Our Blushing Brides (1930) User Reviews

Why Marry a Millionaire?

[movingpicturegal · 7/10 · 17 May 2006]

About three working girls/roommates/gal pals and their relationships with three men/millionaires/heels. The girls all work at Jardine's department store where virtuous Jerry (played by Joan Crawford) models dresses and ladies lingerie, blonde and innocent Connie (Anita Page) works the perfume counter, and wisecracking, sarcastic Franky (Dorothy Sebastian) is stuck in blankets (where there's "not a male customer in a carload"). Franky finally does meet a man in the blanket department - he's loaded with free-flowing wads of cash, so she immediately agrees to go out with him. Meanwhile pretty Connie is having a love affair with the owner's son, David Jardine (played by Raymond Hackett, who looked to me like a cross between David and Ricky Nelson), and Jerry has a fancy for the other son, Tony Jardine (Robert Montgomery). Jerry thinks Tony is "different" from the other cads/men she meets - but she soon finds out he's not as she ends up in his lair - a tree house complete with sunken couch, dim lights, mood music, and disappearing staircase. Oh brother!

This film is quite enjoyable, I like the interrelationships between the three girls - there's plenty of chemistry and camaraderie there. Robert Montgomery is a doll, his slim self handsomely decked out in tuxedo, white tie, and tails (ooh la la) - he plays his playboy-like part expertly. Joan Crawford acts up a storm in this, with a full range of emotions - and gets to show herself off in slinky outfits and barely-there lingerie as well (which she REALLY seems to enjoy doing!). The film includes a fun fashion show, complete with foppish Parisian dress designers, and lots of capes, drapes, ruffles, and deco look hats.

working girls and sexual morality in 1930

[mukava991 · 6/10 · 4 December 2008]

Here we witness the reunion of Joan Crawford, Dorothy Sebastian and Anita Page two years after their 1928 hit, Our Dancing Daughters. This time, perhaps reflecting the input of left- wing screenwriter John Howard Lawson, the girls are proletarian department store workers instead of the privileged creatures they played in the previous film. The early scenes pan through the dressing room where the employees dress for the day's work, catching snatches of shopgirl conversation. But the three central characters are still struggling with that old demon, sexual morality in the modern era. In this round, Crawford is the cynical one who has been abused so often by men that she has developed a distinct armor against their advances; Sebastian and Page are utter dupes who, in their yearning to marry money and escape a life of drudgery, fall for the first superficial moneyed suitor that comes along. Robert Montgomery, Raymond Hackett and John Miljan are the flawed menfolk they encounter.

Though the plot developments are contrived even by the standards of the day, this is not a bad entertainment but it suffers midway when the progression of events grinds to a halt in favor of an elaborate but not very imaginative fashion show, ostensibly to impress female moviegoers, or perhaps to show off Crawford's beautiful body and skill at posing. She gets the star treatment here, frequently in dazzling close-up. Sometimes her facial expressions veer a bit into semi-dementia, but she restrains herself admirably. Anita Page does very well as the innocent victim of the thoughtless Hackett. Sebastian's role is in the wan mode of ZaSu Pitts; she has an amusing drunk scene. Montgomery, born to wear white tie and tails, must have gotten a big career boost with this one.

If nothing else, this film can probably boast the most impressive tree house ever created for the screen.

Joan Crawford was Radiant

[whpratt1 · 7/10 · 12 March 2008]

Enjoyed this 1930's film starring Joan Crawford, (Gerry March) who lives with several girls who all work for a department store, some girls sell perfume and most of them are fashion models. All the girls are looking for the right man to marry who has money and they also want to throw away their alarm clocks and stop working and have babies. Gerry March has been around the block a few times and is always on guard against men who try to hit on her mainly because they have hurt her very badly in the past. Gerry tries to caution all the girls and stays pretty much to herself until Tony Jardine, (Robert Montgomery) enters her life and she really falls for him in a big way until he brings her to his secret tree house which looks like a penthouse suite and stairs that fold up. Tony is her boss at the department store and after the tree house scene, Gerry writes him off her list as a typical male trying to score. Great entertaining film, and if you like to see what women wore in the 1930's this is the film for you.

The third entry in Joan Crawford's "flapper trilogy" of films

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 3 October 2009]

This was the third film in the Joan Crawford flapper trilogy - (Our Dancing Daughters (1928)/Our Modern Maidens (1929)/Our Blushing Brides (1930)). The first two were silent, the third was a talking picture. This was not Joan Crawford's first talking picture nor her first film with costar Robert Montgomery - both those honors go to 1929's "Untamed".

