers' triangle set in London during World War I. It was only the second film produced by RKO Pathé after the merger of the two studios, and according to RKO records, it made a profit of $90,000.
Bachelor Bait is a 1934 American comedy film about a man who is fired from his job issuing marriage licenses at city hall because of the actions of a co-worker. He starts a match making business which becomes very successful because of Mr. Watts' ability to find suitable matches for everybody except for himself. Bachelor Bait was director George Stevens' first feature-length film for RKO, filmed from 30 April to 18 May 1934.
Too Many Cooks is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy film directed by William A. Seiter, written by Jane Murfin and starring Bert Wheeler, Dorothy Lee, Roscoe Ates and Robert McWade. It was released on July 18, 1931 by RKO Pictures. In 1948 it was remade as the Mexican film The Newlywed Wants a House.
Chance at Heaven is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by William A. Seiter and written by Julien Josephson and Sarah Y. Mason based on a 1932 short story of the same name by Vina Delmar. The film stars Ginger Rogers, Joel McCrea, Marian Nixon, Andy Devine and Lucien Littlefield. It was released on October 27, 1933 by RKO Pictures.
