Eric266 I'm an unabashed Powell/Loy fan. Ever since I watched the Thin Man series a few years ago on TCM, I've been watching everything they appear in. After just watching the lackluster Double Wedding, I was overjoyed to find this movie on the docket as well.Powell is John Prentice, a highly successful and driven lawyer. Loy is his neglected wife (Evelyn), who always seems to come second to his job. When John has to go away on yet another business trip, he is almost seduced by a former client, Mrs, Harrison (Rosalind Russell in her debut). Through a plot quirk, Evelyn thinks he might be having an affair with Harrison so she starts an innocent flirtation with a poet, Larry Kennard (Harvey Stephens), who is actually a ruthless con man. When Evelyn asks Larry for the innocent letters she has written, he refuses and threatens to blackmail her. He soon winds up dead and his girlfriend, Judith, is arrested for the crime. Does Evelyn know more than she is letting on? When John takes on Judith's case it creates some serious tension and anxiety for both Evelyn and us, the viewer.Powell and Loy are amazing in this drama. Unlike the Thin Man movies, the tone is dark and foreboding. This movie is more Manhattan Melodrama than Thin Man. Both leads are fantastic as they try to find a way to make their marriage work as it is crashing down around them. There are no slapstick pratfalls or snappy dialogue. Its a straight drama and Powell and Loy burn up the screen with their talent. I've seen 13 of their pairings (I haven't seen The Senator was Indiscreet which has a Loy cameo) and this is right up there with the first Thin Man and Manhattan Melodrama.The courtroom scene at the end is the best part of the movie. The plot twist and revelations are great without being pandering. John's slow realization of the truth and his reaction to it are a joy to behold both from the character and the actor.

pik923 Besides the obvious factors of a great cast of that era, a great writer of women's films and how the writers, director and actors were able to tell all without showing it all - leaving much to the imagination, one of the great surprises of this film is a short scene in a nightclub where two male dancers, one white and one black, do a lovely tap dance number. This is one of the first integrated dance sequences in a white nightclub I remember seeing on film.If anyone has more information about the dancers, and the history of this scene, i would be delighted to hear more about it! What a huge surprise.And you may know that Rosalind Russell is in the film, her film debut and she is great as ever, with the camera loving her. She would soon go on to greater film roles like her comedy with Cary Grant, that classic, My Girl Friday.The set designs are wonderful and reflect that period of Hollywood studio work. The cinematography too is wonderful. And the drama between William Powell and Myrna Loy is as wonderful as always. Una Merkel is a delight, filling in the gaps and the dialog of that period is also delightful.I enjoyed it. If you enjoy those great black and white 1930s classics, I think you will also enjoy this little gem.

MartinHafer Despite having Myrna Loy and William Powell in the lead roles, this is a thoroughly forgettable film due to a ridiculous plot and poor writing throughout. Oddly, while this wasn't a very good film, they remade it just a few years later as STRONGER THAN DESIRE--complete with the same plot problems.The film begins with work-a-holic lawyer, Powell, winning a case for his client, Rosalind Russell. At this point, Russell throws herself at Powell even though he is a married man. At this point in the film, you aren't certain if Powell reciprocated, but his behavior would seem to indicate he did--as he was rarely home and worked 4954 hours a week--a recipe for marital disaster. This and Loy's desire for love would have made a fine film. However, the writers decided to chuck the entire setup and have Loy be blackmailed by a man with whom she really didn't do anything!! And in a move that makes absolutely no sense, she appears to kill the guy instead of just walking out of his apartment.There's more to the film than this, but it's all pretty contrived and tough to swallow--particularly in the last half of the movie during the courtroom scene in which Powell (the defense attorney) works hard to prove his own client is guilty!! Wow, I'm sure the Bar Association would have felt proud to have him as a member! The bottom line is that you've got two excellent actors in a sticky and poorly written film that is simply beneath their abilities. See it if you are curious but don't watch it if you'd like to be entertained!By the way, take a look at the entry for this film in the Leonard Maltin Guide--the entry is pretty funny. He describes Cora Sue Collins (who plays Powell's and Loy's child) as "an obnoxious brat"! This is uncharacteristically candid for this book but also rather true. While she isn't as hatefully dreadful an actor as Lee Harcourt Montgomery (from such movies as BEN) or David Kory (from DONDI), she is a pretty obnoxious and saccharine-sweet little....kid. Despite her inability to act, she did appear in almost 50 films!

whpratt1 This is a great 1934 film which had a great deal of mystery and entertainment right to the very end of the film. John Prentice, (William Powell), played the role as a very famous lawyer who was always busy with plenty of his clients and his wife was, Evelyn Prentice, (Myrna Loy). Evelyn Prentice had a small daughter and the family was very happy, but John was constantly busy all the time and Evelyn is approached by a man who seems to charm her and tempt her into some sort of a relationship with him. At the same time, John defended a very rich client and was able to free her from any judgments in a car accident and this client showered John with all kinds of affection and wanted to have an affair with him. There is a murder which occurs and turns this film completely around and takes the story in another direction. Please don't miss this film, it is just plain great to view and enjoy with great acting by Myrna Loy and William Powell.