Plot Summary - Pre-code film starring Gary Cooper. On a Sunday afternoon, former rival Hugo Barnstead arrives at dentist Biff Grimes (Cooper) dental office to have a tooth pulled and Biff has ideas about "getting even" with Hugo (um - by gassing him to death!), who Biff believes once stole his girl. In flashback the story of the rivalry is revealed. The two men meet two gal pals in the park one day, Virginia (Fay Wray) and Amy. Both men are after Virginia, who seems a bit more flashy of the two women - - but cute and sweet Amy once had a childhood crush on Biff and still carries the torch for him. Amy chases after Biff (who is sort of a show-off, lanky bumpkin type - but cute) while Biff and Hugo chase after Virginia - but Hugo (the more successful of the two men) gets Virginia, as they get married by surprise and ride off for their honeymoon. On a lark, Biff asks Amy to marry him that same night (in a sort of warped way of getting even with Virginia, you might say). Marriage and hard feelings to follow.
Review - The film is based on a stage play and helped along by nice outdoor scenes in a quiet-looking, turn-of-the-century small town locale. This film was later remade into a film I have seen and enjoyed quite a few times, "The Strawberry Blonde (1941)" starring Rita Hayworth, Olivia de Havilland and James Cagney. This earlier version is also an excellent film, I very much enjoyed the performance of Frances Fuller as sweet and ever-loving Amy - she sure puts up with a lot from that Biff! Jane Darwell appears fairly briefly as Amy's mother - the print shown on TCM appeared to be edited as the character of Virginia's mother is credited in the titles, yet did not appear in the film (I thought there appeared to be something missing just before the sudden marriage of Hugo and Virginia). Good film. Rating - 9/10 stars
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