User reviews

This fast-moving film features Barbara Stanwyck in her early period when she usually played a tough, lower-class dame with a hot temper who stands fast to her principles. This character is virtually identical to the ones she played in NIGHT NURSE, LADIES THEY TALK ABOUT and BABY FACE. Here she is a waitress who falls in love with a rather bland medical student (Regis Toomey) whose nasty and snobbish mother (an excellent and truly scary Clara Blandick) schemes with a corrupt judge (Oscar Apfel) to separate the young lovers by sending Stanwyck to one of those reformatories that pop up so frequently in films of this era. The ever-fluttery Zasu Pitts is on hand as Stanwyck's aunt - what a comedown from GREED.

In one scene Stanwyck, trying to memorize the dictionary as a means of self improvement, shows her suitor a list of words beginning with the letter "e" which she has written down. He reads them aloud, stops after "ejaculate," looks at her with some curiosity and says that even he would never use such a word. That moment immediately pigeonholes this film as pre-Code. The scene continues artfully with one-word exchanges all starting with the letter "e." Later, while Lucien Littlefeld is conversing about the Stanwyck-Toomey relationship with Oscar Apfel, a couple of lines are very clumsily overdubbed by other actors. Makes one wonder what was actually said. Late in the film there is an imaginative banquet scene in which the camera carefully pans the length of a dining table highlighting the place cards (each a little paper doll inscribed with a guest's name) while the corresponding but off-screen voices converse on the soundtrack; then the camera moves back to reveal the whole table and all of the people we have been listening to. The yard between the diner where Stanwyck works and the house where the owners live is well depicted: tattered laundry hanging on a line, overflowing garbage cans and kittens playing.

The screenwriter Robert Riskin contributes some snappy and witty dialogue. He worked quite frequently with Frank Capra, penning the scripts for IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT, MEET JOHN DOE, LADY FOR A DAY and MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN, among others. All of these films address the issue of "decency" – what truly constitutes decency? Saying you are decent or actually being decent?

Working class heroine Barbara Stanwyck is tough as nails as she spits in "decent society's" face rather than buckle to bribe or threat as a waitress in an other side of the tracks romance with a med student in Shopworn.

The son of an overly possessive mother, David Livingston falls hard for tip chaser Kitty Lane at a local greasy spoon. Clinging mom is not about to let this happen and she wastes no time in exercising her considerable pull in getting a big time judge relative to send her to the slammer for 90 days on morals charges. Upon release Kitty goes on stage and makes it big. Six years later she runs into David, now a doctor again along with his mother still intent on keeping a firm grip on him.

There is some very ugly abuse of power that takes place in Shopworn as the son obsessed mother badgers the judge to do her corrupt bidding in getting Kitty out of the way. There are also swipes at law enforcement, the penal system and polite society, with Kitty being an ideal lynch pin for such actions. As Kitty, Stanwyck does an excellent job of vociferously exposing hypocrisy, especially in the scene where she is bribed and threatened as she throws the money in the judge's face and berates the police. The ending is contrived however and the sickeningly sweet finale is hard to swallow. Babs is too good for the lot of 'em. Mom and son (a wincingly woosie performance by Regis Toomey) don't deserve to be in the same room as her.

Babs is a poor-but-honest small-town waitress in love with Regis Toomey (which in itself can't be easy), but she runs afoul of his mom, a pre-Auntie Em Clara Blandick, who is revealed to be snobbish, dishonest, unreasonable, and insufferably class-conscious. Even by the standards of the time, where lower-class gals always had a hard time of it crashing into society, Babs must endure endless humiliations, including ZaSu Pitts as an underwritten aunt. This Columbia potboiler, written and shot by folks who were also working on Capra early talkies at the time, is rather like Capra without Capra, and the anonymous direction doesn't allow for much style. But Stanwyck was always worth watching, and she gets to run through an impressive gamut of emotions before the hasty and unconvincing happy ending. And it's satisfyingly short.

Shopworn (1932)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Barbara Stanwyck plays Kitty Lane, a poor waitress who one days meets David Livingston (Regis Toomey) who is of course rich and comes from a respectable family. The two fall in love and decide to get married but his rather evil mother (Clara Blandick) will stop at nothing to keep them apart. Thinking he has left her, Kitty goes out to make something of herself. SHOPWORN is pretty predictable from start to finish but the attractive cast makes the film worth sitting through and especially since it runs a very fast 68-minutes. There's no question that the screenplay could have used a little work because everything that happens seems rather predictable and unoriginal even for 1932 standards. The poor girl being looked down upon by rich people is something we've seen many times and there's really nothing new done with it here. Even what happens to the character after she becomes famous is pretty standard stuff. What keeps the film moving along so well are the performances and especially the one from Stanwyck. She delivers a really well rounded performance as she perfectly nails both the tough and tender side of the character. Toomey is also quite good as the love interest and there's no question that Blandick does a very good job as the snake-hissing villain. Zasu Pitts is wasted in a supporting role but she's got one funny scene towards the start of the picture. The ending is one you'll see coming from a mile away and at times it gets so silly that I couldn't help but laugh but there's still enough going on here to make it worth viewing.

