Summary
In *Her Great Chance*, Lola Gray, a spirited yet pragmatic clerk in a New York department store, navigates the turbulent crosscurrents of love, societal expectation, and self-determination. Her romantic entanglement with Charles 'Charlie' Cox, the hedonistic scion of a wealthy family, unfolds against a backdrop of theatrical excess and moral reckoning. What begins as a fleeting infatuation—a whirlwind proposal at a glittering party—devolves into a crisis of character when Lola, disillusioned by Charlie’s recklessness, rejects his offer. His subsequent melodramatic suicide attempt, a grotesque spectacle of youthful despair, catalyzes a redemptive arc for both characters. Lola’s reversal—motivated by news of Charlie’s disinheritance—transforms their union from a transactional transaction into a testament to idealism, though the narrative’s abrupt pivot raises questions about the film’s thematic coherence. The film, steeped in the conventions of 1920s romantic melodrama, juxtaposes urban decadence with rural moralism, framing marriage as both a social contract and a crucible for personal growth.
Synopsis
Lola Gray working in a New York department store as a clerk, loves Charles Cox, a millionaire's son who is described by his friends as "Broadway's million-dollar kid." One evening at a lavish party, Charlie, quite intoxicated, proposes to Lola, but because of his irresponsible habits, she refuses him. Heartbroken, Charlie decides to drown himself in the hotel fountain and urges his friends and the proprietor to join him. When Lola learns from her sister, Ida Bell Gray, that Cox, Sr., having read about Charlie's antics in the newspaper, plans to disown his son, she phones Charlie immediately to accept his proposal. Although startled by the news of his disinheritance, Charlie is comforted by Lola's assertion that she prefers a man of character to one of wealth, and the two begin their married life on a farm in the Midwest.
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