The Purchase Price

She may be dressed down for the farm wife's part, but this is Stanwyck at her youthful loveliest. So, can Joan (Stanwyck) adjust to the rigors of rural life after the glamor of big city nightclubs. If you can buy her becoming a mail-order bride as an alternative, you might buy the rest. Seeing her city girl alone on the vast Canadian prairie, suitcase in hand, waiting for her intended, does present a stretch. Nonetheless, now she's got purpose in life, no longer just a meaningless rich man's ornament. I do wish Brent as her mail-order hubby showed a little charm, something that would help us believe she would stick with her new life. Instead, he's overly dour and insensitive, wanting to manhandle her on their wedding night. Getting the two in step with each other makes up the movie's main part.

The movie's quite good at showing the rigors of farm life—the primitive farm house, the constant grubby toil, the relative isolation. I expect Dust Bowl audiences could identify with these demanding aspects, especially when the bank threatens to repossess Jim's (Brent) farm. That Joan manages to stick it out and thrive suggests that behind city decadence lies a common humanity and hidden grit-- a good message for that time and maybe any.

Anyway, pre-Code doesn't disappoint as Stanwyck gets to show off fancy and not-so-fancy underwear. Then too, sleeping arrangements leave little in doubt. Note too, how little is done to prettify either the rough-hewn people or their lives, even though most are stereotypes. Also, I could have done without the barking idiot as comedy relief. All in all, this Warner Bros. antique (1933) remains a fairly interesting little programmer, with a humane underlying message.