Diane Lovering (Joan Crawford) is a woman of action. She's the secretary to shipping magnate Richard Field. He's eager to divorce his wife in order to marry her. She agrees to go on a cruise but not to marry him. On board the ship, she attracts the attention of overly eager Johnnie Smith. He brings along his best friend Mike Bradley (Clark Gable) who double-crosses him by pretending to chase him off. She catches the boys quickly afterwards.
The meet-cute is pretty cute. I get the comedic idea of Diane catching the boys. It would serve Mike better if he confesses after an initial date. She's going find out eventually anyways and he can play with the reveal. He can recruit her into playing a prank on Johnnie and doing the reveal afterwards. Crawford and Gable can't help but exude their star power. Their chemistry is a bit of a battle between titans. On the other hand, Richard Field is a small character by comparison. He needs some heft and probably a bigger actor. For some reason, the story falls somewhat flat after the marriage which doesn't make her look good. The romance fizzles and then it tries to be a pulpy cheating drama. In the end, it doesn't have the teeth to take that bite. It's still worthwhile to see these two stars at work.
The meet-cute is pretty cute. I get the comedic idea of Diane catching the boys. It would serve Mike better if he confesses after an initial date. She's going find out eventually anyways and he can play with the reveal. He can recruit her into playing a prank on Johnnie and doing the reveal afterwards. Crawford and Gable can't help but exude their star power. Their chemistry is a bit of a battle between titans. On the other hand, Richard Field is a small character by comparison. He needs some heft and probably a bigger actor. For some reason, the story falls somewhat flat after the marriage which doesn't make her look good. The romance fizzles and then it tries to be a pulpy cheating drama. In the end, it doesn't have the teeth to take that bite. It's still worthwhile to see these two stars at work.