You can really see the onset of the Great Depression having an effect in this final film of the trilogy. The first two films involve lots of melodrama, but there is also widespread prosperity and a focus on living it up with partying that reflects the excesses of the 1920's. This final film really isn't about living it up at all. It's more about three shop girls just getting by and how the men in the lives of two of them (Anita Page and Dorothy Sebastian) promise the good life but end up raining down tragedy upon them, while the third shop girl, Gerry (Joan Crawford), has her own cynical attitude towards men reinforced by watching the fates of her two friends. That makes the ending seem a little tacked on and even unbelievable to some degree, but it's still a good film.

Unfortunately this film is neither on DVD or VHS. "Our Dancing Daughters" and "Our Modern Maidens" can be found on used VHS copies, but the transfer is pretty blurry. None of the three is on DVD, and considering their place in Joan Crawford's filmography, I find that to be a shame.

starts light but ends darker

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 3 July 2023]

Jerry March (Joan Crawford), Connie Blair (Anita Page), and Francine Daniels (Dorothy Sebastian) are best friends and department store sales clerks. They share an apartment in New York City. Tony Jardine (Robert Montgomery) is the charming older son of the store owner and he has eyes for Jerry. David Jardine (Raymond Hackett) is the less responsible younger playboy brother and he likes Connie. Martin W. Sanderson (John Miljan) flirts with Francine.

Jerry and Tony have a good meet-cute although it's a little creepy in today's world. In a modern movie, Tony would play up the exaggerated visual of being bowled over. The premise remains the same throughout history. Ah-OO-Ga! This is a good setup for a light fun rom-com. The modeling does get a bit repetitive although it was probably daring for its time. The dancing isn't special enough to be good musical work. Then it turns darker and ends in something really dark. This is pre-Code and an early talkie for Joan Crawford as she transitions from the silent era. She is certainly a star in this new cinematic landscape.

Crawford's show

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 5 August 2010]

Overly long, dated, predictable melodrama done in 1930. Joan Crawford plays a department store model, Gerry Marsh, who resists the charms of Tony Jardine (Robert Montgomery), whose family owns the store. Meanwhile, she watches her two roommates (Dorothy Sebastian and Anita Page) make big mistakes regarding men.

This is a pre-code film, and despite the above-mentioned problems, they're always interesting to watch. This one had to do with giving in to one's baser instincts (having sex) for money and the good life. This is 1930, and America was still preoccupied with class distinctions. Gerry refuses to give in to Tony, but her roommate Connie (Anita Page) is kept by his brother David. Franky (Dorothy Sebastian) marries a big talker.

Two scenes stick out as a sign of the times - outside Gerry's apartment building on a hot summer night, the street is teeming with kids playing, an ice cream cart, and people sitting on the stoop. A very realistic portrayal of cities back then. With no air conditioning and no television, people sat outside for the air and to talk with their neighbors. Social interaction, not social networks, Internet, and cable, provided their entertainment.

The second striking thing was the radio description of an engagement of a couple from socially prominent families. I remember seeing an old Vogue magazine where an woman engaged to some sort of royalty got a full page portrait. Not uncommon.

For anyone who only knows the hard-faced Joan Crawford of later years, this movie will serve as a revelation. Made for movies with those huge, mesmerizing eyes, beautiful face, and trim figure, Crawford shines here. At times she sounds like she's sporting some sort of affected accent, though I don't know why. Page and Sebastian are also very good in their roles. Montgomery is underused - he was more than a dashing leading man - but he looks great and does the role well.

All in all, worth seeing for the young Crawford and a look at life in 1930 for shop girls.

Follow-up to Our Modern Maidens, but not as good

[nickandrew · 4 September 2000]

Three roommates (Crawford, Sebastian, and Page), who just happen to work in the same department store, seek rich husbands during the Great Depression. The stars outshine a somewhat dated and unbelievable script, that was a follow-up to Our Dancing Daughters & Our Modern Maidens. A big moneymaker in its day.

Trolling for Husbands

[zardoz-13 · 7/10 · 2 January 2014]

Joan Crawford lands her man in director Harry Beaumont's "Our Blushing Brides," but her two roommates aren't as fortunate as she is in the game of love. This early MGM black & white, Pre-Code soaper about three eligible single girls who work at a New York City department is the third entry in a "jazz age" trilogy that began in 1928 with Beaumont's "Our Dancing Daughters" and continued with Jack Conway's "Our Modern Maidens" in 1928. The plot is pretty simple as well as predictable. The Bess Meredyth, John Howard Lawson, and Edwin Justus Mayer screenplay follows the exploits of model Jerry (Joan Crawford) and her two optimistic gal pals Connie (Anita Page of "The Broadway Melody") and linen sales clerk Francine (Dorothy Sebastian of "Spite Marriage") and their romantic affairs with the opposite sex. Naturally, these babes are looking not only for mister right but also mister millionaire and "Our Blushing Brides" depicts their successes and failures. Basically, Jerry harbors few illusions about men and believes that they are out to take advantage of girls. Meantime, her roommates go for the gold.

