The Strange Love of Molly Louvain (1932)

Synopsis: Michael Curtiz's THE STRANGE LOVE OF MOLLY LOUVAIN follows the romantic entanglements and tribulations of a woman whose ambition and unbridled attraction to the opposite sex puts her at odds with... Michael Curtiz's THE STRANGE LOVE OF MOLLY LOUVAIN follows the romantic entanglements and tribulations of a woman whose ambition and unbridled attraction to the opposite sex puts her at odds with the constrictions of the small town she lives in. When Molly Louvain (Ann Dvorak) is abandoned by her boyfriend, she searches hard (but not very long) for another man, winding up with a shifty traveling salesman. Soon after giving birth to a daughter from her previous boyfriend, she becomes implicated in a murder and thievery rap. A journalist falls under her spell and tries to help her both stay out of jail and free herself from the dark, gangster-inhabited world she has fallen into. Curtiz, who would later direct one of the more memorable female performances in film history (Joan Crawford in MILDRED PIERCE), shows his talent for building an engrossing story around a strong, complicated female character. His comedy-laced precode melodrama, based on the play TINSEL GIRL by Maurine Dallas Watkins, spikes its gritty exploration of the criminal underworld with bristling--and historically precocious--sexual innuendo. [More]

Starring: Ann Dvorak, Lee Tracy, Richard Cromwell, Guy Kibbee

Starring: Ann Dvorak, Lee Tracy, Richard Cromwell, Guy Kibbee, Leslie Fenton, Frank McHugh, Evalyn Knapp, Charles Middleton, Mary Doran

Director: Michael Curtiz

Producer: Hal B. Wallis
Director: Michael Curtiz
Story: Maurine Watkins

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