"Love is a rare thing. You throw it away, it may never come again." So says Kay Francis to her favorite cousin (Kay Johnson), a sweet, rich girl who has fallen in love with chauffeur Charles Bickford and plans to marry him against the wishes of her obstinate father (Winter Hall) who threatens to disown her. Bickford and Johnson marry, and move into an apartment building owned by the frenetic Zasu Pitts who always has a word of doom every time she stops into visit. Francis is married to the older Lewis Stone who allows her to have affairs but steps in when they get too intense. At first, Francis is her cousin's confidante, but as the marriage between Bickford and Johnson begins to suffer, Bickford confides to Francis whom he found at first to be pretentious and snobby. In the meantime, Johnson struggles to raise their child (Dickie Moore) while Bickford plays around with Francis. Eventually guilt takes over the two, and Francis begs Johnson to forgive her even as she plans to marry Bickford who has convinced Johnson to divorce him. But will a final meeting between Bickford, Johnson and Moore bring him to his senses about what he really wants? Not if Francis gets her way!This pre-code drama shows its vixen (Francis) in a rather sympathetic light as the affair between her and Bickford doesn't simply happen out of nowhere and her devotion to her cousin brings on a reluctance to go forward with it. Of course, once she's involved, she's not willing to let go, and a confrontation between her and husband Stone (seen only briefly) makes her determination all the more to get Bickford down the aisle. Bickford, on his part, is obviously not content to become Francis's "fancy man", being much more independent and masculine than the stuffy members of Francis's social scene. Johnson never makes her plight turn her into a sob sister, being more intent on remaining strong for her son (an excellent Dickie Moore) and doing what she needs to do to survive. Of course, Pitts steals every scene she is in, whether talking about a spouse that ran off on her, a tenant who can't speak anymore because they are dead, or the little boy who lived in the building who was killed after being hit by a car. Only Pitts could deliver such tragic news and make the viewer laugh because of her dead-pan manner. This is one "Debbie Downer" type character that is actually amusing.

I just reviewed "The Show-Off" which has a similar - Irish vs. WASP thing going. In Passion Flower it is a bit more subtle, but Kay Francis is still most definitely the other - liberal, louche, a free-thinker.In reading the other reviews, I note the historical value mentioned about the depression. This movie scores an 8 for me because of the priceless line about the battle of the sexes.And of course it is Zazu delivering it - I think someone should gather her speaking roles in all her bit parts and string 'em together, end-to-end.As I recall (I saw the move several years ago, but believe I watched this scene several times, I was so wowed by it), Zazu is mopping the floor and chatting "men trouble" with Kay Johnson. "I don't know about men," says Zazu. "They can be handy during the day and entertaining at night, but that's about it. I don't know about men." HANDY DURING THE DAY and ENTERTAINTING AT NIGHT? Now don't that just sum up the plight of 21st century manhood? And Zazu figured it out in 1930! Evewryone should watch this movie for that one scene. It is one of the best.

I may be a nerd about history, but I have always wondered just how long it took for the jazz age of the '20's to wind down, and for the reality of the oncoming depression to settle in on the minds of the average American. A lot of the movies dated as of the year 1930 that I have seen on TCM have plots and situations that look as though the depression hasn't started yet. In some cases it seems like it's still the 1920's! And I am not talking musicals, either. In this movie, released December 6, 1930, the plot involves the depression, in the fact that Charles Bickford decides to accept Kay Francis' offer to work on her ranch because he has lost his job. Meanwhile, Kay Johnson (the wife) and her landlady played by Zasu Pitts seem to be just waking up to it all as they discuss the state of the economy. Kay says how it has been "dreadful this year." And Zasu Pitts says, "Oh it's bad. I've been trying to collect rent and haven't had much luck." Later when Charles Bickford loses his job his boss tells him, "I may not have a job myself in a couple of weeks." So, perhaps in January 1930 no one noticed a depression yet, but by December 1930, everyone did. This is what I find interesting. Call me a nerd.

Cecil's brother, William DeMille only directed one film after this one. After seeing Passion Flower, it's a wonder they let him do that one. Extremely old fashioned material made with no verve. With the exception of some lame Zasu Pitts comedy, all the performances are wooden and trite, even the usually interesting Bickford and Francis. The only moment of interest is a technical where Bickford and Francis have a discussion on a very windy hillside and the sound appears to be recorded on site. It would difficult with modern microphones, much less what they had in 1930. But it's not enough to make anyone want to sit through this rubbish.