Francine flirts with a mustached Lothario, Marty (John Miljan of "Apache Warrior") who prefers to purchase everything with cold hard cash. Eventually, she falls for him and they tie the knot. When Francine is flaunting her jewelry to Jerry, an inquisitive Detective (Robert Emmett O'Connor) barges into Jerry's apartment. He bursts her bubble of prosperity when he reveal to her that he is nothing but a con artist. At the same time, Connie falls hard for the youngest son of the department store owner where she works. David (Raymond Hackett) is a regular lady killer. He sweeps Connie off her feet and then Jerry catches him with another woman when she goes out for an evening on the town and runs into him at a show. Jerry heads off to inform on David to Connie, but she doesn't get a chance to spill the beans. Ironically, David walks in on them and he thinks that Jerry has already told Connie about his hot date. Connie breaks up with David and later she commits suicide. As for Jerry, our heroine fends off the advances of a fellow department store employee, Joe Munsey (Edward Brophy of "All Through the Night"), as well as the oldest son of the department store owner, Tony (Robert Montgomery of "The Divorcée"), who pursues her until she flatly tells him to bug off.

The moral of the story is that gals ought to play hard to get, because the only thing that men want is love on the run. The scenes where Crawford models lingerie are revealing for its day. She appears in one scene in the equivalent of a bikini and Montgomery is all eyes for her. This glimpse of life in the 1930s is interesting, but the narrative contains few surprises, except for the ending that finds Tony landing Jerry after the tragedy of Connie's suicide attempt. Presumably, Connie took pills, but we aren't allowed to see her do it because there were some acts that Hollywood prohibited Pre-Code or otherwise. It appears that Connie loaded up on pills but Hollywood wasn't allowed to show such things for few that it might prompt others to perform such an act. This early example of a 'chick flick' shows how little the woman's picture has changed over the last century. Beaumont would helm some of Crawford's later films, such as "Dance, Fools, Dance" and "Laughing Sinners." Apart from the suicide , "Our Blushing Brides" seems like the wrong title for this melodrama.

Pre-Code Pre Depression predestination?

[1930s_Time_Machine · 5/10 · 3 January 2024]

It's a rare and delightful experience to see a film from 1929/1930, before the Depression took hold that's as watchable as this is. This shows us a whole different and fascinating world to what we find in pictures made just a few months later.

Our modern age was born and raised during the 1930s but at the beginning of that decade, 'moderns' were still outsiders, flappers and oddballs whom most people considered would soon grow up and conform to the norms of society. What's so interesting about this is that whereas Anita Page, Dorothy Sebastian and certainly Robert Montgomery are definitely of the old world, Joan Crawford seems to come from some time in the future. Her way of thinking and the way she looks at the world, even the way she looks resonates with us today surprisingly well. The intelligent script uses Joan's character to contrast modernity with the old, fuddy duddy Victorian values of the establishment. You just know that her destiny isn't predetermined. Unlike her friends, she has the free will to be herself; she has choice. As probably nobody ever noted, Crawford is Martin Luther to Anita Page's Jean Calvin!

As a motion picture, this isn't wonderful but it's very watchable. It's probably more interesting as a snapshot into a long gone world than a piece of entertainment. The characters are believable enough but they still feel like actors rather than real people so you can't engage with them emotionally. Director Harry Beaumont doesn't quite manage to bring them to life. He does however get them to act naturally, they're not like you sometimes see in a lot of very early talkies which are just filmed stage plays, this is a proper talking picture. It's a big budget MGM production with a top cast, flashy sets and some really superb fluid camerawork at times ... but also some very atrociously lazy camerawork at other times - especially during the dullest fashion show in the history of cinema. I'm normally the first person to sit up and stare, goggle-eyed at the screen during the obligatory pre-code lingerie scenes but this fashion show is truly awful and it goes on and on forever.

When you've watched this you realise that it wasn't as good as you thought it was. It's too long, it had a stupid ending and it's very, very repetitive - it has a point to get across... which it does over and over and over again. Unlike Zanuck's punch-you-the-stomach style of Warner Brothers social commentaries which were just about to begin, the melodrama and the tragedy portrayed in this feels cold. Maybe those horrible dark days of the Depression were needed to give films like these a soul?

