Evelyn Prentice (1934)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Directed by William K. Howard, with a screenplay by Lenore J. Coffee that was based on the novel by W.E. Woodward, this mystery drama is clever enough to hold one's interest until the final act, when the law goes out the window and incredulity reigns. It was actually the third film (ever and) from that year to team William Powell and Myrna Loy, who plays the title role.Evelyn Prentice (Loy) is the wife of a successful and well known, workaholic defense attorney, John (Powell), who specializes in helping women, like Mrs. Nancy Harrison (Rosalind Russell, who appears briefly as one such woman, in her screen debut), avoid conviction. When Mrs. Harrison insists on showing Prentice gratitude for her acquittal, Evelyn gets the wrong idea, which leads her into a brief if initially innocent situation with a conniving poet named Larry Kennard (Harvey Stephens). Thanks to Evelyn's interfering and visiting friend Amy Drexel (Una Merkel), Prentice gets wind of his wife's discontent and suspicions; he plans a 6 month 'reconciliation' European cruise for he, his wife, and their precocious 7 year old Dorothy (Cora Sue Collins). But Kennard learns of this through the society papers and with Evelyn's letters to him, whose meaning could be misinterpreted, he attempts to blackmail her for $15,000. She sees a gun in his desk drawer and demands her letters. Downstairs, Lennard's jealous girlfriend Judith Wilson (Isabel Jewell) hears a shot ring out, but fails to see Evelyn, holding a handkerchief to her mouth, escaping down the front stairs. Ms. Wilson is accused of killing Kennard. Evelyn, who has a "too be explained" cut on her mouth, insists that they cancel their cruise so that her husband might defend Ms. Wilson.An unbelievable trial ensues, one without much credibility to begin with that gets even more implausible, breaking all legal procedure and protocol, as it proceeds; Frank Conroy plays District Attorney Farley. Edward Brophy plays a brief, yet memorable role as Prentice's assistant Eddie Delaney; Jessie Ralph plays an even briefer role as Mrs. Blake, a witness to Evelyn's exit who keeps quiet in hopes of some future remuneration. Herman Bing appears uncredited as an antiques dealer named Klein, the scene that makes Brophy's role memorable. Billy Gilbert appears uncredited as a café owner, Samuel Hinds as a party guest.Remade as Stronger than Desire (1939) with Virginia Bruce, Walter Pidgeon, Lee Bowman, and Ann Dvorak.

Movies like Evelyn Prentice give me one of the greatest satisfactions I get from watching films; discovering an obscurity from an actor's filmography which I end up considering to be one of their finest films. Myrna Loy superbly carries Evelyn Prentice , dominating majority of the screen time, with William Powell delivering one of his finest dramatic turns, while seeing Rosalind Russell in her screen debut is just a mere bonus. Russell doesn't have a whole lot to do but she still comes off as a memorable screen presence despite this, although it is a little odd hearing her speak in an English accent and not at a machine gun rate. Loy and Una Merkel make for a fun duo, with Merkel having a very memorable comic sounding voice. Just the deco of Evelyn Prentice itself makes me love this film more, whether it's a smoke filled night club, the lavish interior of Powell and Loy's home to even the clothes worn in the film (the costume department really knocks this one out of the park), sucking me into the world of the 1930's.Scenes such as the family exercising or the father and daughter playing piano together helps humanize them, making me more fearful that a character played by the sweetheart Myrna Loy could be going to prison, or maybe get the electric chair! The tension builds as the film progresses. The scene in which a witness arrives at the Prentice household while Evelyn is present to describe the women she witnessed leaving the murder scene, this women of course being Evelyn buy nobody else knows that, feels like the type of moment you would get from a Hitchcock movie. In fact the entire premise of the movie could be given the Hitchcock treatment.I often feel like Hollywood make being a lawyer look like the coolest job ever. Even if John Prentice (William Powell) is missing time from his family, his turn during the film's courtroom climax makes the profession look like a constant flow of hair raising excitement. The film's final twenty minute courtroom sequence had my heart pounding, eating up every minute of its melodramatic glory while screaming in anticipation to how the characters are going to get themselves out of this situation. At the same time however I was tense that the movie would pull the characters out of their intense dilemma in a contrived manner, I'm pleased to say I was not disappointed. The outcome of the case is movie fantasy but it didn't feel like a cop out. Throughout this sequence Powell and Loy do some of the finest acting work of their careers. Myrna Loy is generally not highly regarded as a dramatic actress but I would defy anyone say otherwise as she lays on the tears and the passionate pleas. I must also give credit to Judith Wilson, whole also left an impression during these proceedings. As a fan of Powell & Loy partnership and courtroom dramas, their third film together satisfied more than I could ask for. Manhattan Melodrama, The Thin Man and Evelyn Prentice all in one year, ain't too stingy.

Other than crackling film due to the fact that this was made in 1934, we have a great picture here. You can forget the inane Thin Man series as William Powell and Myrna Loy deliver dynamite performances in this drama.It's the old story of the neglected wife of a big-time lawyer finding herself in the arms of another man, only to have him blackmail her with his murder ensuing.Loy watches the trial as her husband defends Isabell Jewell who is perceived to be the killer. In an emotional outburst, Evelyn (Loy) proclaims her guilt with Powell coming to her defense with a surprise ending. Jewell is terrific and was always so when she was emotional. Who can ever forget her brief appearance as the condemned seamstress in "A Tale of Two Cities?" (1935). Note that Rosalind Russell had a small part in this film as a young widow with designs on Powell, especially after he got her off in an accidental death case. Jesse Ralph is reliable with that Irish brogue that she possessed. That would serve her well 2 years later in the memorable "San Francisco.""Evelyn Prentice" is a picture of the human heart with a woman doing the right thing that she felt she was supposed to do. A story of forgiveness and ultimate redemption on all concerned.

Besides the obvious factors of a great cast of that era, a great writer of women's films and how the writers, director and actors were able to tell all without showing it all - leaving much to the imagination, one of the great surprises of this film is a short scene in a nightclub where two male dancers, one white and one black, do a lovely tap dance number. This is one of the first integrated dance sequences in a white nightclub I remember seeing on film.If anyone has more information about the dancers, and the history of this scene, i would be delighted to hear more about it! What a huge surprise.And you may know that Rosalind Russell is in the film, her film debut and she is great as ever, with the camera loving her. She would soon go on to greater film roles like her comedy with Cary Grant, that classic, My Girl Friday.The set designs are wonderful and reflect that period of Hollywood studio work. The cinematography too is wonderful. And the drama between William Powell and Myrna Loy is as wonderful as always. Una Merkel is a delight, filling in the gaps and the dialog of that period is also delightful.I enjoyed it. If you enjoy those great black and white 1930s classics, I think you will also enjoy this little gem.