The Purchase Price

Dir. William A. Wellman

68 Minutes

USA

1932

Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Lyle Talbot, Hardie Albright, David Landau

Going from Mayo's Stanwyck trilogy to two pre-code films she shot with Wellman (also So Big!) are like night and day and such a welcome relief (the films also make a nice double feature in their own right through their overlapping subject matter and actors).

Here, Stanwyck plays Joan, a nightclub singer who feels some heat and needs to get out of dodge. She leaves the city and becomes a mail order bride to wheat farmer Jim (played by George Brent), becoming accustomed to the change in lifestyle surprisingly quickly. Happiness with Jim is tampered by her initial rejection of him, but she remains steadfast until a face from her sordid past shows up. Unlike in the Mayo films, Stanwyck's transition from unsavory to sentimental works and her chemistry with Brent very enjoyable and even sweet in many ways. Wellman shoots with some of the energy that Mayo lacks, and his focus on Joan's adjustment gives a nice contrast between the earlier city scenes, her initial discomfort on the farm (and her view of Jim as somewhat threatening), and then her ultimate happiness. Meanwhile, Brent plays the part as needing to regain his masculinity following his wife's rejection with Joan becoming the forward "wooer". Liked the low-key ending that (finally) pushes these two characters towards each other without being overtly (melo)-dramatic.

August 18th, 2019