Stay a good girl until you're married

[HotToastyRag · 7/10 · 5 June 2019]

Joan Crawford, Anita Page, and Dorothy Sebastian are roommates and poor salesgirls in a clothing shop in Our Blushing Brides. While Joan is the only one with a sensible head on her shoulders, she has a moment of weakness and goes up to Robert Montgomery's private treehouse penthouse. He tries to seduce her, and after a couple of kisses she tells him she wants to go home. She explains that not all girls have a modern sense of romance and apologizes for misleading him, to which he slimily responds, "I'm sorry I didn't mislead you." Then, when she tries to leave the treehouse and finds he's removed the ladder, he says, "You're such an angel, why don't you fly down?"

While I'm definitely a Robert Montgomery fan, and he's definitely handsome and full of appeal in this movie, he's also quite a heel. The other men in the film aren't any better, promising love nests and beautiful clothes for exchanges of services, or getting girls drunk with hopes of taking advantage. The overwhelming theme is perfect for the title, urging ladies to stay good girls until they find a decent guy willing to marry them. The screenplay is quite good, even though the main theme isn't one taken seriously nowadays. Within this romantic drama, hilarious quips bounce off each other, like, "I think those drinks I took went to your head." If you like Joan Crawford, or like me, you like her during her early days, you might want to check out this drama.

Middling Early Crawford Work

[utgard14 · 5/10 · 3 January 2014]

Third entry in Joan Crawford's flapper trilogy. The story is about three department store workers and roommates who are out to land husbands, preferably rich ones. Joan plays Jerry, Anita Paige is Connie, and Dorothy Sebastian is Franky. Jerry is the most level-headed of the three while the other two are complete idiots. Franky falls for a guy because he throws money around. Connie falls for a guy who plays the love card pretty liberally but won't propose. This is basically one of those "men will say whatever to get laid" stories. If you've seen one, you've seen them all. I suppose at the time it was sort of a cautionary tale for working girls that he won't buy the cow if the milk is free. It's all watchable enough but forgettable. Robert Montgomery has an early unimpressive role as Jerry's love interest.

Early Crawford gem

[beyondtheforest · 10/10 · 16 March 2008]

Joan Crawford was the top box office star of 1930. That year she made three films: Montana Moon, Our Blushing Brides, and Paid. Even though these films were hits in their day, none have ever been available on home video. That is a shame, because they are all enjoyable.

Our Blushing Brides was the third and last of the "Our" series of films, which started in 1928 with the success of Our Dancing Daughters. It is also the best of the three, with an intelligent script, fabulous art deco sets, and terrific performances.

Joan Crawford stars as Gerry, who works in a department store and lives in an apartment with three other young women, played by Anita Page and Dorothy Sebastian. Each of these women is being pursued by rich men.

Sebastian is out for money. She marries a rich man on their first date, after he promises her that she will never have to wake up to an alarm again. Page is in love with the wealthy son of the department store owner, who is in love with her but will not marry her. Crawford is disillusioned and does not trust men. She is the most independent of the three, but even she has trouble resisting the advances of a young and handsome Robert Montgomery, also a son of the department store owner.

When Crawford discovers Montgomery's intentions are motivated purely by lust, after being lured to his art deco tree loft for a midnight rendezvous, she walks out on him and keeps him guessing. Meanwhile, Page and Sebastian find out their men are cads, using them for sex and going out on them behind their backs. Sebastian's husband is arrested, and Page's beau marries someone else, prompting her to swallow poison.

Crawford, in a fit of rage, rushes to the wedding and orders Page's former beau to return to her until she gets well. Montgomery, sensing the reason why Crawford distrusted men, loves her all the more for it. But what will become of Page and Sebastian, and will Montgomery finally be the man Crawford can trust and love? This is an excellent pre-code, with moments of funny comedy and tearful drama. If you want to see a set of actors at their vibrant and youthful best, you have to give this little-known film a chance.

A charming movie

[mountainkath · 6/10 · 31 December 2008]

Even though I found this movie quite predictable (did anyone think that Jerry wouldn't end up with Tony?), I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Dorothy Sebastian's role was quite small and didn't really make an impact on me. However, I thought Joan Crawford and Anita Page were wonderful (and lovely) in their roles. Connie's sweet naiveté was a perfect contrast to Jerry's worldliness. However, I find it a little hard to believe that Jerry didn't date anyone throughout the course of this movie (except in the final scene). I would have expected a woman like her to date men, but not get serious with them.