Have always been a big fan of classic film (pre-1970s) of all genres, and certainly don't have anything against comedy and romance. Far from it, there are many classics. Other than my love for classic film, the biggest reason for wanting to see 'Shopworn' was Barbara Stanwyck. Have always found her a wonderful actress and have yet to see a bad performance from her (though there is plenty more to see), one of the better ones of her generation in my view.

'Shopworn' is certainly watchable, it actually takes a lot for me to say that something is lacklustre or less. At the same time, it is a disappointment when it actually had all the ingredients to be very good and even great with the right execution and there is much better in the genre. Stanwyck comes off very well but she deserved better and there are things done pretty well, but what should have particularly worked doesn't quite and the waste of ZaSu Pitts is unforgivable.

The best thing about 'Stanwyck' in a classic example of a performance that is much better than the film itself, her character's determination, dignity, charm, sensuality and wit are all brought out brilliantly and quite relateably. The best of the rest of the actlors is by a mile a frighteningly beastly Clara Blandick. While not mind-blowing, the photography is very pleasing to look at. Especially clever in a banquet scene later on in the film.

Furthermore, the costuming and settings are handsome, and the music fits nicely and while not amazing it at least fits and is pleasant. There are a good deal of very snappy dialogue, with lines tht do put a smile on the face. The story has its charms and is not dull at least. The chemistry between Stanwyck and Regis Toomey has its moments and the direction, while not exactly special, is not the kind that is indifferent or amateurish.

On the other hand, Toomey generally is very bland and looks stiff. If he was a better presence his and Stanwyck's chemistry would have been more believable. Pitts has very little to do, and her rather subdued presence means that she doesn't really register.

Would have slightly forgiven the lack of surprises if the film didn't let itself down as much in the last 15-20 minutes or so. This portion felt rather rushed and contrived, and did it really need "to" on the somewhat convenient and saccharine way that it did?

All in all, above average for mainly Stanwyck but disappointing. 6/10

This is a pretty ordinary little film about a young waitress (Barbara Stanwyck) who falls in love with a wealthy college student (Regis Toomey) who will go on to become a doctor, and how his mother strives to break up their relationship. I rounded it up a bit because of Stanwyck's performance; she is such a natural and has a couple of great scenes. I also liked how she was such a strong woman - her character was toughened by her father's death, and she stands up to unwanted advances while waitressing, endures being sent away to a woman's reformatory on morality charges, and tells Toomey off when he returns to her after she's made it as a dancer. Being committed for trumped up morality reasons is outrageous today, but it was reality then, and the mother had also considered getting her committed to an asylum, a real practice stemming from the 19th century. If you don't like 'em or they're threatening in some way, lock 'em up. The ending is unfortunately a little dippy, but you could do worse than watch this one, and it's almost entirely due to Stanywck.

One of the great scenes has her throwing money in a guy's face after he tries to bribe her into leaving town to get her out of Toomey's life: "What are you trying to make of me - what you wish I was? Something cheap and common, something that money can buy? Well, you can't. Nobody can! You and the nice, decent people who sent you here are the real cheap ones, trying to put a price on something there isn't any price for! If that's being decent, I'm glad I'm common! If that's being rich, I'm glad I'm cheap, and I'm gonna stay cheap! Because no matter how cheap I am, I'm not for sale!"

I'm surprised no one has reviewed this at all. Well, Barbara Stanwyck made a whole lot of movies, and this one is OK. It's got Zasu Pitts and the usual suspects. Barabara Stanwyck plays a flirty waitress in a college town who takes up with a young lad from an upper class family. Interesting to see how mores have changed. Lots of golly gee lines in this one, lots of upper class snobbery. Truly a different world. In this movie at least Barbara S. doesn't play a total trollop, like Mexicali Rose. In this one she becomes a successful actress, although on the riske side. It's not clear from the film if she went from burlesque to legit, but something along those lines. Interesting flick.

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!

Although you might think you're watching a film from 1932, you're actually watching the "cleaned up" edited version from 1938. "Edited" in this context means chopping out complete scenes, vital parts of the story which explain what's happening and anything whatsoever with a hint of salaciousness - which since it might or might not be about a girl with loose morals, it now makes no sense.

