In 1930, an important movie called Ladies of Leisure was made. This movie was responsible for gaining much-needed prestige for Columbia Pictures, enabling it to grow from a rinkydink operation to a major Hollywood studio (four years later they would give us The Three Stooges and It Happened One Night). This film was also one of director Frank Capra's earliest sound movies, and probably his first "big hit", a fact which alone should guarantee it a place of prominence in movie history. Finally, this was the film that turned shy 22-year-old Barbara Stanwyck into a huge star - practically overnight. With so much rich history attached to it, you might ask yourself, why isn't Ladies of Leisure available on DVD?
Actually, it is -- sort of. A "silent" version of the movie is available on video through Turner Classic Movies, though it is severely edited, and the snappy Jo Swerling dialogue is replaced with mere title cards. It doesn't do the film any justice. Here is a sample of the fun dialogue you will miss if you get stuck with the silent print:
JERRY: I'm over 18 years old, you know.
STANDISH: Most men never get to be 18. And most women are over 18 when they're born.
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STANDISH: Do you pose professionally?
KAY: I'm always posing.
STANDISH: And how do you spend your nights?
KAY: RE-posing.
Barbara Stanwyck plays Kay Arnold, a party girl whose tough talk masks a tender heart. One night, after fleeing a party that got too wild, even for her taste, she meets Jerry Strong, a young artist from a wealthy family. He offers to drive her home and as she dozes off on his shoulder, he sees something of the goodness of all humanity in her face. He hires her to be his model for a portrait he is painting called "Hope", but unfortunately, the goodness he saw in her as she slept is painted over with lipstick, phony eyelashes, and a brassy attitude when she is awake.
Eventually, Kay develops feelings for Jerry, and one night after a long posing session she spends the night on his couch. While she is sleeping, she hears his footsteps coming at her, and she fears that the man she has come to admire will turn out to be a typical lecher. But instead of putting the moves on her, Jerry puts an extra blanket on her instead, and goes back to his room. Tears well up in her eyes as she is overjoyed that he is not perverted scum.
The next morning, Kay rises bright and early, humming a happy tune while preparing breakfast for Jerry, as a show of gratitude. Unfortunately, it doesn't go over as well as she had hoped. I won't describe the scene any more than that, but I have uploaded it to YouTube from a fair quality sound copy of the film. This may be your only chance to see any part of the movie as it was originally intended. This could also be your only chance to see young Barbara Stanwyck unleash her emotions in a way that make her later performances seem somewhat tame.
I don't want to detail Ladies of Leisure any further in the off chance that it will get a much-deserved official DVD release. And what's the fun of watching a movie for the first time, when you already know what happens? So you'll have to wait to see the rest of this tremendous piece of cinematic history.
