Mannequin (1938)
by Frank Borzage
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Actor: Alan Curtis, Joan Crawford, Mary Philips, Ralph Morgan, Spencer TracyDirector: Frank Borzage
Cinematographer: George J. Folsey
Producer: Frank Borzage
Writer: Frank Borzage
Editor: Fredrick Y. Smith
Producer: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Writer: Katharine Brush
Writer: Lawrence Hazard
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog
Format: Black & White, NTSC
Running Time: 95 minutes
Release Date: 1998-09-01
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: MGM (Warner)
Studio: MGM (Warner)
VHS Movie Reviews of Mannequin (1938)
Movie Review: this is Joan's Shining Hour
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of those rare pictures that Joan made from the thirties that aren't very glamorous. Even though Joan doesn't get dressed up (except when she's a "walking mannequin" she's still so beautiful in each and every scene that she's in. In this picture, Joan plays Jessie Cassidy, a girl who marries a crook that tries to use her to a cheat a shipping magnate (Spencer Tracy.) This is a first-rate and an important film for many reasons. First, Joan is perfect in this role because this one of those roles that just seems tailor made for her. The lines come out of her mouth like poetry. This is also a great movie because it's the first and only paring of Joan and Spencer Tracy. Movie Review: Great Item
Summary: 5 Stars
This is exactly what I was looking for -- Was in excellent condition -- Very Fast Shipping --- Thank You !Movie Review: Crawford in above average Cinderella story...from rags to riches...
Summary: 3 Stars
JOAN CRAWFORD plays a tenement girl with a Park Avenue accent no matter how much she has to sweat in a factory for a living. She hates her tenement environment so much that she's willing to run off with boyfriend ALAN CURTIS at the drop of a hat. Of course, what seemed like a good idea changes drastically once she meets wealthy SPENCER TRACY and realizes what her life could be as "a lady". LEO GORCEY is a howl as her nasty kid brother.
That's the main thrust of MANNEQUIN--a sort of "money can't buy happiness" theme that is played out in typical '30s style with Joan Crawford giving her fans a rags to riches story tailored to please depression weary audiences. Despite the fact that Crawford seems too cultured to be playing a girl from the city flats, she's convincing enough as the newly married woman who croons a song to Curtis on the dance floor, a little something called "Always and Always". Curtis has the role of a thankless heel and plays it to the hilt.
Tracy is so enamored with "the awfully sweet kid" that you know the Curtis/Crawford marriage is headed for the rocks. Thanks to the natural performances of Tracy and Crawford, it all works better than it sounds on paper--due also to Frank Borzage's fine direction and ELIZABETH RISDON's performance as Crawford's hard-working, weary mother who doesn't want her daughter to give up her dream.
Whether slumming or enjoying the posh life among the idle rich, Crawford never loses her poise and gets to toss off some smart lines. No matter how poor she's supposed to be, her clothes never look like they came off thrift shop racks. She photographs attractively with a softer look than her later image would have, so this is a real treat for Crawford fans. Especially when she becomes a "mannequin" at a posh fashion show, attired in some of Adrian's most outrageous gowns.
The good chemistry with SPENCER TRACY helps a lot. "It all started when you slugged me," says Tracy, proposing marriage to her. Will she or won't she find true happiness with a rich man? Hint: It ends with another slug.
Summing up: Fun for true Crawford fans, but others may find it's all a little too artificial for comfort.
Movie Review: I Love a Good Melodrama
Summary: 4 Stars
Joan Crawford is always wonderful in her melodramas, and even though her popularity was fading by the time this movie was made, it holds up as a trophy of her talent through time. She stars as Jessie, a girl from a slum whose family does nothing to help her rise above it. She uses her boyfriend Eddie (Alan Curtis) to pull her out of it through marriage. She devotes herself entirely to him, always looking on the bright side of life. Unfortunately, he isn't the man to waste herself on. He gambles and loses her money and lies to her constantly. Still, the bonds of marriage mean a lot to her, and she sticks by his side.
In comes John Hennessey (Spencer Tracy), a man who proves that a man from the slums can rise above. He falls in love with Jessie and despite her protests does all he can to be near her. As fate would have it, Jessie eventually gets wise to her husband. He attempts to get back at John for his love. He tries to convince his wife to marry John for his money and then leave him flat. She refuses and divorces Eddie, only to soon afterward find herself falling for John.
The movie is the average length, but a lot happens during it. We see an unglamorous portrait of life in the 1930s and the kind of people that really existed then. Crawford doesn't parade designer clothes around, or at least is a good enough actress to attract attention away from them. Tracy pales in comparison to Crawford, a difficult task for any actress.
Movie Review: Crawford and Tracy Team Up in Rehashed Plot
Summary: 4 Stars
"Mannequin", the 1938 offering from MGM, teams Joan Crawford and Spencer Tracy in their first and only co-starring vehicle.
Crawford is Jessie Cassidy, a "girl" from the poor side of the tracks in New York, who in typical MGM-style, is desperate to escape her fate and wants a better existence. Enter Eddie Miller (Alan Curtis), who we know from the get-go is no match for Jessie but he offers to marry her and take her out of the tenement she shares with her lazy father, brother and hardworking mother, so she jumps on the opportunity.
Very quickly Jessie realizes that Eddie does not really desire an honest day's work, nor does he have a problem with his wife bringing home the proverbial bacon.
Meanwhile, Eddie sees a possible big cash payday when he notices that bigwig John Hennessy (Tracy) appears to be infatuated with Jessie. Eddie suggests that if he and Jessie divorce, Jessie can then take up with Hennessy, marry him, divorce him, collect alimony and pick right back up with Eddie.
Jessie, in true good girl loving bad boy form, is horrified and promptly rids herself of Eddie.
She ends up in Hennessy's arms anyway and marries him - - only to find that she truly falls in love with him. Even Hennessy's loss of his business, putting him back in the "working class", doesn't dampen her affections.
All in all, "Mannequin" is a rehashing of earlier Crawford films. By this point, the formula is getting a bit thin and stale. Crawford had been churning out these types of shopgirl films for nearly a decade and was hardly a "girl" anymore. And despite Jessie being a poor girl, she spoke with too much refinement and looked far too classy to be appropriately working class. Check out Crawford's earlier "Possessed" and "Dancing Lady" for a more streetwise Crawford.
That aside, the film is good entertainment for Crawford's onscreen pairing (and alleged offscreen pairing, as well) with Spencer Tracy, whose deep and honest acting is almost too good for this type of worn storyline. He and Crawford have an interesting chemistry together and he helps raise this movie over basic fluff.
The other saving grace? Crawford herself, who is lovely and sweet and even sings in this picture. Calling her Box Office Poison back in 1938 seems unduly unjustified, particularly when she helps to bring this type of movie out of the normal cardboard cutout and give it a little pizzazz.
If you are a Joan Crawford fan, or especially an unabashed one like I am, you will definitely want this movie for your viewing pleasure. Crawford is not the younger ingenue of her earlier MGM days, nor is she yet the hardened Warner's version - - she is simply an actress perfecting her craft.
Overall, the story is about three stars, but with Crawford and Tracy in the leads, I'll give it a four.
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