This pre-Code film about the hypocrisy of small town life manages to deviate somewhat from it's conventional outline due to a surprisingly liberated lead character and convincing performances by the three principal stars. Nancy Carroll plays a rather independent young woman who is unfairly given a bad reputation around her hometown, which embarrasses her parents and even endangers her "rebound" engagement with one of her lifelong acquaintances, played by the very hunky Randolph Scott. Both Carroll and Scott are perfectly cast and play their roles flawlessly (Carroll, in particular, expertly handles some difficult scenes),but picture is stolen somewhat by a young Cary Grant as the third point of the love triangle. In what is largely considered his first leading role, Grant is already a sexy, charismatic presence in this film and I defy anyone to try taking their eyes off of him whenever he's on screen.

From a historical perspective, HOT Saturday is also highly interesting due to it's fair amount of surprisingly racy moments; the likes of which wouldn't be seen again in Hollywood until the late-sixties. The highlight is when Carroll forcibly yanks off Rose Coghlan's underwear, and there is even a later illusion to bondage when Carroll appears in gauntlet cuffs. The film also features a surprisingly free-wheeling nature that is uncharacteristic of the era; Carroll's character Ruth is woman who basically embraces her negative reputation and manages to find a degree of liberation in the process, a theme that wouldn't become very popular in movies until nearly four decades later. All of this, in addition to the combustible chemistry between Carroll, Grant, and Scott, render HOT Saturday as a delightfully unconventional film of it's era.

Hot Saturday (1932)

There are a few early Cary Grant movies where he has a small role, or where he isn't quite the "Cary Grant" we have come to expect (and which he always jokingly said he wanted to become himself). But this one is pure, true Grant, and very early, indeed. But even better, the plot, the mise-en-scene (including town scenes, domestic situations, and a range of outdoor stuff at the lake including a bohemian roadhouse on the water),and the photography are amazing. I mean amazing. There are a few stumbles in the acting, but you get so swept along, and so continually surprised, this won't matter much at all.

The director of all this gets a huge amount of credit, because William Seiter who pulls the best out of the cast and the crew, equally--and who presumably helped choose some terrific location shots as well as matching studio scenes. Seiter was a Hollywood working man director, doing lesser A-list films and making them decent, though none that I've seen (a small fraction of a huge output from the 20s to the 40s) has the energy and flair of this one. And this is an unsung one, definitely worth seeking out.

Likewise, Arthur Todd behind the camera did a dumpload of good if unamazing films, and so it was with the music and set design. But the leading lady is another story. Nancy Carroll really steals the show, even from Grant and the other leading male, the rather wooden and handsome Randolph Scott. She has a kind of live-wire, doll-face quality a little similar to Claudette Colbert, easily as amazing in this film. Carroll supposedly had more fan mail than any actress in this era of Hollywood, and was contracted with Paramount (which was the studio here). But she was so difficult to work with offscreen (rejecting many parts) they let her go, and her career slid, and she probably missed out on another higher kind of stardom.

But here she is alive, sympathetic, and complex on screen. If Cary Grant isn't enough to lure you in, give Carroll her due.

This is of course a pre-code film (widely advertised as such) and in fact the looseness of the events, the morality of the lead, and the suggestive scenes (never explicit) all help make this come alive. The dance and party scenes are so much fun you'll wish you were there, and the cave in the storm as well as the night scenes in the woods are pretty amazing, too. The end will prove, again, both the ability of pre-code films to touch on real life issues, and the need of even these kinds of films to have a moral compass by the end. The very last few seconds takes care of this.

Great stuff. A huge surprise for me.

Nancy Carroll was exceptionally pretty and could do anything - she could sing and dance and when given the opportunity was an exceptional actress. A combination of bad temper and bad film roles toppled her from her lofty "Queen of the Screen" pedestal after only a couple of years at the top.

In only his 7th film Cary Grant (looking so young) received top billing over Nancy Carroll (presumably Paramount had high hopes for Grant) but it is Nancy's film all the way.

Ruth Brock (Nancy Carroll) is a pretty bank clerk, who has all the boys in a lather. Everyone is going to Willow Springs on Saturday night and Ruth is going with Connie (Eddie Woods). Romer Sheffield (Cary Grant) is also the talk of the town - the talk is people want him run out of town. After paying $10,000 to get rid of his latest fling, he asks Connie to bring the gang to his place on Saturday for a party.

Ruth is the sole support of her money grubbing family. Her mother (Jane Darwell) is looking forward to the return of Bill (Randolph Scott),a childhood friend of Ruth's, now wealthy and a successful geologist.

When Connie tries "cave man tactics" on Ruth during a boat ride, she jumps ashore and walks back to Romer's house. Earlier in the evening, Romer, who had always been keen on Ruth, got very flirtatious with her, much to Connie's disgust. Connie, driving around looking for her, sees her sitting on Romer's porch. He attempts to "rescue" her but Romer tells him to go back to town and cool off. He goes back to town but for revenge starts spreading rumours about her. The town takes up the story and it spreads like wildfire. Ruth finds she is ostracised and loses her job. In the middle of this Bill comes back and rekindles his romance with Ruth. After a violent scene with her mother - this is a Jane Darwell that is unknown to me. If you have only seen her as the kindly, benevolent matron of Shirley Temple films, it will be quite a shock. I think she badly overacts but it is still something to see.

Ruth runs off in the rain to Bill's digs and after a sexy scene involving removal of wet clothes, he declares his love for her and they become engaged. At the engagement party Bill overhears some gossip about her and calls their engagement off. Connie had maliciously invited Romer - but when Romer arrives he realises what is happening and discreetly goes. Ruth upset by Bill's dressing down leaves with Romer. The next morning Ruth calls in to pick up some clothes and when Bill says he forgives her she says that last night everything the gossips were saying about her was untrue but this morning it was true. She then leaves with Romer for New York and, hopefully, a preacher!!!

Cary Grant was such a natural actor. In the hands of another actor, Romer could have come off stiff and stuffy but Cary made him likable and sensitive. Eddie Woods, who played opposite James Cagney in "The Public Enemy" played Connie and pretty English actress Lilian Bond played Eva. Stanley Smith, who was once a rising star at Paramount and played opposite Nancy Carroll in a couple of early musicals, had the thankless role of Joe. He can be glimpsed in the first scene as a lovesick bank teller and then at Romer's party.

Highly Recommended.