The Purchase Price
Directed by William A. Wellman
Written by Robert Lord from a story by Arthur Stringer
1932/US
Warner Bros.
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime rental
Emily: Gee, with a hundred dollars, maybe I could get myself a husband right here in town.
Joan Gordon, aka Francine La Rue: Of course, you could!
Emily: And then I’d sort of, eh, have a chance to, try the goods before I bought it!
Joan Gordon, aka Francine La Rue: Emily…
Barbara Stanwyck displays great range in this collaboration with William Wellman, who got an excellent performance from the often one-note George Brent as well.
Joan Gordon (Stanwyck) is a torch singer at one of the swankiest clubs in New York. She is sick of the fast life including her relationship with gangster boyfriend Eddie Fields (Lyle Talbot). Eddie is determined to keep her. So she runs away to Montreal and sings under the assumed name Francine La Rue. It doesn’t take Eddie long to find her.
Joan is ready to move on immediately. Her maid announces she is leaving to marry a wheat farmer she has met only through a marriage broker. She sent Joan’s picture to the broker instead of her own. So Joan, on a whim, offers the maid $100 to take her place.
She is greeted by soon-to-be husband Jim Gilson at the train station. Jim is painfully shy and awkward and to top it off has a bad cold. He takes Joan to the farm. When he suddenly grabs her and kisses her on what should be their wedding night, Joan instinctively pulls away and that will be the end of their intimacy for several months. Can Joan win her man over?
It’s no surprise that Stanwyck was excellent in this film. George Brent kind of surprised me with his sensitive performance. Wellman captures many beautiful scenes on the farm. I like this kind of story where men and women have to learn to know each other and highly recommend this film.
Barbara Stanwyck sings
