Wonderful character development!

Overrated

From my favorite movies..

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

A rather benign story of a model who meets up with a swindler and she comes under his orbit as the years pass and his involvement in selling fake bonds is exposed. He gets her to marry him for social status.You see little to no violence here with the exception of rioting by disenchanted buyers and the final killing scene.The film would have been a lot better if Francis, with those large eyes and had the writing cast her in not only a vulnerable situation, but placed her in grave danger as well.Claude Rains plays the rather erudite thief and even his downfall is rather droll to watch.

This film is based on the "Stavisky Affair"--a scandal in France caused by a crook who had scaled the heights of society by creating a false impression of immense wealth. In other words, his fake jewels and finery convinced a lot of suckers to invest in his monetary schemes--including a lot of government officials. In this film, the man's name is changed to "Orloff" and the story is spiced up a bit, but it's still the same basic tale. If you want a story that is closer to the original, try watching "Stavinsky" with Jean-Paul Belmondo.The film begins with Claude Rains hiring Kay Francis to pose as his wife. Apparently, he has a scheme that he wants to put over and wants a sophisticated woman to help him create the necessary look of success. So, from the beginning, she knows he's a tad larcenous, though the degree to which he lies, cheats and steals is way beyond her comprehension. For a while, they are both quite successful--he with his many investments and she with her fashion studio. Years pass and they both are quite happy. Later, however, the depth to which he went to make his fortune--and he attempts to bring Kay into this in a sad attempt to save himself.The film is interesting and the acting very good as well. I didn't particularly care for the relationship between Francis and Ian Hunter (it seemed out of place) but Rains and Francis did a fine job here. Provided you don't mind the man liberties the studio took in telling the story of Stavinsky, this is interesting and worth seeing--even with a rather weak ending.

That card at the beginning of the film stating that all characters, events, and names are entirely fictitious was pretty rare back in those days, so the director must have been a little concerned making this one! Then we learn that we are in Paris in 1931 at a fashion show. Nicole (Kay Francis) and Suzanne (Alison Skipworth) work for a fashionable dress shop. Stefan Orloff (Claude Rains, a couple years before Casablanca) comes along and has a proposition for her. She follows through on her end of the bargain, and he sets her up in a shop of her own. We get through that in the first 15 minutes, but Nicole isn't done with him yet... their lives stay intertwined, against the advice of her friend Suzanne. Then, all at once, about a half hour into the film, we bluntly find out exactly what Orloff and his cronies are up to, and by association, now Nicole is involved too. The timing is a little strange, but the script and direction are good. Francis certainly had a successful career, but it might have been even more successful if not for her problem pronouncing the letter "R"... Directed by Michael Curtiz, who would also direct Rains in Casablanca in 1942. Produced by Hal Wallis, who also produced all those silly Elvis movies. The story here is interesting to follow, and the outdoor scenery is beautiful, even if its not really Europe we're seeing.

Fans of Claude Rains and Kay Francis shouldn't miss this one. It has its weaknesses--the romantic lead (Ian Hunter) is simply not as interesting as the devilish Rains--but it's tremendous fun nonetheless. The opening sequences may be the strongest: independent model Kay Francis meets the dashing but underhanded Claude Rains under strange circumstances, and the two form an unlikely partnership. The scenes between these two are the highlight of the film.In a great supporting role as Francis's best friend and Rains's severest critic, acid-tongued Alison Skipworth is hysterical. And I love the elegant and often eccentric fashions spotlighted by the movie in the fashion show sequences. For me, the interest only flags during the "stolen holiday" of the title--a forced romantic idyll between Francis and Hunter. When Rains starts scheming and Francis starts suffering, that's when the movie really cooks. You'll have your work cut out for you finding this movie, but it's worth seeking out.