Review of The Purchase Price (1932) by Antonius B — 30 Mar 2016

Barbara Stanwyck had me from the beginning, as she crooned "Take Me Away" so seductively in the movie's first scene, and she could do no wrong from then on. Those eyes, that voice. She's so beautiful, and so natural as an actor.

She plays a nightclub singer who becomes a mail-order bride to a farmer (Jim Gilson) in the middle of nowhere after wanting to get away from city life. It all moves a little too quickly for her as she has a rapid civil ceremony practically after stepping off a long train ride, and that evening she rebuffs her new husband's advances.

He's the sensitive sort and can't forget it, even after she comes around and makes it clear she wants to consummate their marriage, talking to him sweetly and sincerely, and later beckoning him with lingerie.

The movie is not all that well regarded, but I found it sweet, and Stanwyck captivating.