Sadie McKee
Directed by Clarence Brown
1934/USA
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
First Viewing
Opal: Lady, when you say, “I do take thee,” how you take him.
Sadie McKee’s mother is a cook for a wealthy family and Sadie grew up with son Michael. She is engaged to Tommy. Michael fires him for stealing. Tommy takes off for New York and Sadie tags along with the understanding they will marry. But Tommy skips out on her with a night club singer. Penniless (she went with Tommy with the clothes on her back), Sadie gets a job dancing at a night club and meets alcoholic millionaire Jack Brennan, whom she marries. Sadie and Michael spend most of the movie at odds with each other because 1) Sadie’s never forgiven him for firing Tommy and “ruining her happiness” and 2) Michael thinks Sadie is a gold digger for marrying Jack, his client. With Joan Crawford as Sadie, Franchot Tone as Michael, Edward Arnold as Jack Brennan, and Gene Raymond as Tommy. Also with Jean Dixon in a nice performance as Sadie’s buddy and Esther Ralston (who can’t carry a tune) as the night club singer.
What a plot! And I omitted a lot of it …. Anyway, this is your standard glossy MGM melodrama. It’s pretty good for what it is but numerous aspects of the story annoyed me. I don’t usually care for Joan Crawford, particularly when she is being deified as here. If you like her, I think you’d like the movie more than I did. The trailer gives a fair representation of what is in store.
Trailer