One of my quibbles with this movie was the ending. There was the great drama of Connie's death and then *poof*: Jerry and Tony are happy together. Are we to believe that Jerry's grief drove her to him? I'm not sure how they should have resolved those two plot points (death and joy), but the way they handled it was quite awkward.

My other issue with this movie is that the fashion show at the Jardine estate went on much too long. It seemed to slow down the pace of the movie.

On a shallow note, I loved the costumes worn by the women in this movie. They were magnificent.

Boring

[AAdaSC · 3/10 · 7 August 2009]

Gerry (Joan Crawford), Connie (Anita Page) and Francine (Dorothy Sebastian) share an apartment and work in the same shop. The film follows the love affairs and heartaches with the 3 men in their lives. Does the pursuit of wealth pay off in the long run....?....

Its boring. What stands out at the end of the film are the couple of fashion show sequences at the beginning - pointless space fillers when you are still alive at the beginning of the film. The second one has a flash of Busby Berkely-type brilliance but its only a fleeting moment. As you drift in and out of the rest of the film with its lame storyline, you start to notice that Joan Crawford looks mad. The acting is fine but the story is dull and resolves itself rather unrealistically. I don't need to watch this again.

Decent Entry in the "Trilogy"

[Michael_Elliott · 30 September 2009]

Our Blushing Brides (1930)

** (out of 4)

Third film in the (name only) trilogy has Joan Crawford, Anita Page and Dorothy Sebastian playing girlfriends working together in a department store and sharing the same apartment. The three women discuss the hopes of one day finding rich men to marry. Page and Sebastian will stop at nothing to find a rich one whereas Crawford has more morals and tries to do things the correct way. While this film doesn't work as good as the previous two, it's still a fairly entertaining movie that manages to have some great actors doing nice work to bring a rather predictable story to life. The biggest problem with the film is its rather weak story that isn't strong enough to carry a 101-minute film and there's also the horrid ending, which really kills the film but I won't ruin it for anybody. What works best are the performances with Crawford once again shining as the good girl who must keep her moral high ground even when those around her are taking an easier path. Crawford makes the character her own and does a nice job with it. Page steals the film as one of the bad girls who gets herself in a bad situation with the expected outcome. Sebastian is also very good in her small role as is Robert Montgomery, Raymond Hackett and John Miljan as the men in the women's lives. Other good things including the sound, which is actually the best I've heard in an early talkie. Listening the the crisp dialogue will have you forgetting how young this movie was in the sound game. Another plus are some nice pre-code moments, which includes plenty of legs and scantly clad women including Crawford. Some nice dialogue rounds things off but one still wishes the screenplay was better.

Pretty good but awfully formulaic

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 17 March 2008]

From 1928-1930, Joan Crawford made three very similar films with very similar titles--OUR DANCING DAUGHTERS (1928), OUR MODERN MAIDENS (1929) and this film. All were about Joan and her friends trying to find the perfect man, but encountering problems when they discover that these "perfect" man were often rats or expected them to "put out"--with no certainty of marriage. Compared to the films after the Production Code was enforced (1934 and later), these films are amazingly frank about sex and the plots seemed to revolve around this struggle to maintain self-respect and virginity while also finding a happy marriage.

In all these films, Joan played a "nice girl" who would NOT put out, though her friends did and faced the consequences. So what you have are moralistic films that still pushed the envelope with their themes. In all three films, Anita Page played one friend and Dorothy Sebastian played the other friend in two of the three films.

While this film is pure formula and also highly reminiscent to most of Joan's films of the 1930s (where she was a poor girl willing to do almost anything to bag a rich man), it is unique enough to be worth seeing. I particularly liked the portion of the film involving Anita Page--it was pretty awful but fascinating. The only sour note was the ending. I thought having Joan getting married to the brother-in-law of the man responsible for the death of one of her friends was really far-fetched, though my wife thought this actually worked well.

Overall, nothing particularly new or inspiring enough to make this a must-see, but Crawford fans should enjoy it nonetheless.

By the way, of all her films, Crawford is probably her most beautiful here--without the crazy padded shoulders or severe makeup that became her trademarks in later films.

Decent "modern" melodrama

[funkyfry · 6/10 · 28 October 2002]

A showcase for Joan Crawford -- R. Montgomery's name appeared way at the bottom of the screen with all the other names while Joan's was huge above the credits. Cinderella story with a squalid sexy feel, including lots of lingerie-clad models and the suggestion of sexual violence. It's not really very funny, though, and sound hampers all aspects of this early "talkie". Montgomery is good as usual, but his role is very insubstantial considering his talents (which would not come out until years later in "Night Must Fall" and "suspense" on radio). This movie probably helped his career, though, because he looks and sounds pretty good in it, compared to the squeeking britishers starting to dominate films after sound (the best of whom, Ray Milland and Cary Grant, are fortunately the only ones well remembered).

