Bachelor Apartment (1931) Review: Lowell Sherman is a total mood

Should you actually sit through this?

If you're the kind of person who likes watching people in expensive suits drink martinis while making bad life choices, then yeah, you’ll have a good time. It’s a perfect pick for anyone who loves that pre-code era where everyone was a little bit more suggestive and the rules didn't seem to matter yet.

But honestly? If you need a plot that actually moves fast or makes total sense, you might hate this one. It feels very much like a play that someone decided to film on a Tuesday afternoon without much of a rehearsal. 🍸

Lowell Sherman is the main guy here, and he also directed it, which explains why the camera seems to love his face so much. He plays Wayne Carter, a guy who has apparently never heard of a 'locked door' in his life.

The whole movie basically happens in one big, fancy apartment. It’s got that 1931 art deco look that makes you want to go out and buy a velvet robe immediately. 🧥

There is this one scene early on where a woman just wanders into his place while he's still in bed. No knocking, no nothing. She just starts talking to him like it’s the most normal thing in the world to be in a stranger's bedroom at 10 AM.

I love how low-stakes everything feels at first. The stakes are basically 'will Wayne get caught with two girls at once?' which is hardly a tragedy.

Then Irene Dunne shows up. She’s playing Helene, a stenographer who actually has a job and isn't just looking for a free drink.

She looks so young here, it's almost weird if you're used to her later stuff. She has this very earnest energy that makes everyone else in the room look like a cartoon character.

There is a bit of a weird vibe between her and Sherman. He’s doing his usual greasy-charming thing, and she’s trying to be the 'moral center' of the movie, but it feels like they’re in two different films entirely.

I noticed that the sound quality is kind of hit or miss. Sometimes a character will walk two feet to the left and suddenly they sound like they're shouting from a closet. 🎙️

It adds to the charm, I guess. It feels real in a way modern movies don't, mostly because they couldn't fix things in post back then.

The dialogue is snappy, but in a way that feels a bit rehearsed. Like they’re all waiting for the audience to laugh even though there’s no audience there.

One of the side characters, played by Arthur Housman, does this 'drunk' act that goes on for way too long. It was probably hilarious in 1931, but now it’s just... a lot of stumbling.

I found myself looking at the background actors more than the leads sometimes. There's a party scene where you can tell half the people are just wondering when lunch is going to be served. 🥗

It reminds me a bit of Behind Office Doors in how it treats the 'working girl' trope. There's this weird obsession with how hard it is to be a woman with a job in NYC without getting hit on by every guy with a bank account.

The ending is super rushed. It’s like they realized they only had five minutes of film left and needed to wrap up a wedding and a redemption arc all at once.

But that’s okay. You don't watch Bachelor Apartment for the tight writing. You watch it to see Lowell Sherman smirk at the camera while wearing a very nice tuxedo.

If you've seen Thunderbolt, you know how these early talkies can be a bit clunky. This one is definitely clunky, but it's the good kind of clunky.

Random things I wrote down while watching:

• The telephone is like the most important character in the movie. It never stops ringing. ☎️
• Lowell Sherman’s mustache deserves its own billing in the credits.
• I’m pretty sure one of the actresses forgot her line in the kitchen scene, but they just kept rolling.
• The way they talk about 'gold diggers' is so blunt it’s actually kind of refreshing.
• Why does every apartment in 1930s movies look bigger than a whole city block?

Is it a masterpiece? No. Is it a fun way to spend 77 minutes? Definitely.

It’s got that shaggy feeling of a movie that’s just trying to entertain people for a night. It doesn't want to change your life; it just wants to show you some pretty people in a pretty room.

I’ll probably forget half the plot by tomorrow morning, but I’ll remember how cool that apartment looked. Sometimes that’s enough. 🥂

If you're looking for more stuff from this era, maybe check out If I Were King for a totally different vibe. But for a lazy Sunday, this bachelor pad is a decent place to hang out.