The savage editing which is no better than someone removing every other chapter from a book results in a completely disjointed story - your imagination has to work overtime to fill in the gaps. You might therefore think that this isn't worth watching?

The reviews of this even when it was complete were pretty terrible. Apparently even when complete, the story was considered ridiculous, the direction amateurish, the script laughable and the acting (apart from Barbara Stanwyck) truly awful. You might therefore think that this isn't worth watching?

Well I watched it and yes, the acting is rubbish and the story is stupid.....but I loved this. And not in "it's so bad it's good" sense, no I honestly enjoyed this as a fascinating, engrossing, emotionally engaging piece of entertainment. Had I been in the cinema in 1932 or 1938, I'd be the one standing up and clapping at the end. It's just so gloriously over-the-top and so 1932! It's like someone at Columbia one morning said to his writers: "Let's condense every story, every trope, every plot twist and tragedy you can think of into one crazy romantic-tragedy-comedy-social commentary-thriller-Broadway-prison movie......oh, and you've got until lunchtime so write the script." Well the result is anything but boring - the term 'rollercoaster ride' doesn't do this justice and I thought it was great. OK, a lot must have been chopped out but within no more than about a minute and a half, she's released from jail, it's the depression so she needs a job so somehow becomes a massive Broadway star with a brand new personality. That I love this nonsense might just be something to do with me - after all, I think CITIZEN KANE is the dullest thing I've ever endured and PADDINGTON is the greatest film of the 21st century.

Despite the many shortcomings of this inexplicably enjoyable film, the one shining beam of talent is Barbara Stanwyck. Her presence in this is the only thing which makes this not just watchable but mesmerising. Her character evolves from fresh young bubbly innocence to sultry sophistication but throughout her transition her natural raw sex appeal constantly transfixes you to everything she says and does. She's exceptional.

She's exceptional in the sense that she's got exceptional talent and also in the sense that she's the one in this film with talent. In films made from the mid-thirties onwards, you only see Regis Toomey in minor supporting roles - if you want to know why, watch this. Of dear, he's dreadful - he's got just two expressions: serious face and angry face - even Kay Francis had three. He's got to be Barbara Stanwyck's worst leading man - you can't build up any empathy for him whatsoever and as for the film getting us all worked up hoping that Barbara Stanwyck will get back together with him, that certainly doesn't work. I think we'd all like to tell her: "you can do a lot better than him, love. "

Besides animatronic Toomey, the rest of the cast, including Aunt Em are just one dimensional caricatures serving one purpose; to be cruel and nasty to Barbara Stanwyck's 'Kitty'. They're all so ridiculously vindictive, uncaring and horrible that you can't take them seriously or accept that they are real people which is a big problem with any film! We know that life for young women in the 20s and 30s could be absolutely terrible, we've seen it explained in much better films than this. That all the evils of society, bad luck and a deluge of wickedness all happen to Kitty at the same time leads you to the obvious revelation: you're watching CINDERELLA and Aunt Em is the wicked stepmother.

Kitty Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) loses her father in a construction accident. With his dying breath, he tells her to be tough. She goes to work for her aunt as a waitress in a college town. The college boys are all after her. She falls for stiff medical student David despite clashing at first. His father is a powerful judge and his mother does not approve. David is going away with his mother for 6 months. He proposes marriage. The family pretends to go along in front of David but then the judge puts her away for violating the public morals act after refusing to accept his $5000 bribe. David is told that she took the payout when she's actually sentenced to prison work for ninety days. She joins the Follies upon released and becomes a big time star. Six years later, David comes looking for Kitty. His mother still refuses to accept "that shopworn woman".

This is a rather simple and weak romance. The guy is stiff and his character is lacking. He is nothing special but she is another story. A young Barbara Stanwyck is starting to gain traction and one can see the reason. She has amazing screen presence and a powerful personality. She's a rising star and overpowers her acting partner. She is something to behold.

This is an early Barbara Stanwyck film, Shopworn, from 1932.

After her father dies in a construction accident, Kitty Lane (Stanwyck) keeps her promise to her dad and goes to live with his sister (Zasu Pitts). There, she works as a waitress.

It's a college town, and the guys are ga-ga over her, though she turns them all down. She falls for a bookish man, David (Regis Toomey), a medical student who doesn't seem to pay attention to her.

David comes from a good family - his father is a Judge, and his mother is possessive. She does not approve of Kitty. She fakes an illness and David finds that he must take her to a specialist in Vienna. Before he leaves, he proposes to Kitty, intending that she join them.

Everyone pretends to go along, but while packing, the police show up and arrest her for violating the public morals act, after she refuses the $5000 offered her. She is sentenced to prison for 90 days. David is told she took the money.

