What else happened this year? Munich Putsch? Was that then? Did Japan invade China that year too? [Checked: that was 1923 and yes, Japan invaded Manchuria that year. Luckily that would be the last bit of bad news for Manchuria that century.]
What is the plot - in one sentence? An in-love thief couple find a new mark: a beautiful lady with a huge fortune.
I don't have time, just spoil it for me? The bloke eventually falls in love with the mark, but he comes around at the end to be back with his wife, who takes a piece of jewelry as a payment for letting her sleep with her husband.
What's the meaning of the title? There's a central, seemingly perfect relationship going on, but it's broken up by a pretty interloper. It could also refer to the trouble in the paradise of the rich woman's life, as it turns out some business people are screwing her over.
Anything that's not aged well? Does a woman get slapped around? This is a pre-code movie, which is very forthright about (hinting at) sex and other 'adult' events happening. The plot probably wouldn't happen today, but because it's too transgressive: The central plot is about a couple of thieves, and a rich, attractive woman who strings two suitors along.
The rich woman is shown to be a generally good person (she refuses to cut the wages at her company, for example), and when the affair between her and the male thief comes to an end, there's an admission that the real thieves in the land aren't the meager pickpockets and jewel-snatchers, but the one's who steal millions from millions of people. It's a thought that wouldn't be made on any mainstream movie today.
Other than that, the wife thief is shaken, but it's to unleash the wallet she pickpocketd from her future husband (the two have a meet cute where they steal stuff from each other without noticing).
Any thoughts? This is a pre-Code movie, which means that it was made before the Hays code was implemented on Hollywood movies. For movies in the 1930s, they can be remarkably frank about sex, murder, violence, and affairs, things that just couldn't go unpunished in movies when the code was applied. That's all well and good, but this one is an amusing, saucy tale which really stands up well. It feels like a (good) modern piece of TV, and for that sake I'll stick even less to the plot than I usually do, because you should see it.
The only thing that I didn't get was that the husband didn't allow either of his partners to eat potatoes, which led to them going to elaborate lengths to quickly and secretly eat potatoes. Other than the fact that it's funny to chomp down on spuds secretly, I didn't get 'why' that happened.
The plot's really just an excuse to put a bunch of jokes in, but a few of the plot points are just ridiculous. For example, in the first scene, the male thief steals from a wealthy gent in Venice, who despite his disguise is recognised by the guy he robbed.... and his memory is jarred by a conveniently placed gondola ashtray. I'm willing to forgive it, as this zipped by and was a lot of fun.
I'll also say that this movie also obviously influenced the movie 'Parasite' - as a criminal enterprise seeks to work within a family, eventually using their guile to steal from them and secure their own future.
Would you recommend this? Yes, this really was great. You should watch it.
Final thoughts? I liked this but I was stunned by just how much implied fucking there is throughout the movie. One of the suitors admits to just wanting to fuck her (he and the other suitor have a couple of earnest, amusing chats about their love life); at one stage a character is threatened with a spanking, and she looks VERY into it.
The thief wife is allowed into the woman's hosue to work as a secretary, and we're told that the former secretary had been fired for having a too active '... social life'. It's really weird to see the heavily implied sex and romance, followed by the three second kisses of the era. It's even weirder that the movie ends with the wife taking a payment for letting her husband fuck an heiress for a while.
There you go, guys, a good rec from me. Other pieces from this banal blog are here. I hope you're all just swell.
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