Digging for a heart of gold.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 1 March 2017]

Three basically decent shop girls all try to fulfill their dream of love, some aspiring for money, some for matrimony, but all in agreement that they want to change their station in life. It's a third pairing of Joan Crawford and Anita Page, joined by Dorothy Sebastian, and it's "Gold Diggers of 1933", "The Greeks Had a Word For Them" and "Girls About Town" with different stars and different studios. Wide-eyed Crawford is the focus, in love with man about town Robert Montgomery, and insisting that it's love, not money, that attracts her. But Page and Sebastian only have their eyes set on men of less noble personalities whose wallet sizes match their egos. It's up to Crawford to guide them to happy endings, even though she isn't so lucky with genuinely nice guy Montgomery whom she suspects is not as serious as he claims to be.

A fashion show 1930 style rivals the 1939 camp-fest of "The Women", although this is in glorious black and white. Like its two predecessors, this is an art deco lovers dream. Like other non- musicals, this results in what becomes a production number, indicating why movie audiences tired of the ballets quite early on in the sound era. The set designs are out of this world, including a huge swimming pool for the fashion show and an even bigger tree House that lights up like a mansion in the sky. The dialog between the three girls, their men and a variety of other store and employers adds humor to the script. Crawford is a lot of fun, and it's nice to see her as the moral compass of the three. Montgomery is perfectly handsome and sincere, a far cry from the other two leading men (Raymond Hackett and John Miljan) who are quite amoral in different ways. A fascinating look at early sound/pre-code Hollywood, and a great look as to why Crawford rose to the top in a very short time.

Early shopgirl role suits Joan Crawford...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 2 December 2008]

JOAN CRAWFORD fans get their money's worth in this early Crawford film in which she's a poor shopgirl who rooms with two other gals, the three of them dreaming of a better life with a handsome Sir Galahad who will make life easier (and richer) for them.

Joan gets a chance to strut her stuff as a fashion model sporting some of the most God-awful '30s style clothes imaginable, which should provide a lot of amusement for today's viewers. ANITA PAGE is the blonde girlfriend who has her heart broken by a suitor who turns out to be a real cad and DOROTHY SEBASTIAN is the free-spirited "Frankie." Of the performers, Page seems to have been the least gifted of the three young actresses. I could never see anything special about her.

ROBERT MONTGOMERY has the male lead, looking trim and debonair at age 25, but given little to demonstrate the kind of skill he exhibited later on.

The story should be pretty familiar to today's fans since it's another variation on the "How To Marry A Millionaire" theme which was also used in "Moon Over Miami"--proving the old cliché that "nothing is new under the sun" is very true. Unfortunately, it's a theme that gets pretty drab treatment here.

Summing up: A trifle but one that showcases Joan Crawford's energy and charm as an ingenue.

Early Crawford Watchable - Our Blushing Brides

[arthur_tafero · 4/10 · 3 October 2022]

This fairly dated tale of life in Manhattan as a department store worker is rather mundane, as are the performances, script, direction, and photogoraphy of this B film. The movie is only noteworthy because of the appearance of a very young and inexperienced Joan Crawford as one of the girls. The trite plot of misadventures of working girls in the city had been done several times before and hundreds of times since. Only worth viewing to see the potential in Crawford's acting range. She displays a certain enthusiasm that she managed to maintain for a few decades into the future. Not a film to put on your must-see list.

One smart girl, two dummies

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 14 September 2018]

Joan Crawford's identification as a shop girl came I think with this film, Our Blushing Brides. She's sharing a flat with two other department store working girls Anita Page and Dorothy Sebastian. And Joan's the only one sensible about men.

Crawford has her eye on the son of the department store owner Robert Montgomery. But this woman wants no entanglements unless a wedding ring comes with it.

As for Page she plunges into an affair with Raymond Hackett who Montgomery's younger brother. But Hackett dumps her to marry a society girl Martha Sleeper.

Sebastian is wild and silly and likes a good time. She falls for John Miljan who made a career out of playing suave no accounts like the one he plays here. His activities come to the attention of law enforcement and Sebastian is caught up in it.

By this Crawford and Montgomery had futures in talkies and they were mainstays at MGM throughout the decade. Both are shone to their best advantage.

