Preston Sturges' hit sex comedy of 1929 was filmed by Universal almost entirely intact, with an A cast and direction by the proficient but apparently not-very-nice John Stahl. It poses the question, will Southern belle Isabelle (Sidney Fox, who's charming) opt for life in West Orange with her obnoxious fiancé (George Meeker, quite good), or will she succumb to the ministrations of handsome Lothario opera singer Gus (Paul Lukas, perfect casting)? It's a situation not unlike "The Moon Is Blue," so scandalously filmed some 20 years later, and its frankness about virginity and conventional morality is refreshing. There's also Lewis Stone as a tippling judge, livelier than he often was at MGM, and Sidney Toler, almost unrecognizably handsome as an Irish cop. You have to accept the prejudices and skewed morality of the time--there's casually racist chatter, and drunkenness in and of itself is supposed to be hilarious--but it's a delightful artifact. And while Sturges' incomparable gift for dialog isn't in full flower yet, you can see the genius he's going to become.
Review of Strictly Dishonorable
