Welcome to a new Film Friday and the start of our spotlight series on the Pre-Code work of the unjustly neglected Constance Bennett (1904-1965), whom we’ve never featured here before on Film Friday! We’re kicking our month long series off today with…
The Easiest Way (1931)
I won’t kid you; this isn’t an outstanding film. The story is built around mature characters with performers who supply them with ample nuances, but the writing is noticeably devoid of elements that we’ve come to expect from Pre-Codes: flashy dialogue, witty rejoinders, and electric characters. It’s a very ordinary, and as a result, believable, script, but it is without ample excitement. Furthermore, the film’s stakes, while inherent in the premise, never seem to rise to the necessary urgency. While some of this can be attributed to the atypical low-key performances of our leading lady, much of this critique comes as a result of the film’s pacing, which is lacking in that devil-may-care Pre-Code spark. Sure, our characters are put in some interesting situations and arc in mostly satisfying ways, but it’s unlike some of the more entertaining films of a similar genre.
Of course, The Easiest Way has many things to enjoy. In addition to Bennett’s surprising performance style, the picture is blessed with turns by some of wonderful talents — particularly a young and overly moralistic Clark Gable, who turns his back on Bennett, his sister-in-law, when she becomes a kept woman, and a scenery-chewing Marjorie Rambeau as Bennett’s older and wiser gal pal. Meanwhile, the film, thanks to Bennett, does a nice job of setting up the contrasts between her relationships with both Menjou and Montgomery (although she admittedly lacks sexual chemistry with both) in a clear, but profound way. It’s a common love triangle, but nobody is truly villainous — one of the marvelous recurring structural motifs of these types of Pre-Codes. Again, The Easiest Way is a tale of mature characters. Unfortunately, it’s not palpable enough to be excellent. So I recommend the film to scholars and cinephiles — and anyone who desires a little Constance Bennett!
Come back next Friday for another Constance Bennett Pre-Code! And tune in on Monday for the start of a whole new week of fun on That’s Entertainment!