A young woman runs away from an abusive home and pre-arranged marriage only to be frustrated in her attempts to find happiness with a handsome engineer.
Acting
Garbo's haunted eyes carry entire scenes without dialogue.
Production
Glossy MGM sheen barely hides the pre-code squalor.
Director
Robert Z. Leonard
Greta Garbo
Helga, aka Susan Lenox
Clark Gable
Rodney Spencer
Jean Hersholt
Karl Ohlin
John Miljan
Wayne Burlingham
Alan Hale
Jeb Mondstrum
Hale Hamilton
Mike Kelly
Hilda Vaughn
Astrid Ohlin
Russell Simpson
Doctor
Cecil Cunningham
Madame Panoramia aka Pansy
Ian Keith
Robert Lane
Rose Dione
French Hostess at Paradise Club (uncredited)
Bess Flowers
Dinner Guest (uncredited)
Eddie Kane
'Freddy' Friedman (uncredited)
Marjorie King
Vera (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Gable reportedly wore platform shoes to match Garbo's height, which she found ridiculous. Their mutual disdain reportedly made the romantic scenes accidentally electric.
Released mere months before the Hays Code crackdown, this was among the last films to show a 'fallen woman' protagonist who isn't punished with death — progressive for 1931, though her 'rise' remains debatable.
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