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Since Dick Brunton (Joel McCrea), steelworker at Arthur Parker's (Robert McWade) company, has saved the life of a co-worker, he has become the talk of the town, and when he refused a $1,000 checque from his well-meaning boss - a small fortune for Dick - as a token of appreciation, he's held in even higher regard by everyone. So the least Parker can do is to invite Dick over for dinner attended by his daughter Dorothy (Dorothy Mackaill) and some friends. At first Dorothy is just intrigued by the idea of inviting a working class man into the world of "old money", but once she finds out he's actually a former football star having given up a career in sports in favour of honest work, she becomes intrigued enough to ... well, to want to make him hers. And heck, she's attractive and charming enough for any man, so within 4 weeks she has proposed to him, and another two weeks later they're married. And even though he wants to keep it plain and simple enough for a man of his needs, before you know it they're off on a honeymoon to Europe, and she spends more money that he can ever hope earning - but of course, she tells him he only has to cable her father and everything will be alright ... and with that kind of money, it's not as if Dick has much of a choice. Back home, Dorothy's dad has already gotten a mansion for them where they throw occasional parties for dozens of guests, while Dick has been promoted to an executive job without any real responisibility - and before long he finds life as a kept husband very dull and unsatisfactory. Then though old man Parker comes into Dick's office with an irresistible proposal, to do a sales pitch for a new bridge design to some investors across the country - with the only catch being Dick would have to leave for a meeting the next day latest. Dick agrees to this enthusiastically, but when he tells Dorothy about it and suggests she should come, she's nothing short of miffed as she has laid out their social life for the next several weeks already. The two have a row, he leaves, she goes out with Charlie (Bryant Washburn), a friend who has never made a secret out of admiring her and who of course tries (and fails) to seduce her, Dick comes back to make up, finds her brought home by Charlie and suspects the worst - and decides to resign from his job and disappear for a while. Now this gets everyone excited, even panicky, from Dorothy to her father who thought great things of Dick, but in the end Dick still honours his commitment to sell Parker's bridge, and on the train he and Dorothy make up with her promising to be a better wife and letting him be the man about the house.

Now cinematically, this movie has little to offer, it's a not all that special melodrama about class differences that shows all the shortcomings of early sound cinema (many at least in parts of a technical nature) - like a very stagey directorial approach, the lack of exterior shots except for bits of stock footage (which really takes the excitement out of the European honeymoon), and its very unsubtle approach to making its points - without showing much spirit to make something out of the limitations - really, only Charlie's attempt to seduce Dorothy by winkingly using every trick in the book and Dorothy blocking them off with just as much tongue in cheek shows some spirit here. And yet, as a historical document, this film's doing very fine, telling a story that while totally neglecting the Great Depression from back when tells the story of the struggle of the "All-American" hard working man against "Old Money", a struggle that can eventually only be won by the former. And while stories of this ilk are most certainly not reduced to the era the movie was made in, Kept Husbands certainly hasn't aged well, especially because it's too blunt in delivering its message, with story elements announcing themselves when still miles away - but even if not intended, the film portrays its era very well.

For those inclined, also check out the video review of Kept Husbands I did with filmmaker Sean Weathers, with the movie in its entirety playing afterwards.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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