Secrets of an Actress (1938)

How sad is this?

Good movie but grossly overrated

Blistering performances.

The acting in this movie is really good.

In fact, I like Kay Francis, too, although I have learned that whether Francis was good or bad in a film depended a lot on whether the film, overall, was good or bad. And this is fairly bad one. Particularly the early parts of the film where the plot is being set up. But the worst part of the film is the dreadful performance of supporting actress Isabel Jeans; if there were a death penalty for bad acting, Jeans would have been in the gas chamber for this film.Kay Francis struggles through here...and I mean that literally. To me her whole performance is off a bit. Okay, so she's an actress who wants to act only in New York City. I can accept that, but also understand how unrealistic it is to expect to go big time without paying your dues before that.George Brent is an actor I enjoy, but without Bette Davis he was less interesting. And there's no Bette here. He does "okay" here as an architect turned set designer turned lover.Ian Hunter, a likable and dependable actor is...likable and dependable here. No great shakes, but he does "okay" also. To emotionally generous to be in a triangular love affair.And Gloria Dickson as Brent's wife...no thanks.The trouble with this film is that there are things about it that are bad, things about it that are "okay", but very little about it that is good...and certainly nothing about it that is great.Proceed at your own risk. Isabel Jeans as Marian Plantagenet

An urban architect along with his married partner get caught up in a romantic triangle with an ambitious Broadway actress.Professionally done programmer that unfortunately fails to ignite. Frankly, the leads, Francis, Brent, and Hunter, go through the motions, but the men in particular don't project much emotion. Francis, on the other hand, lights things up with her smile and A-grade wardrobe. But she too doesn't go much beyond an indelible presence. Fortunately, supporting players Dickson, Jeans, and Singleton manage to inject needed verve and color.So, will the tangled relationships get straightened out by movie's end. Silly question. Too bad the film wasn't made before the deadening Production Code (1934). That way some real secrets might have been revealed. Instead, I'm pressed to pinpoint even one titillating faux pas. Looks like the title was little more than a commercial ploy. Anyway, the dialog is occasionally sprightly while director Keighley keeps things moving. Overall, the 70-minutes amounts to a cranked-out professional product with a highly misleading title.

Secrets of an Actress never reveals any secrets worth knowing.Two men who are very good friends are in love with the same star (Kay Francis). The story treats Ms. Francis like a yo-yo, tearing her from one man's arms, then from the other's.She is the "prize" in this film. It centers on her, making the two men appear not so valuable, as love objects. And, as a result, it makes Ms. Francis's decision feel somewhat unimportant, though it is what the film revolves around. Their little courtship dances grow wearisome by the end of the film.You might wonder why Kay doesn't just choose the man she truly loves. The story sets up a "straw man" of an argument to keep the lovers apart just so it can later knock it down. I couldn't invest much emotion in the issues of our three protagonists.

A rather benign 70 minute production where Kay Francis, the daughter of a famous actor, will not tour the country, but rather insists upon making the Broadway scene.Whoever made up Miss Francis for this film did a terrible job. She looks just awful. For someone becoming a starlet on Broadway, she certainly does not look the part.I never saw someone become a star so fast. Her play "Springboard" is never shown. We just see Act 1, Act 2, Act 3, etc. and people applauding.The real good acting here goes to Gloria Dickson and Isabel Jeans, especially the latter, who is absolutely hilarious as the pal of Francis.In the male roles, George Brent and Ian Hunter are appealing, but the film is so predictable and is ruined by the real lack of emotion here. The culprit is the bad writing.