Shopworn (1932)

Absolutely Fantastic

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

TCM recently featured Barbara Stanwyck as their star of the month, giving them an opportunity to show a good number of the numerous films she pumped out very early in her career with Warner Brothers and Columbia. It is fascinating to watch several movies with the same star immediately one after another, because this way you get to determine how good an actor really is: do they become tiresome, or do they have staying power?Barbara Stanwyck was the real thing. Thanks to her understated skills, I found myself appreciating her more and more, the more films of hers I watched. By herself she could pull even the weakest script into something worth watching. "Shopworn", a typical quicky, was one of the best from those early days. Her range of talent was immense, playing, within this one film, a poverty-stricken waif and a successful Broadway star, playing happy and sad, incensed and appreciative, kindly and outraged, always with a dignity and slight detachment that are wondrous to watch. Again, it is sometimes only by watching multiple films of hers in succession to these nuances start to really make themselves known.This is a strong film, with a very good cast. Regis Toomey is very likable as Stanwyck's love interest, and Clara Blandick and Oscar Apfel, as Toomey's mother and her consort, are deliciously manipulative and evil. Zasu Pitts adds a little mild comedy to the proceedings, providing a nice contrast.Look for some very brave and quite interesting camera angles and panning sequences; one particularly good shot was taken of Stanwyck reaching under her bed for a suitcase - the camera is at floor level, shooting the scene from under the bed! Very unique and perhaps a little experimental for the time.I highly recommend this fast-paced little film; and highly recommend seeking out early Barbara Stanwyck gems like this!

There's a certain point of time in the very early 1930s that marks the difference (for me) between modern film-making, and the creaky, clumsy early talkies. It varies from project to project and studio to studio. I just couldn't quite make myself watch Columbia's/Stanqyck's 1931 pic "Ten Cents A Dance", which seemed way too dated, but I enjoyed this Columbia/Stanwyck pic made just a year later. It seemed more modern.Here, a waitress falls in love with a wealthy son of a domineering mother Stanwyck and Regis Toomey, while the mother is played by Clara Blandick (Auntie Em in "The Wizard Of Oz"). Mother uses an overblown heart condition to break up the young couple. When that fails, a powerful friend of the mother has Stanwyck jailed on a bogus morals charge. But Stanwyck is strengthened by adversity and becomes a successful showgirl. Will Stanwyck and Toomey reunite? There are some interesting twists here.Stanwyck is very, very good here. My respect for her as an actress has grown substantially as TCM has been highlighting some of her early films. We have forgotten what a formidable actress she was. Regis Toomey was...interesting here. Very pleasant, but just a tad stiff...you can see why he never became a top draw, but I rather enjoyed him here.There are a few spots where the direction of the film came up short, the omost obvious being the scene where the then successful actress tells Toomey off. It just doesn't fit the situation, although handled differently it might have. And the ending is all to quick, with the mother suddenly relenting and blessing the marriage...right after she was about to murder Stanwyck and/or commit suicide. But that's the way some of these old films are, and at least this one mostly handles the story pretty well.It's worth mentioning character actress Zazu Pitts here. Unfortunately, in her later years (and I do remember her in the 1950s), Zazu Pitts became a bit of a caricature of herself. But here, not that long after being an actress in silent films, she was still entertaining, and not over the top.You can enjoy this film if you like older flicks, although it probably won't end up on your DVD shelf.

When waitress Barbara Stanwyck falls for wealthy Regis Toomey, she's ready to take a leap into high society with him, but his mother (Clara Blandick) won't let that happen. She is controlling of her son, and uses an apparent heart ailment to keep him at her side. She considers Stanwyck to be gosh and beneath her and has her lawyer arrange for her to be arrested on a morals charge. Stanwyck ends up becoming a burlesque star, runs into Toomey again, and this time, mother Blandick is determined that there is no way they will marry.In a plot line often used over the years, "Shopworn" is nothing different. Stanwyck is beautifully photographed and excellent as always, but Toomey is a dreadfully dull leading man. Blandick, who will be instantly recognized as "The Wizard of Oz's" kindly Auntie Em, is unfortunately given a one-dimensional society matron role. There is nothing remotely likable about her, even though she is basically doing what she was directed to do. Zasu Pitts adds some predictable "oh dear" type comedy as Stanwyck's aunt who stands by her throughout the ordeal of her imprisonment and eventual release by becoming her maid and companion. A better film with the same theme is the same year's "Wayward" with Nancy Carroll.The film really is too short to explain just why Blandick is so controlling, why Stanwyck became a Burlesque queen so fast after getting out of the reformatory, and why Toomey won't stand up to his mama. The ending scene between Blandick and Stanwyck seems too forced to be believable. I've seen this film numerous times (mostly its not too clear public domain print) and don't seem to remember the beginning where Stanwyck's father is killed while a mountain is dynamited, so the TCM print I saw seems a few minutes longer. At least it is in good shape. Anything with Stanwyck is worth watching, but for her pre-code films, I highly recommend her Capra films at Columbia and the ones she did at Warners. Her non-Capra Columbia films are sadly mediocre.

As usual Barbara Stanwyck is the best thing in this film, a melodrama taking a swipe at the rich over the poor, might over right, and lots of other 'causes'. 'Shopworn''s basic story is rather improbable - Stanwyck lives out in the sticks with her father, an engineer, when he is killed in an explosion at his works. She's off to her aunt and uncle (aunt beautifully played by the reliable ZaSu Pitts) to work in their greasy spoon but soon attracts the local men with her flirty ways.One day a customer who is rather more well-heeled comes in (a flat performance from Regis Toomey as the rich mummy's boy - Toomey would be seen in later years in the Salvation Army in 'Guys and Dolls') and Stanwyck falls badly, promising to marry him but getting packed away to a reformatory on morals charges when his ma finds out. So far, so predictable. Now she becomes a stage star - less likely - and returns to Toomey's home town to confront him.A sparky enough script and reasonably perky acting from some of the principals - Clara Blandick as the overbearing mother for one - and a powerhouse performance from Stanwyck keep you watching. But this film doesn't really know where it is going and the happy ending feels forced and rather unlikely.