''Bad Sister'' is a 1931 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-gen ...

directed by

Hobart Henley Hobart Henley (born Hess Manassah Henle; November 23, 1887 – May 22, 1964) was an American silent film actor, director, screenwriter and producer. He was involved in over 60 films either as an actor or director or both in his twenty-year career, ...

. The screenplay by Edwin H. Knopf, Tom Reed, and Raymond L. Schrock is based on the 1913 novel ''The Flirt'' by

Booth Tarkington Newton Booth Tarkington (July 29, 1869 – May 19, 1946) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels '' The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1918) and '' Alice Adams'' (1921). He is one of only four novelists to win the Pulitze ...

, which had been filmed in 1916 and 1922. The film marks the screen debuts of both

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her p ...

and Sidney Fox (who was billed over Davis). The cast also includes

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Ins ...

and

ZaSu Pitts Zasu Pitts (; January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas, including Erich von Stroheim's epic 1924 silent film '' Greed'', and comedies, transitioning successfully to mostly comedy films with t ...

in supporting roles. ''Bad Sister'' has been preserved in the Library of Congress collection.The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:''Bad Sister''
afi.com; accessed September 23, 2015.

Plot

Set in the 1930s, Marianne Madison, bored with her routine life, falls for dashing

con artist A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have def ...

Valentine Corliss, who has come to her small town looking for fresh marks to swindle. She has many suitors including the desirable Dr. Lindley and the portly Mr. Trumbull. In a chance encounter, she meets Corliss while out on a date with Dr. Lindley and feigns to know Valentine and leaves her date to head home with Valentine. Corliss soon charms her into faking her well-respected father's name on a letter of endorsement which he presents to a small group of local merchants, who willingly give him money. Corliss then prepares his escape, but not before conning Marianne to come away with him with the promise of marriage. Her sister Laura is sweet and unassuming and in love with Dr. Lindley who does not return her affections. Her younger brother hands her personal diary professing her feelings to Dr. Lindley when he visits the house to look after her father who has collapsed after being berated by Marianne for not supporting Valentine without verifying him. Dr. Lindley is flustered and excuses himself, Laura burns her diary and with it her hopes of marrying him. Meanwhile, after spending a night together in his Columbus hotel room, Valentine abandons Marianne. Angry, ashamed, no longer a maiden—and unmarried—she returns home and announces to her jilted fiancé Dr. Lindley that she will now marry him. However, she has toyed with him enough, and he informs her that he has fallen in love with her shy younger sister Laura and no longer returns her affections. All is not lost though; after confessing to her father and the duped investors, Marianne accepts wealthy but portly Wade Trumbull's marriage proposal. Trumbull bails her father completely out of his debt and during their first year of marriage Marianne comes to be genuinely fond of him.

Cast

Conrad Nagel John Conrad Nagel (March 16, 1897 – February 24, 1970) was an American film, stage, television and radio actor. He was considered a famous matinée idol and leading man of the 1920s and 1930s. He was given an Academy Honorary Award in 1940 and ...

as Dr Dick Lindley * Sidney Fox as Marianne Madison *

as Laura Madison *

as Valentine Corliss *

Charles Winninger Charles J. Winninger (May 26, 1884 – January 27, 1969) was an American stage and film actor, most often cast in comedies or musicals. Life and career Winninger was born in Athens, Wisconsin, the son of Rosalia (Grassler) and Franz Winninger ...

as Mr Madison *

Emma Dunn Emma Dunn (26 February 1875 – 14 December 1966) was an English actress. After starting her acting career on stage in London, she became known for her works in numerous films and Broadway productions. Career Emma Dunn appeared onstage in ...

as Mrs Madison *

as Minnie (the Madison family servant) *

Slim Summerville Slim Summerville (born George Joseph Somerville; July 10, 1892 – January 5, 1946), was an American film actor and director best known for his work in comedies. Early life Summerville was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where his mother d ...

as Sam *

Bert Roach Egbert "Bert" Roach (August 21, 1891 – February 16, 1971) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 320 films between 1914 and 1951. He was born in Washington, D.C., and died in Los Angeles, California, age 79. Selected filmogra ...

as Wade Trumbull *

David Durand David Durand (1680 – 16 January 1763) was a Huguenot French and English minister and historian. He was born in Languedoc and fled France to the Netherlands before heading to Spain with a group of refugees, being captured at the Battle of A ...

as Hedrick Madison (Marianne and Laura's kid brother)

Production and release notes

* The original title for ''Bad Sister'' during production was ''What a Flirt'' and then briefly changed to ''Gambling Daughters'' just before the film's nationwide release.Stine, Whitney, and Davis, Bette, ''Mother Goddam: The Story of the Career of Bette Davis''. New York: Hawthorn Books 1974. , pp. 8-11 * Bette Davis, nervous about her appearance in her first feature film, consulted with studio makeup chief Jack Pierce, who "surveyed me critically, almost resentfully," she recalled for an interview in the April 1938 issue of ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American women's magazine featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, and health, as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good House ...

''. "Your eyelashes are too short, hair's a nondescript color, and mouth's too small. A fat little Dutch girl's face, and a neck that's too long," he told her. He suggested a different shade of

lipstick Lipstick is a cosmetic product used to apply coloration and texture to lips, often made of wax and oil. Different pigments are used to produce color, and minerals such as silica may be used to provide texture. The use of lipstick dates back t ...

and advised her to use eye shadow, but their meeting left Davis feeling anxious and lacking self-confidence. After seeing the completed film, producer Carl Laemmle, Jr. commented, "Can you imagine some poor guy going through hell and high water and ending up with ''her'' at the fade-out?" * Davis was required to change a baby in one scene, and the fact the infant was a boy was kept secret from her. When she undid the diaper and saw male genitals for the first time in her life, she was so embarrassed her face reddened enough to look deep gray for on the production's black-and-white film. * Davis and her mother attended a preview of the film in

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...

. The actress was reportedly so distressed by her performance that they left before the final credits. Certain her Hollywood career was over, she cried all the way home.

References

External links

* * {{Booth Tarkington 1931 films 1931 drama films American drama films American black-and-white films Films based on American novels Films based on works by Booth Tarkington Films directed by Hobart Henley Universal Pictures films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films