Flirtation (1935): A Pre-Code Romp That Still Has Pep?

Alright, so you’re digging through the archives, and you stumble upon something like Flirtation from 1935. Is it worth your precious time today? Well, if you’re a fan of those zippy, slightly scandalous pre-Code flicks, absolutely. You’ll probably get a kick out of how they handled 'naughty' back then. If you expect modern pacing or gritty realism, though, you’re gonna be bored stiff. This one's for the old souls and the history buffs. 🕰️

The setup is pretty classic: a burlesque dancer named Kay (Jeanette Loff) and a country boy, Billy (Ben Alexander), end up having to pretend they’re married. Why? Oh, you know, small town expectations, moral committees, all that jazz. It’s a delightful mess from the jump.

Jeanette Loff’s Kay is just *so* good. She’s not some innocent flower; she’s got a past, she’s seen things, and she delivers lines with this wonderful, dry wit. When she first meets Billy, you can see her sizing him up, almost like he’s a curious specimen. It’s not predatory, just… observant. And Ben Alexander as Billy? He’s all wide-eyed earnestness, exactly what you’d want for the country mouse in the city. Their chemistry isn't exactly sizzling, but it’s sweet in a very 1930s way.

What really gets me are the little moments that scream 'pre-Code.' There’s a scene where Kay talks about her life, and they don't shy away from hinting at what being a burlesque dancer might *really* entail. Nothing explicit, of course, but the implication is definitely there. You feel the writers pushing the envelope just a little bit, knowing the Hays Code was breathing down their necks.

Then you’ve got Franklin Pangborn showing up as Mr. Williams, the hotel manager. Now, if you know Pangborn, you know what you’re getting: a flustered, fussy, utterly charming character who always seems on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He barely has any lines, but just his facial expressions when he’s dealing with Kay and Billy’s 'marital' shenanigans are gold. He elevates every scene he’s in, even if it’s just for a few seconds. 🎭

The plot, honestly, is pretty thin. It’s mostly about them trying to keep up the charade, getting into little scrapes, and slowly, predictably, starting to feel something real. But the movie doesn’t dwell too much on the 'how.' It just *happens*. You can almost feel the movie going, 'Yeah, they fall for each other, moving on!'

There's this one bit where Kay tries to teach Billy how to dance, and he’s just so incredibly awkward. It’s not laugh-out-loud funny, but it’s genuine. You kinda feel for the guy. And Kay, for all her street smarts, seems to genuinely enjoy his innocence. It’s a nice reversal from what you might expect.

Emma Dunn plays Billy's mother, and she brings that classic, stern-but-loving maternal figure to life. Her arrival is, of course, the catalyst for most of the serious pretending. You almost brace yourself for the big dramatic reveal, but the movie handles it with a surprising amount of grace, not going for huge histrionics.

Oh, and Hattie McDaniel has a small role, as she often did back then. She doesn't get a lot of screen time, but even in a brief appearance, she has this presence. She’s serving up that no-nonsense wisdom that only Hattie could deliver. You wish she had more to do, really.

The ending isn’t exactly a shocker. It wraps things up rather neatly, perhaps a bit too much so, given the slightly edgy tone earlier. But hey, it's a 1930s melodrama. You gotta have your happy-ish ending. All in all, it’s a perfectly decent way to spend an hour, especially if you want a peek into what passed for scandalous romance before the censors really clamped down. It’s got its quirks, and those are what make it memorable. ✨

Quick Takes from the Notebook:

• The opening credits are a bit long, but the font is pretty neat.
• Kay's costumes are surprisingly glamorous for a burlesque dancer trying to hide her past.
• The small-town set design feels very stage-bound, but it adds to the charm.
• Billy’s 'country bumpkin' act sometimes borders on caricature, but it works.
• One of the kids, Tommy Bupp, playing 'Junior' is pretty annoying, but that's probably the point.
• The dialogue is quick, snappy, not a lot of wasted words.
• There’s a particular shot of Kay looking out a window, and the light just hits her face perfectly. Felt very intentional.
• The whole fake marriage trope still holds up, even if it’s been done a million times since.