Unknown Blonde

Edward Arnold is a lawyer, and business is pretty bad in the profession, it being the Depression and all. He has the chance to take a divorce case, but turns it down; the presence of a professional correspondent renders it suborning perjury, and he's got ethics. What he doesn't know is that his wife, Dorothy Revier, is two-timing him with John Miljan. On top of that, she's written a bum check to cover a margin call from her broker. To cover it, he goes through with the case he turned down before; when the correspondent -- Franklin Pangborn! -- walks out, Arnold finds himself taking his place.... and Miss Revier walks in and thereby gets a divorce. So Arnold decides that if you're going to be a villain, be a villain all the way, and goes whole hog.

There's some real talent in front of and behind the screen with this movie: Leila Bennett, Helen Jerome Eddy, Waltr Catlett, Claude Gillingwater, and Clarence Wilson have sizable parts. 1934 was not just lean times for divorce lawyers; following bankruptcies and reorganizations, not many movie companies were making money, and performers were happy to have work and paychecks. Some didn't survive much longer. It was director Hobart Henley's last film.

Given the short paychecks and Larry Darmour as producer, there are some glitches in the plot, and signs that the actors weren't getting the rehearsals they needed. Arnold himself could have used a retake in the final scene. It's not a great movie, but the confluence of talent makes it worth watching, if only once.