They Call It Sin
Directed by Thornton Freeland
Written by Lillie Hayward and Howard J. Green from a novel by Alberta Steadman Eagen
1932/US
First National Pictures (Warner Bros.)
IMDb page
First viewing/Forbidden Hollywood Vol. 4
Dixie Dare: The nearest I ever got to a swell apartment was a kitchenette and a wall bed.
Missable love quadrangle shortie featuring a bland cast and bland script but lovely trimmings.
Jimmy Decker (David Manners) is the son of a farm equipment tycoon. Dad sends him off to Kansas to get a deal. Jimmy says a fond farewell to his socialite fiancee Enid Hollister (Helen Vinson).
In small town Kansas, Jimmy somehow ends up in church and falls for beautiful organist Marion Cullen (a blonde Loretta Young). She likes him too and dismays her strict parents when she spends all afternoon on a boat ride with him. He promises to help her with her music career. They kick her out of the house but not before revealing that her real parents were not married and her mother was a showgirl.
Marion heads off to New York to find Jimmy. When she gets there, she learns about the engagement. Jimmy is clearly in love with her but cannot break it off with Enid. He has many discussions about the matter with his friend Dr. Tony Travers (George Brent) who falls for Marion himself.
Marion decides to make it on her own. She goes to a casting call where she plays piano for supremely bad dancer Dixie Dare (Una Merkel). They become roommates later. Impresario Ford Humphries (Louis Calhern) has eyes only for Marion. He hires her as a rehearsal pianist and reluctantly gives Dixie a place in the chorus. He then begins to squire the now glamorous Marion all over town and groom her for a position as his mistress. Things get more dramatic and Marion feels like she must make a decision.
This has very little oomph and the title is false advertising. All the actors are their usual competent but bland selves with the exception of Calhern who always provides plenty of bite to his roles. This has a bit of comedy courtesy of Una Merkel but is basically a dramatic picture. I see no reason to seek this out though the production is first-rate and Gregg Toland’s cinematography is nice.
