Review of A Free Soul (1931) by Antonius B — 30 Mar 2016

Great performances and a lively plot make this one quite entertaining. The premise is an alcoholic lawyer agrees to give up drinking provided his daughter will stop seeing a gangster she's gotten herself involved with for the thrill of it. Lionel Barrymore is the father and turns in a performance worthy of the Oscar he received, and it's nice to see him in a very different role from old Potter ('It's a Wonderful Life') but hear that same voice. Norma Shearer plays his daughter and was also nominated; she's wonderfully natural in the role of the non-conformist 'free soul', and has a languid sexuality about her in scenes such as the one where she encourages action from her lover instead of talking, and later reclines back and asks for an embrace with "Come on, put 'em around me" before the scene fades to black, and we know what that meant. Clark Gable is the gangster, playing the heavy very well, and Leslie Howard is the 'nice guy'; eight years later, of course, they would appear together as Rhett and Ashley in 'Gone With The Wind'.

It's interesting to compare what shocked people who saw this movie in 1931, and compare it to what shocks us today. The fact that Shearer's character is sexually liberated and seeks out a physical relationship, turning down Gable's offer to marry her, was scandalous. As she slinks around in a thin white dress, she purrs "Men of action are better in action. They don't talk well ... Why, I take it on the run right into your arms, don't I, darling? ... Ace, darling, I'm head over heels mad about you, but what's in the future I don't know...".

We, on the other hand, are shocked at Gable's arrogance when she meets up with him three months later, after having ended their relationship. He shows his nasty side, manhandling her and making it clear that he'll make it known that they've had sex, therefore 'she's mine, she belongs to me'. His behavior isn't condoned of course and others stick up for her, but the idea that's she's ruined in some way and 'not fit for any other man' was the view in society at the time, and part of Leslie Howard's heroism is to attempt to protect her honor.

Worth watching for challenging the morals of the day, and for the star-studded cast, which shine almost a century later.