Upon her release, Kitty joins the Follies and makes a great success. Six years later, David visits her dressing room. She leads him on just to reject him, but later, the two talk it out and get back together. But his mother is still a pain, referring to her as "that shopworn woman."

One major scene was cut from this film - while in prison, Kitty miscarries a pregnancy, so it seems that she and David had quite the romance going.

I wouldn't say that Regis Toomey, who became a prolific character actor, and Barbara Stanwyck are well-matched. In the beginning, his role is that of an easily-influenced young man where his parents are concerned, and back in those days, this wasn't unusual. Later on he seems better able to stand up for himself. But as a couple, even when she was just starting out, Stanwyck had star quality, so it doesn't really work.

Stanwyck was a petite ball of fire, versatile, strong and charismatic, with a beautiful figure to boot. What a pleasure to see her in these early films. Watch it for her.

This was a surprise of a film starring Barbara Stanwyck, (Kitty Lane) who plays the role as a waitress in a small town and is liked by everyone. Kitty is a nice gal and is very much in love with a boy named David Livingston, (Regis Toomey) who comes from a rich family and he lives with his mother who loves him very much and is very protective of who he see's and what he does. As a few years pass by, David asks Kitty to marry him, but his mother interferes and contacts a judge who manages to put poor Kitty in a girls reformatory in order to prevent her son from getting married. As many years pass by, David becomes a very successful surgeon and Kitty becomes very well known. This is a very interesting love story and Barbara Stanwyck gave an outstanding performance. Sasu Pitts, (Dot) a veteran actress gave a great supporting role Don't miss this film, it is truly a great Stanwyck Classic Film.

Of all the pre-Hays Code films Barbara Stanwyck made-and there were tons-Shopworn might be my favorite. Jean Harlow must have been busy and the studio didn't want to wait for her, because this is a typical Jean Harlow vehicle. If you liked Hold Your Man and The Girl from Missouri, rent Shopworn and see Stanwyck's Harlow impression.

Barbara plays a low-class diner waitress who flirts with all her customers. She attracts the attention of the wealthy Regis Toomey, but his mother, Clara Blandick, can't stand the idea of her son sullying himself with someone so low. I loved seeing Regis and Clara in leading roles, since I only remembered Regis as Brother Arbide in Guys and Dolls and Clara as the secretary in The Girl from Missouri. Seeing them younger and with more meat to their parts made this truly feel like an old movie.

Clara goes to great lengths to prevent her son from marrying the low-class waitress, and it's both shocking and completely realistic to see how far she goes. This is a great romantic drama that could only have been made in the 1930s. The idea that a loose woman is the greatest evil in the world just doesn't translate in today's world. I loved stepping back in time and soaking up the magic of Shopworn. Jean Harlow fans should totally check it out.

Barbara Stanwyck stars in SHOPWORN (1932) as Kitty Lane, a young woman who has to move to the city when her father dies after a work accident. She is taken in by her aunt Dot (ZaSu Pitts) and works in a diner frequented by college students who are always hitting on her. Unfairly, she acquires a reputation as an "easy" girl, and this complicates things when she falls in love with David (Regis Toomey), a wealthy young man whose selfish mother (Clara Blandick) will stop at nothing to prevent the two from marrying.

The plot of SHOPWORN is standard melodrama – boy loves girl from "the wrong side of the tracks", the good girl with an undeserved bad reputation, the overly possessive mother, the uppity disapproving blue bloods, etc. As such, there are very few surprises here and the peripheral characters are very one-note. The ending is rather predictable. There is also a misunderstanding (based on a lie) between Kitty and David that causes them to separate for a long time, and Kitty finds success as an actress in an unlikely plot twist. It does have some pre-Code innuendos that I found rather surprising, especially when the college students at the diner hit on Kitty. There are some witty exchanges between Kitty and David that make the movie livelier in spots as well.

The film is redeemed somewhat by the caliber of the performances. Barbara Stanwyck is always worth watching, and her charm, fire, wit and charisma help to bring some life to the rather cookie-cutter plot. Regis Toomey is good as David, sometimes a little cloying during the love scenes but effective when he defends his love and stands up to his mother. Clara Blandick plays the mother about as well as her character could have been played, revealing an unhappy, self-centered woman whose "love" for her son is mostly obsessive fixation and a desire to control him. The cinematography and editing are professional, if not outstanding, except for the first part where Kitty's father is killed as the result of an explosion.

Overall, SHOPWORN isn't really a great movie, but fairly serviceable and not very long (1 hour 12 minutes). Worth seeing mostly for Barbara Stanwyck's performance. SCORE: 7/10