The exposition that takes place in a dentist's office, before the flashback that constitutes the major part of this film, seemed rather long to me. And the main character, Biff Grimes (Gary Cooper), seemed to be the least likable. So, I thought this film was going to be a drag.But as the story develops, one learns that Biff, though a dense, insensitive lout, has an interesting story to tell. And the first part of the film is necessary to fully appreciate what follows.I have always felt that Gary Cooper is best suited for characters that are socially awkward. Biff is just such a role. Cooper is surrounded by actors who outshine him at times. But they form a solid ensemble for this adapted play (that would be remade two more times in the forties). Fay Wray, in particular, amazes with her transformations throughout the film.This plot is a simple story about revenge that no doubt pleased audiences of the depression era who looked to champion the common man.

One Sunday Afternoon (Stephen Roberts, 1933) is a small masterpiece, vastly superior to its better-known remake, The Strawberry Blonde – which starred James Cagney. Gary Cooper plays a dentist besotted with the flirtatious, hateful Fay Wray. When she marries his rival, Cooper weds sweet-hearted admirer Frances Fuller, but he's unable to forget his great love. Then, years later, she walks back into his life. Cooper was a fine comic performer, adept at screwball fare like Bluebeard's Eighth Wife, but also able to inject humour into his straighter work. He's ideally suited to this wonderfully-scripted movie, an incisive marital drama laced with irony that offers considerable concessions to character comedy. Stage star and future acting teacher Frances Fuller is arguably even better in a rare screen role: loving, faithful and stoic, though she knows her husband's heart lies elsewhere. As the other woman, Wray is only fairly good, possibly overdoing it in the last scene, though Roscoe Karns offers his usual combination of laughs and laconic sentiment in support. The film has a singular feel, with the plot concisely, intelligently handled, allowing each scene to play out effectively, despite the short running time. It is book-ended by contemporary scenes showing the greying Cooper plagued by his nagging wife, shown only in silhouette, making us complicit in his bitterness – at least at first. One Sunday Afternoon is short but not slight: delightfully played, perfectly-formed and with a lovely message somewhat atypical of '30s Hollywood.

If you're looking for a pleasant story about a bygone age, this is not it. The 1941 remake with James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland and Rita Hayworth was much more enjoyable, with expertly shaded performances from the three stars and a bouncy score for a musical background, dealing as it does with turn-of-the-century's 1900 era.This is the more somber, muted version with an unappealing central performance by GARY COOPER as Biff Grimes, the lovestruck man who thinks about his past when he let Virginia (FAY WRAY) marry his best friend (NEIL HAMILTON), and ended up with his second choice (FRANCES FULLER) for his wife.The pace of the story is leaden and dull, with no musical background at all for most of the scenes. None of the players strike the kind of sparks that were evident in the later version, letting good opportunities for character development pass right by--although this is more the fault of the script (from the James Hagan play) and director Stephen Roberts. It's a pretty trite script, completely devoid of the kind of humor and spunkiness on the part of Amy as played by Olivia de Havilland in Raoul Walsh's version. Fuller has to play Amy like a dull simpleton. NEIL HAMILTON's Hugo Barnstead is a far darker version than the amusing heel, as played by Jack Carson in the Cagney film.Cooper's fans will probably forgive him for a performance that lacks the luster Cagney gave it, but the film is a lackluster version of the story which reached the screen three times in remakes. His Biff is not the charming sort of guy to attract a girl like Amy--in fact, her interest in him is puzzling, to say the least.A charming tale has been turned into a dreary story with uninspired direction. The characters and their motivations are entirely different from those in the more successful version where both women have well-written roles and the humor is much more emphasized.Summing up: The vast difference in approach spoils this version for me.

"One Sunday Afternoon" is a charming and little-known piece of Americana, the first filmization of James Hagan's play about a dentist named Biff Grimes (Gary Cooper) who has long tried to revenge on his old friend Hugo Barnstead (Neil Hamilton) for marrying Grimes' girl Virginia (Fay Wray) and leaving him with the charming and devoted Amy (Frances Fuller). The film opens with Grimes and his pal Snappy Downer (Rascoe Karns) singing and drinking. Barnstead shows up Grimes' home to get this tooth pulled. Grimes puts him on nitrous oxide gas, and then the film dissolves into a flashback as Grimes remembers their past, providing him with a motive for revenge."One Sunday Afternoon" was remade in 1941 by Warner Bros. and Raoul Walsh into a timeless and unforgettable classic, "The Strawberry Blonde", starring James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland, and Rita Hayworth. Walsh's version is infinitely superior, but "One Sunday Afternoon" is worthwhile for Gary Cooper's superb performance.