''Men in Her Life'' is a 1931 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the 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 censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

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 ...

directed by

William Beaudine William Washington Beaudine (January 15, 1892 – March 18, 1970) was an American film actor and director. He was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, turning out films in remarkable numbers and in a wide variety of genres. Life and car ...

and starring Lois Moran,

Charles Bickford Charles Ambrose Bickford (January 1, 1891 – November 9, 1967) was an American actor known for supporting roles. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for '' The Song of Bernadette'' (1943), '' The F ...

and

Victor Varconi Victor Varconi (born Mihály Várkonyi; March 31, 1891 – June 6, 1976) was a Hungarian actor who initially found success in his native country, as well as in Germany and Austria, in silent films, before relocating to the United States, where ...

. It was based on a 1930 novel by Warner Fabian (Samuel Hopkins Adams)."AT THE PALACE 'Men in Her Life (November 21, 1931) ''The Olean Herald'', Olean, New York It was made during a brief spell Beaudine had working at

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

. Critics considered the film one of the studio's better B releases. Part of the film was set in the

Café de la Paix The Café de la Paix () is a famous café located on the northwest corner of the intersection of the Boulevard des Capucines and the Place de l'Opéra, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. Designed in the Nap ...

in Paris which was reconstructed authentically at the Columbia studios. Columbia also made a Spanish-language version of this film, entitled ''Hombres en mi vida''.

Plot

Julia Cavanaugh ( Lois Moran) is a formerly rich socialite who is heavily in debt. She meets Count Ivan Karloff (

), a Russian con-man, whom she hopes to marry to relieve her financial problems. They get engaged and he seduces her but when he finds out that she has no money, he abandons her. Shortly afterwards, she meets a retired bootlegger named Flashy Madden (

), a rough type who offers to pay off her debts if she will teach him how to be a gentleman. She replies that she can only teach him how to behave like one, not how to be one, but she accepts the offer. Julia is being courted by the son of a senator, Dick Webster ( Don Dillaway), and although she is uncertain, she knows that it will benefit her precarious situation and finally accepts. Just as the engagement is about to be announced, Flashy tells Julia that he is in love with someone and can she help him find the words to tell her. They perform a mock proposal together and just as Flashy is about to do it for real, she tells him about her up-coming engagement. Flashy is disappointed but wishes her well. The engagement is announced in the press and the count reads about it. He appears at Julia's apartment and attempts to blackmail her. Flashy is in an adjoining room and overhears the interchange. He tells Julia that he will take care of it and takes the money to Karloff's lodgings. An argument ensues over relinquishing indiscreet letters from Julia and Karloff pulls out a gun and is shot by Flashy in the struggle over the gun. Flashy is arrested but refuses to say anything in order to protect Julia. He does tell his defense counsel, however, and the lawyer goes to see Julia about it. Julia agrees to testify even though it will destroy her reputation. Over Flashy's protests and outbursts in court, she gives testimony about what happened. Her fiancé is in the spectators gallery and on hearing the truth, he leaves the court and ends the engagement. Flashy is acquitted on the grounds of self-defense and is released. He decides to go to Florida and goes to say goodbye to Julia. Julia repeats the same words that Flashy had spoken to her in the mock-proposal, saying that there is a man, the greatest gentleman she has ever known, with whom she is in love and whom she doesn't know how to tell. They embrace and kiss.''Men in Her Life'' (January 7, 2015)

GetTV getTV is an American digital multicast television network owned by the Sony Pictures Television Networks subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television. Originally formatted as a movie-oriented service, the network has since transitioned into a genera ...

Cast

* Lois Moran as Julia Cavanaugh *

as Flashy Madden *

as Count Ivan Karloff * Don Dillaway as Dick Webster *

Luis Alberni Luis Alberni (October 4, 1886 – December 23, 1962) was a Spanish-born American character actor of stage and films. Early years Alberni was born in Barcelona, Spain, on October 4, 1886. He acted in stock theater for four years in Marseille ...

as Anton * Adrienne D'Ambricourt as Maria * Barbara Weeks as Miss Mulholland *

Wilson Benge George Frederick "Wilson" Benge (1 March 1875 – 1 July 1955) was an English actor who mostly featured in American films from the silent days. He appeared in over 200 films between 1922 and 1955. Along with actors Charles Coleman and Ro ...

as Wilton *

Oscar Apfel Oscar C. Apfel (January 17, 1878 – March 21, 1938) was an American film actor, director, screenwriter and producer. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1913 and 1939, and also directed 94 films between 1911 and 1927. Biography Apf ...

as Blake *

Hooper Atchley Lemuel Hooper Atchley (April 30, 1887 – November 17, 1943) was an American film actor. Atchley was the son of Mr. and Mrs. P. S. Atchley. He was a 1908 graduate of the Knoxville, Tennessee, school system. Atchley's first professional ac ...

as District Attorney

Spanish-language version

Columbia produced a Spanish-language version of the film, ''Hombres en mi vida'', which was directed by

David Selman David Selman (1878 – August 1, 1937) was an American film director.Langman & Finn p.86 Selected filmography * '' South Sea Love'' (1923) * '' Kentucky Days'' (1923) * ''Remember'' (1926) * ''Resurrection'' (1931) * '' The Westerner'' (1934) * ...

, and premiered in Los Angeles on February 13, 1932.

Spanish-language cast

Lupe Vélez María Guadalupe Villalobos Vélez (July 18, 1908 – December 13, 1944), known professionally as Lupe Vélez, was a Mexican actress, singer and dancer during the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Vélez began her career as a performer in Mexican ...

as Julia Clark *

Gilbert Roland Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso (December 11, 1905 – May 15, 1994), known professionally as Gilbert Roland, was a Mexican-born American film and television actor whose career spanned seven decades from the 1920s until the 1980s. He was twice no ...

as Jaime Gilman * Ramón Pereda as Andrés Brennon * Carlos Villarías as Bray, abogado defensor * Paul Ellis as Conde Ivan Karloff *

as Gaston * Paco Moreno as Criado Williams

References

Bibliography

* Marshall, Wendy L. ''William Beaudine: From Silents to Television''. Scarecrow Press, 2005.

External links

* {{William Beaudine 1931 films American drama films American black-and-white films 1931 drama films 1930s English-language films Films directed by William Beaudine Columbia Pictures films Films with screenplays by Robert Riskin 1930s American films