Evenings for Sale (1932) HD online

isn't it romantic.. yes it is..

i was quite surprised by this movie. its not a milestone, nor the greatest movie ever made.. but it is good. the whole plot is not highly original, and the whole 30 minutes in the middle are quite forgettable. Sari Maritza, well, don't be surprised if you never heard of her, in her case there's a good reason for it.

anyway, there's Herbert Marshall and Mary Boland. the scenes between them are fresh, modern and interesting. Herbert Marshall, well, i never knew how attractive he was, until i saw him in this movie.

some impressive camera work and the MOST BEAUTIFUL MOVIE KISS that i ever hope to see make this movie a definite must.

I was surprised to see so few reviews of this film so here is another. As with most Paramount films of the early 1930s, everything is top-notch and no sign that they flirted with bankruptcy. The cast is very good with Mary Boland shining above the rest. I am not usually a fan of hers since she so often played shrill and unlikable characters. This time she is great, especially in the way that she wakes up to herself and decides to return to the American Midwest to be a grandmother. Cheers to that! Please notice the remarkable opening scene - that train comes in very fast and stops just right so that Miss Boland has to take only a step or two to board it. Not an easy feat, kudos to the engineer who knew his onions.

Herbert Marshall, in his follow-up to TROUBLE IN PARADISE, stars as an impoverished Count who finds the girl of his dreams (Sari Maritza) the very night his former butler (Charlie Ruggles) gets him a job as a gigolo. She finds out what he does and isn't happy and the ditzy rich dame he's "romancing" (Mary Boland) doesn't find out and couldn't be happier.

A masked ball, a Viennese castle, "The Blue Danube", a duel... all the ingredients are there and "The Lubitsch touch" might have turned this romantic trifle into a risqué soufflé but, alas, it is what it is.

"Fair entertainment but extremely doubtful on the draw." -Variety

Paramount superstar Mae West once quipped, "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful" and the studio must have taken it to heart when they signed Sari Maritza in 1932 as the new Marlene Dietrich when the troublesome Teuton insisted on working only with director Josef von Sternberg. The NY Times hailed Sari as a "vivacious Continental actress" but when it came out she was English (born Dora Detering-Nathan in China to a British Army officer and his Austrian wife) the public resented the ruse and "stayed away in droves". Unperturbed, Ms. Maritza upped and married MGM producer Sam Katz and retired from the screen in 1934.

While he was never a super-star, Herbert Marshall is one of my favorite actors of his era. Much of this is because he had a lovely voice and he also made his acting seem so natural. Here in "Evenings for Sale", he takes an okay plot and elevates it...as usual.

The Count (Marshall) is broke and about ready to shoot himself. However, a possible answer to his problems arrives when he sees an old servant,Bimpfl (Charlie Ruggles). Bimpfl convinces the Count to be a gigolo...of sorts. While the word is even used, the Count does NOT sleep with his prey. Instead, he uses his charm and sophistication to sweep them off their feet. The problem is that one of the ladies he meets (Sari Maritza) means more to him...but she wants nothing to do with him because of his line of work.

Despite being a Pre-Code film, it is clear that the Count is NOT providing sex...making him a most unusual gigolo! Still, the idea works and the acting (Mary Boland is also excellent) very nice. Well worth seeing.