AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Suman Roberson It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Rexanne It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

mark.waltz What is really remarkable about this pre-code drama from MGM is that it takes a typical depression era problem and shows the audience that issues are not always resolved, that not all so-called bad girls are really bad, and that survival sometimes means doing things that others will judge you ethically for paths that you had no other choice for chosing. This shows a typical large lower class family, waking up at the start of their day, and arguing over every little thing, from no butter at the breakfast table to who will need to get into the bathroom first. The arguments are silly, but then so is so much family interaction, and this extended sequence (with Clara Blandick and J. Farrell MacDonald as the gruff parents, and Constance Bennett, Anita Page and Jack Hanlon as their children) is so real that it is almost like a camera was planted in some real family's kitchen and followed them around as they went about their day. Bennett goes to work, is noticed by the boss (Adolph Menjou), becomes his "kept woman", then falls in love with the not yet successful Robert Montgomery. Even though Bennett sends her family money after moving out, they pretty much disown her for what they consider immoral behavior.Meanwhile, sister Page gets married to rough around the edges Clark Gable who sees Bennett outside the house at Christmas time and gives her the third degree for bringing shame to the family. Bennett, attending social events and swank parties, is torn between both true love with Montgomery and financial security with Menjou. Old acquaintance (and veteran kept woman) Marjorie Rambeau gives her hell for considering dumping Menjou for Montgomery. the script gives the audience the chance to see the conflict within Bennett's mind. She respects Menjou but doesn't love him, and loves Montgomery, but is afraid of being poor again. So what is a girl to do? That's where the script leaves the audience the choice to guide her fate after the MGM lion roars the end, and it's an interesting way of presenting this situation. Bennett never seems like a girl from a poor family, with her regal ways and fastidious way of making herself up, but then again, many early talkie female movie stars (like Stanwyck and Crawford) never looked like they came from poverty either. Menjou, although using his power and position to make Bennett his mistress, is not really a cad, and that gives him some sympathy. Montgomery's character, however, is not really developed. At the bottom of the billing, Clark Gable first got notice with his small part (three scenes), and it is obvious that he was being geared for stardom. The future Auntie Em (Clara Blandick) is no-nonsense and tough as the mother, and J. Farrell MacDonald shines in a scene after Bennett has been rejected by her mother where he comes to her for financial help (presumably for a visit to the bootlegger). Small elements like this makes this rise above the many similar women's dramas of the pre-code depression early talkie era, and that makes this a must.

cbryce59 wearing a fox fur wrap complete with head.Shop girl Laura from poor family catches the eye of a rich ad executive and is soon doing more than modeling for him. We see her being gifted with jewels, an apartment, clothing, cars.Her sister's husband gives her the righteous speech, calling her a "woman like you." There's one in every picture, even in this pre-code film.Constance is beautiful as always and wears clothes better than anyone else of her time.Off she goes to Colorado with her boss/lover and attends a very strange picnic where she meets Robert Montgomery. A whole pig (poor thing) spins over a pit while a Native in long braids is seen wandering around. She and Robert M. spend some time at the shore of a dubious-looking river bed, and ride horses together, while he makes pretty speeches. And then he proposes marriage.Laura is in love; she breaks off with her rich lover, but soon finds herself in dire straights. In the end, she has to choose-the poor life with the man she loves, or comfort and security with the rich lover.

blanche-2 Constance Bennett is a woman who gets a sugar daddy in "The Easiest Way," also starring Adolphe Menjou, Robert Montgomery, Anita Page, and Clark Gable. Made in 1931, it's directed by Jack Conway, and it's very well done.Bennett plays Laura, who lives in a crowded tenement with her large family, which includes her father who manages not to work. She gets an opportunity to model for an advertising agency. While there, she catches the eye of the boss (Menjou) who offers her a life of luxury. She takes it. Her mother shuns her, and her brother-in-law, Clark Gable, has no use for her. While she and Menjou are in Colorado, she meets a reporter, Robert Montgomery, and they fall in love. She promises to be faithful to him while he's in South America for three months. But it's pretty hard to make it on her own.This is an interesting film. Because the actors were getting used to sound, the rhythm is occasionally off, i.e., there are sometimes awkward pauses between lines. Everyone's acting is good, with the exception of Marjorie Rambeau, who has a very melodramatic role and does the tremulous voice thing in her big monologue. Rambeau, however, had been a Broadway star, where her theatrics were more appropriate, and it took actors time to learn the art of film acting. She was a fantastic actress, and I particularly remember her as Joan Crawford's mother in "Torch Song." Constance Bennett, as usual, was very beautiful. She is excellent in the part of a torn, vulnerable woman. Gable is a tough guy sans mustache. He hadn't yet developed his screen persona, but the gorgeous smile was there. Robert Montgomery is wonderful as a young reporter.There was a neat shot where the camera travels up a building, zeroes in on a window, and then zooms in. It was dizzying and exciting, and it's the kind of detail that makes "The Easiest Way" a good watch. There are real outdoor scenes, too, no painted backdrops, and opulent sets. If they weren't opulent, they were realistic, for instance, the crummy apartment where Laura's family lives.There was another ending to this film that the Hays office vetoed. Apparently it was shown in some theaters but is no longer available. I'm a sap, so I liked the ending that's in the movie.

kburditt Precode movies are always interesting because the plot lines were so cutting edge for their era and often still are for now. While the idea of a kept woman may seem quaint by today's morality, the deeper argument of men controlling a woman's life is still relevant today. A woman could/can use her beauty to gain quick and easy access to wealth. But when the beauty fades so may the access to wealth. Men controlled the jobs a woman could get, her access to society, and even her access to her own family. I was disappointed that the kept woman was so lazy about her circumstances. It took the older kept woman to wake her up to the reality of her situation. On the other hand there is the sister - who gets ahead the 'right' way. She starts out a tenement brat - and ends up a neat happy homemaker with an adorable kid & a good husband. It took time and hard work but she made the comfortable life eventually. There are other things that are worth looking at in this film - Advertising - once upon a time all print advertising was created by artists, with live models. Pencil & paint and cramping muscles. Poverty - Hot crowded tenements with thin, malnourished undereducated people. No privacy, no quiet, no prospects, no reason to play by the rules. Social Security - Once upon a time the old and tired were on their own. If they washed up at 65 with no money - and too tired and broke down to keep working - there was no safety net - just a cheap boarding house that locked you out when you missed the rent. When the prospects are dismal - who can blame a kid for taking the easy way out.