Pretty much every character in this film is stereotypical, but since the film employs absolutely first rate actors in every role and has a decent and easy-to-take screenplay, they manage to pull the story of a somewhat gold-digging girl looking for The Better Life, aided and abetted by a classy down-at-the-heels member of Society, up to a near A-level effort, even if the budget remains strictly B-level. I've never understood why Irene Ware didn't 'make it' in Hollywood. She was extraordinarily pretty without being beautiful, had a delightful personality, and was a good actress - not unlike a B version of Marguerite Churchill (also a B personality, but in more perhaps B-plus films), Wendy Barrie or Virginia Bruce, all of whom shared those same attributes and did romantic comedy with the best practitioners of the art. Sidney Blackmer simply cannot be bad, and he is quite charming in his role here. Indeed, for all practical purposes he would appear to be the leading man, except that it doesn't quite turn out that way. (What is called "the kitchen scene" here, between Ware and Blackmer, and mentioned by other reviewers, is probably the highlight of the movie and might have achieved a kind of minor immortality if done in an A film by, say, William Powell and Carole Lombard.) Russell Hopton as the target Miss Ware really does go for manages to play it tough and classy at the same time and we are not surprised he turns out to be an ex-bootlegger. Hopton died a suicide a decade later, only 45, but in all his best tough-as-nails roles, he looks like the last person on earth who would commit suicide! (See G-MEN for vindication.) Betty Compson went from silent screen stardom to talking B-films to near-bit 1940s roles, but survived pretty well (see her in an atypical but rather memorable role in Lugosi's THE INVISIBLE GHOST) and is charming here. In fact, the whole cast is admirable, with the possible exception of Edward Gargan, who here, instead of playing his usual lovable-if-dumb cop or workman, plays a loudmouthed bully who is the only really objectionable character in the film (even if the others are somewhat mercenary, they are at least charmingly so). Of course, this is very early Gargan and he is only doing what the script and the director ask of him, so even he is admirable in his way, I guess. Anyway, this is a film that could easily have been made for an A studio with a top A cast - Carole Lombard/Jean Harlow and Ronald Colman/William Powell, then Clark Gable/Spencer Tracy and Norma Shearer/Myrna Loy would not have been the least bit out of place in the four leads, and one can imagine Nat Pendleton in the Gargan role. If it had been done by them, it would probably have had an even better script, certainly better production values, and most likely be better remembered today. But I doubt it would really have been substantially more enjoyable than this little and rather unjustly forgotten B effort.

"A woman can fool a man, but she has a difficult time putting anything over on her own sex." So says the veteran vixen Betty Compson as she realizes the designs that old flame Sidney Blackmer has on the newcomer to the female game, Irene Ware, scheming to trap a rich man, but naively believing that Blackmer isn't interested in her. He knows she's an opportunist but doesn't mind, watching her flirt with the pompous or foolish rich men cavorting around the pool of a fancy resort. This is society comedy poverty row style, and there certainly is a lot of that. In addition to Ware, Blackmer and Compson, there's sweet looking little old lady Lucy Beaumont as Ware's seemingly innocent companion. There's all sort of eccentric types, usually the unknowing barbs of Compson's cracks, and the men from Ware's past who expose her to a bootlegger in society who is as crass as she is sweet and innocent on the surface. Call this a scheming Cinderella story where not so noble intentions come out rewarded. As screwball comedies began taking late depression era potshots at the silly idle rich, this one took a more serious view with a sly wink, but missing the wackiness that has made the screwball comedy genre a fan favorite today.

"False Pretenses" is the sort of escapist film that they did quite well in the 1930s. And, despite a very low budget and mostly no-name actors, the film ends up being quite entertaining.The film begins with Mary Beekman (Irene Ware) at the end of her ropes--her knucklehead ex-boyfriend (Edward Gargan) has gotten her fired from her job and won't stop harassing her. On top of that, she loses her check and has to climb on the wall of a bridge to retrieve it. There she meets a down-on-his-luck playboy, Kenneth Alden (Sydney Blackmer) who is about to kill himself! She convinces him to stop and in talking with him, she comes up with a crazy idea. Maybe Alden can regain some of his fortune by helping her marry some rich guy (since he IS a prominent member of society and knows the right people)--and then she'll split her new fortune with him. So, after some lessons on etiquette and deportment, he takes her to meet his friends--and are they smitten! What's next in this little bit of larceny? See the film for yourself.The film is entertaining and satisfying--proving that a B-movie can still be quite good. I particularly thought the script, though outlandish, was the strength to this one--though the acting also was quite good. Worth a look.

A just fired girl chasing her paycheck meets a broke drunk millionaire on a bridge. He thinks shes going to jump, like he had been intending.She takes him home to his house where they get to talking. Its decided that he will get money together, teacher her to be a lady and then set her out to his rich friends to find a husband and then pay him finders fee. Odd ball romantic(?) comedy drama is decidedly not your run of the mill Hollywood movie. Rarely has a "comedy" been so cynical. Love, even when you find it still is no match for money. The cast is excellent and keeps you watching even when you can't believe how mercenary everyone on screen is. The script is very good with lots of witty lines and exchanges (the early cooking scene is excellent). the script also provides some really good characters that are not the usual assortment of people you find in films of this, or any other sort. If there is a down side its that perhaps the film is much too cynical. There is something about its tone that while amusing prevents you from completely connecting. Certainly its worth a look since odds are you'll not find a film with a similar attitude for 40 years. 6 or 7 out of 10 depending on your mood.