Page however wins acting honors here for some highly dramatic scenes surrounding her fate and Crawford is also part of that climax as well.

Our Blushing Brides hold up well after over 80 years.

Lively for a 76-Year-Old

[LadyJaneGrey · 8/10 · 20 January 2006]

Joan Crawford in another of the alliterative early talkie series she did (others were "Our Dancing Daughters" and "Our Modern Maidens; one shudders to think what they would have done with the letter "C", and perhaps that's why they skipped it!) Jerry (Crawford), Frankie (Sebastian) and Connie (Page) are three NY department store shopgirls who live in a cramped apartment and use a hammer and a nail to open their canned dinner while listening to jazz on the phonograph and conserving the hot water so they can take a bath. Jerry's pals long for rescue by a rich man, but practical Jerry knows better; she's been there, done that, and knows that beaus with bucks only want one thing with a shopgirl, and it's not marriage. Still, though, there is that dreamy Tony Jardine (Montgomery, at the height of his boyish sexiness), son of the store owner, who seems to take a shine to Jerry and vice versa. A telling scene comes when Jerry has to model some lingerie for a store customer in Tony's presence, opening her robe to display herself to his eyes, making her totally vulnerable. While Jerry's pals find the men they think they want, Jerry won't give in to Tony's rather caddish overtures. And there is that nice Joe from the store with the flivver and gin flask. He's not dreamy, but he is solid and upstanding, and that's what Jerry wants. She has second thoughts when both her friends seem to have found love AND riches. But she can't forget Tony's kisses. Maybe she should abandon up her ideals and stop suffering and give in to Tony already.

The cast is wonderful here and Joan has lost her stagy silent mannerisms and you can just see a glimmer of the Crawford that was to come. The Depression was on, but you wouldn't know it by Joan (or this character), who persevered in spite of everything. Joan was the most ambitious actress ever to step tootsie in Hollywood and seems to have been propelled along by sheer force of will, but she did have real acting talent, and this movie displays it. Bob Montgomery plays another of his dependable rich-boy roles and looks great in a tuxedo, chatting idly about Oyster Bay. At one point, Jerry won't make out with him, so he says "Let's have a cigarette," like he just invented it. (Don't you miss smoking? I do). What a great line.

Will Jerry and her pals triumph or will they be crushed by love that was just an illusion? Watch and find out!

30s chick flick with the usual suspects.

[st-shot · 6/10 · 13 February 2020]

Joan Crawford plays mother hen to a couple of impressionable shop girls in this pre-coder co-starring Robert Montgomery and Anita Paige. Roomates with Crawford, the scarred veteran, does her best to guide innocents around hovering predators in top hats and gloves but ultimately it is left up to them to find out for themselves, in one case tragically.

Jerry (Crawford) Connie and Francine work as clerk/models at a large department store. Two are pursued by sons of the owners while an unctuous con-man (John Miljhan) seduces the other. Jerry sees through both of these guys, rejecting her suitor as well (Montgomery) even if he is more decent than the others. A series of crash and burns are the results for the girls.

Crawford is a perfect fit for Jerry who probably had plenty of experience with these types of men while climbing the ladder to superstardom. With a nice mixture of cynicism and softness she matches up well with the entitled Montgomery who she cuts down to size in more than one scene. Paige as the tragic Connie gives the film's most powerful performance as a kept woman in an apartment with "hard cover books" that she hasn't bothered to look at because her paramour "thinks brains ruins a woman's job." Ed Brophy as a cheapskate alternative to the devious swells simply magnifies the slim pickings available.

There's a fashion show highlighting Crawford's curves in gowns by Adrian while the set design, top shelf MGM, Cedric Gibbons creations, provide eye-popping interiors from the mansions on Long Island to the one room in lower Manhattan to keep your interest during the slower, mawkish moments.

What Shopgirls Saw In 1930.

[tjonasgreen · 26 March 2004]

This movie starts with floods of women arriving to a department store to start work for the day. Chatter, griping, gossip and a moving camera all promise some fun. And Joan Crawford, whose appearance in this period was constantly evolving, looks lovely rather than merely striking. She also appears relaxed and self-possessed. But the picture slides downhill fast. Clearly, MGM considered Crawford the shop girl's delight, and they plotted her movies accordingly. This one dangles the wages of sin, with promises of new frocks among the art deco splendor of vast outdoor pavilions, fanciful tree house love nests and luxe illicit city apartments. But then we learn that girls who go bad end up badly. Determined Joan doesn't take that route and SHE winds up with the callow rich boy rather than dead or back on the farm with Mother. Oy.

