Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

What a weird one. Starts out as a relatively normal soaper about a nightclub dancer (Joan Crawford) who marries a wealthy farmer, played by Melvyn Douglas. There's all the usual tropes you would expect from a class warfare type of drama. But added to that are some bizarre characterizations from Fay Bainter as Douglas' jealous sister, Robert Young as Douglas' moody brother who is suddenly overcome with lust for Joan, and Margaret Sullavan as Young's poor wife who is the most sympathetic character in the movie until the hysterical climax. Add to this a scene with a dimwitted farm hand trying to force himself on Joan and she punches him out and you've got a pretty overwrought melodrama. Nice cast, and it's definitely interesting, but it's a little hard to take seriously at times. Soap opera fans will probably enjoy it most.

High class soap opera with the MGM sheen and a cast of great actors. Joan's a respectable if restless performer who marries Melvyn Douglas on a whim and goes back to his family home where trouble awaits and that's when the fun begins. The story of family animosity and dangerous attraction isn't anything new but as presented here by these super professionals and director Borzage they find ways to make it compelling. Joan is unquestionably the star of this enterprise and she holds her own with the strong cast that surrounds her while looking glamorous and suffering nobly.Fay Bainter turns her usual warm and understanding persona on its ear as a harridan twisted by jealousy and bitterness. Robert Young turns in good work as a bit of a weasel and Melvyn Douglas although Joan titular co-star really doesn't have much to do and is absent from a good deal of the film but he does what is required of him with his usual skill. The marvelous Hattie McDaniel has a tiny role as Joan's maid with the improbable name of Belvedere and injects a small dose of levity into the heavy going dramatics.Good though they may be and Joan is the queen of this little opus they are all outshone by one of their fellow actors. Margaret Sullavan as Young wife gives a performance of such quiet beauty she wipes anyone else off the screen whenever she's on it. An actress of great skill and subtle intensity she makes her Judy a character that seems far more real and relatable than anybody else on screen. Her output was small, only 16 films in total, but she always had a vivid and alive presence on screen. If you enjoy dramas with an adult, if a tad melodramatic, outlook enacted by talented performers this is for you.

I always wanted to see this movie. It was one that Joan Crawford wanted to do after so many mediocre movies in the mid-30's. But I just did not like it. It was based on Keith Winter's Broadway hit but it was probably overly sanitized for the post-1933 censors that did not allow characters to have real problems unless they were killed for their human indiscretions. The cast is tops. Youthful Joan , the lovely Margaret Sullivan, the excellent Robert Young, the charming Melvyn Douglas and the superb character actress Fay Bainter. The script just does not properly develop why these characters especially Bainter's are so conflicted. And Joan seems too mannered in that way that made it look like she was just walking through the part. Not one of Joan's classics but watchable nonetheless. Bainter walks away with it though her character's sudden change at the end does not make any sense.

Everybody in this film talks about their feelings (or lack of feelings) in surprisingly articulate ways. The dialogue crackles and the actors are all in top form. Crawford and Sullavan have the best moments, but Douglas, Young and Bainter all create believable characters, too. Not a great film, but an interesting sexual, social and moral snapshot of the era. A must for admirers of Borzage and/or Margaret Sullavan.