Summary
A citified comet named Sibyle Fane streaks into the dusty orbit of Hickville, scattering the predictable trajectories of Anna Mae Neil—pastoral heiress, betrothed to Virgil Cole, dispenser of tonics and small-town certainties. Sibyle’s footlights charisma detonates Virgil’s ambitions; he liquidates the apothecary and hurtles toward Manhattan’s phosphorescent grid. The actress, puppet-mistress of metamorphosis, dispatches Anna Mae as advance scout, swaddled in borrowed haute-couture camouflage. Under violet neon and saxophone moons, the farm girl absorbs jazz geometries from sculptor Violet Garden and Tin-Pan-Alley satyr Pinky Hale, emerging as a mirage of cosmopolitan allure. She tests Virgil’s fidelity in velvet banquette shadows; he fails, pupils dilating for every sequined mirage. Cue Peter Van Reuter—bohemian brush-wielder, soul as uncluttered as a freshly gessoed canvas—who catches Anna Mae’s final, decisive glance. The film pirouettes on the knife-edge between cornfield sincerity and skyscraper cynicism, letting the chaff of small-town promises drift across Broadway’s klieg-lit firmament.
Synopsis
Broadway actress Sibyle Fane visits the home of Anna Mae Neil, daughter of a Hickville farmer, who is engaged to local druggist Virgil Cole. Impressed with Miss Fane, Virgil sells his business and sets out for New York City. Miss Fane advises Anna Mae to arrive in the city ahead of Virgil and monitor her fiancé under the guise of a famous model. The actress introduces Anna Mae to sculptress Violet Garden and songwriter Pinky Hale, who teach her the latest jazz steps. She flirts with Virgil in a fashionable restaurant and discovers his shifting affections at a party. Convinced of Virgil's unfaithfulness, Anna decides that talented young artist Peter Van Reuter is deserving of her love.
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