Alternately static and melodramatic, only Anita Page gives a direct, natural performance here. Everyone else poses and strikes attitudes, spouting pretentious dialogue that makes no sense whatever. Two fashion shows (another sop to the Working Girl) feature some very unattractive and unflattering Adrian outfits. Supporting actor Raymond Hackett is pretty cute as a cad, and there is one amusing in-joke. At one point, Joan attends a movie to escape her troubles and it turns out to be LET US BE GAY, a real picture which featured co-star Raymond Hackett (whose character is also in the theatre watching the picture) but whose star was Norma Shearer, Crawford's arch rival at MGM. Just watch the first ten minutes then skip the rest of this turkey.

Jerry was so Strong Until the End

[view_and_review · 6/10 · 5 January 2023]

"Our Blushing Brides" was crushing it until the end. It was cruising along doing about 70, not having to slow down or swerve, and it didn't hit any potholes. Then, in the last five minutes, it hit some black ice and crashed. It wasn't completely destroyed, but there was some serious damage.

Jerry March (Joan Crawford) and her two roommates, Connie (Anita Page) and Francine aka Franky (Dorothy Sebastian) were working girls working for the Jardine & Co. Department store. Of the three, Jerry was the wisest, or some may even say the most jaded. While Connie believed in true love and Franky believed she'd be happy marrying for money, Jerry didn't believe in either. She'd heard all the lines and played all the games which made her a magnificent character. She was smart, under control, and willing to tell a guy exactly what she thought. Her roommates, however, weren't so gifted.

A seemingly rich guy named Marty (John Miljan) showed interest in Franky and she married him on their first night together. It turned out he was a crook.

David Jardine (Raymond Hackett), one of the Jardines of Jardine & Co., showed interest in Connie. He puffed her up with flowery talk then dropped her like a bad habit.

Tony Jardine (Robert Montgomery), the eldest of the Jardine brothers and the most coveted by all the women, showed interest in Jerry. His attempts to hook up with her was the most troubling because all I could see was a man in a powerful position imposing himself on an employee of his. He wouldn't take no for an answer. However, to Jerry's credit, she rebuffed him even if she seemingly "led him on" at one point. She didn't shut him down right away because she believed that there might be something there. Then, after she heard his familiar lines that were common to most men, she decided she'd had enough.

At that point the movie was excellent, if for any other reason than a working woman turned down a charming, rich, good-looking guy. That was rare to see on screen. Most often, if a man assertively grabbed a woman and kissed her she usually wilted and became putty in his arms as though she didn't know she wanted him until his lips graced hers. Tony forcefully kissed Jerry, and she "let" him kiss her (she didn't turn her face or claw his eyes out), but once he was done, she took her leave. She wasn't going to be duped by Tony--regardless of his wealth, looks, and charm--only to be another one of his conquests. It wasn't that she was religious or a prude, she simply was tired of the games men played.

I loved Jerry.

Then came the last five minutes of the movie.

Jerry's roommate Connie (who was in love with David Jardine, Tony's brother) swallowed a bunch of pills in order to kill herself after hearing David's wedding to another woman on the radio. It was tragic, but it was realistic. Love and the loss of love can make people do crazy things. What I didn't like, or think was even halfway reasonable, was Jerry's solution to Connie swallowing the pills.

Connie was touch-and-go with a good chance of dying. After getting a doctor Jerry then went all the way to David's wedding party to beg him to come back with her and tell Connie he loved her in hopes that it would keep her alive. Not only is that medically absurd, it's just dumb and useless. A.) David was at his wedding party and B.) he didn't love her! She just swallowed some pills--the doctor is already with her--what in the world is someone lying to a girl and telling her "I love you" going to do?? It seemed like such a ludicrous act on Jerry's part that it completely marred her character.

Then, to top it all off, Jerry wound up with Tony Jardine anyway! After brushing him off several times she relented, which was so typical of the day--and I thought this movie was going to be atypical. I know he said that she'd changed him for the better and made him see the error of his ways, but I figured she would see that as just more game. I thought she would recognize that she was the one thing he couldn't have which made him pull out all stops to get her. But somewhere in the cut between Connie dying and the final scene Tony won her heart.

This was strike two against Jerry's character. Perhaps I was looking for her to find another, simpler, more honest man, or find no man at all, but I didn't quite expect her to fall for Tony Jardine. I was hoping that this rich guy wasn't going to get the girl he so ardently and aggressively pursued--yet it didn't surprise me either. It is a romance movie from 1930 after all, how could it possibly end with Jerry manless?

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