Ladies' Man (1931 film)
- William Powell: James Darricot
- Kay Francis: Norma Page
- Carole Lombard: Rachel Fendley
Ladies' Man is an American feature film with the on-screen couple William Powell and Kay Francis, directed by Lothar Mendes.
Action
The attractive and charming James Darricott lives as a gigolo by grants rich, lonely ladies of the best society. One day he encounters Rachel Fendley, the daughter of a current client. Rachel, an emotionally unstable girl who falls in love with James and rushes to her mother to ask them to release James so she could marry him. In the meantime, James fell in love with the attractive Norma Page. Norma accepts the past of James and they both want to start a future together. Just before the two can marry, James is involved in a fight with the father of Rachel, with whom he falls out the window to his death.
Background
Kay Francis and William Powell were promoted by appearances in Street of Chance and For the Defense into a popular screen couple. The two had also privately to the beginning of 1931 is having an affair, which ended, however, when Powell became engaged to actress Carole Lombard and eventually married. At the same time had the two stars, signed together with Ruth Chatterton on mediation of their common agent Myron Selznick, brother of film producer David O. Selznick, lucrative contracts in the competitive studio Warner Brothers. Francis had decided, as Paramount Pictures not enough care of her career and she returned to often in supporting roles on the big screen. The massive problems in management, the high losses that eventually pushed the studio into bankruptcy and a glut of other stars were responsible for the sluggish development of Francis. The studio continued Francis, Powell and Lombard finally together in a Ladies' Man. Powell initially refused to play the part of a gigolo, but in the end convinced him the quality of the script. Carole Lombard and Kay Francis became friends during filming and a few years later managed to Francis through the help of Lombard that you only got an important role in her film after the name of a comeback after a series of legal disputes with their studio Warners.
Ladies' Man is a film with a very pessimistic attitude that puts people without emotional support in the center, the search for a meaning to their lives. The emptiness of their existence they try to fill with an extravagant lifestyle. Feelings such as love and trust are nothing more than a commodity that is traded openly offered by men like James in exchange for payment. A similar gloomy view of the world was reflected in the strip 24 hours, the 1931 also came in the rental. The film was not a success at the box office and Francis - Powell was under contract with Warner Brothers in Jewel Robbery and One Way Passage again appear together until the following year.
Criticism
The critics were divided. While some reviewers found fault with the story as immoral and unappealing, others praised the intense performances of the actors.