Moviecut—The Gorgeous Hussy

The Gorgeous Hussy

Considering who's up there on the screen, (and I wouldn't necessarily call it 'talent'), this film is a disappointment. It sounds faintly salacious, a romp, but in fact is dull and historical. It's about Andrew Jackson and what a kindly old soul he was. He's played by Lionel Barrymore who is less irksome than usual. The gorgeous hussy of the title is Joan Crawford but she isn't gorgeous nor is she much of a hussy. The dashingly handsome men who flit around her flame are played by Robert Taylor, Franchot Tone and Melvyn Douglas, (James Steward is in there, too), and they have the charisma of cardboard. Nobody sparks off anyone else in this picture. You feel that when two or more people are on screen together they would rather be somewhere else. Everyone is directed by Clarence Brown who, presumably, was having an off-day.

Joan Crawford shines in this movie, despite what many of her detractors have said about her. I have read many articles about how she was not right in this role and that she was much better in contemporary films and not period dramas, such as this. But I will tell you that they are wrong. This is one very entertaining film and it holds your interest from beginning to end. Everything about this film is breathtaking, the sets, the costumes, the acting (not only from the leads, but also the minors), and even the make-up is very good. Just take a look at Charles Trowbridge and his likeness of Martin Van Buren--amazing!! This film has it all and this film puts another jewel in the Crawford crown of great acting!!

Fanciful, but silly biography of Peggy Eaton (Crawford), a controversial figure during the Andrew Jackson administration in the late 1820s, and her relationships with influential men of that era. Semi-fiction story is "gorgeous" to look at thanks to elegant period settings and costumes, not so much the performances or script.

This is a pretty boring film. Sorry--it just is. The true story goes like this: Andrew Jackson married a woman who was not divorced from her first husband (oops). The press later find out about this and hound him during his presidential campaign against John Quincy Adams. When Jackson does finally win (on the 2nd try), his wife soon dies. Jackson blamed the press for her early death. Then, once he was President, one of his cabinet members married a divorcée. The wives of the other cabinet members and Vice President openly snub her because she is a "hussy" since she is divorced. This hits close to home for Jackson, as it reminds him of the problem with his own wife, and he stands firm for this woman's honor--even when it means getting rid of the VP and cabinet. This is all true. However, the script is pretty lifeless and saccharine. And, since I summed up the story so quickly, why don't you save yourself some time and just see another, better film.

Fictionalized historic soaper about Andrew Jackson's friendship and protection of a young woman named Peggy O'Neal. Lionel Barrymore plays Jackson and Joan Crawford plays Peggy. The rest of the cast is pretty impressive. Melvyn Douglas, James Stewart, Robert Taylor, Franchot Tone, Beulah Bondi, and Louis Calhern....not a bad lineup. Too bad the movie is boring. Andrew Jackson's wife dies and asks Peggy to look out for him. Thus she becomes the unofficial First Lady, despite not being married to or even romantically involved with the President. Peggy has a somewhat scandalous reputation of her own, which reminds Jackson of his wife, who suffered at the hands of Washington gossips. Worth seeing for Lionel Barrymore alone. But the rest of the cast being what it is warrants you check it out.

No! No! No! What is that most modern, at least to her time, of actresses Joan Crawford doing in hoop skirts and crinoline? Pretty much making a fool of herself, not that it's her fault MGM should have known better. There is not one look or gesture that she makes that has a feeling of any period but the 20th century. Both stagnant and silly this completely miscast picture takes an interesting and scandalous piece of American history, The Petticoat Affair, and make it seem asinine and trivial when it practically tore Jackson's presidency apart and did lead to most of his cabinet's resignation. Proof positive that not every film that came out of Hollywood's golden age and its premiere studio was a classic worth seeing filled with top flight talent or not. Even if you are a completist of any of the stars work this will be a struggle to get through.