She turned her trauma into a bestseller and made him watch.
Ruth Butler, a clerk in an emporium, marries Jimmy Rutledge and thereby greatly displeases his mother, the owner of the emporium, because of Ruth's lowly origins. Renaud Graham, one of Mrs. Rutledge's friends, becomes interested in Ruth, forces his way into her apartment, and attempts to make violent love to her. Jimmy walks in on their embrace and, suspecting the worst, leaves Ruth. In the family way, Ruth finds refuge in a boardinghouse where she meets Al Bryant, an aspiring writer. Ruth tells Al her life story, and he makes it into a bestselling novel and then into a play. Jimmy sees the play and comes to his senses, winning Ruth's forgiveness.
Acting
Lois Wilson's face says everything the intertitles can't.
Writing
Meta narrative: the movie IS the novel IS the play.
Director
Scott R. Dunlap
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This pre-Code melodrama skirts Hays Code rules with its 'forced embrace'—violence coded as passion, a trope that wouldn't survive censorship.
Roscoe Karns (Al Bryant) became a beloved character actor in 1930s screwball comedies—imagine THIS guy cracking wise with Carole Lombard later.
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