January 16 movie: The Easiest Way. Another one of those sordid pre-code movies. The title refers to the "easiest" way for a woman to make money. Constance Bennett plays the kept woman, Adolphe Menjou the cruel rich guy who exploits her, Robert Montgomery the nice guy who falls in love with her, and a very young Clark Gable as the obnoxiously self-righteous brother-in-law.
Robert Osbourne said the movie was based on a much more explicit play: in the play the main character is a prostitute, not a kept woman, and at the end she goes off with another man, unrepentant. In this version they tacked on a "happy" ending where she reforms. Blah, blah, blah.
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