Sinners in the Sun
Sinners in the Sun
NR | 13 May 1932 (USA)
Sinners in the Sun Trailers

A New York fashion model finds herself being pursued by a poor but honest garage mechanic and a rich philanderer.

Reviews
mark.waltz

Poor girl loves poor boy but is pursued by rich boy while poor boy finds himself pursued by rich girl. It's all in the shape of things that this oddly formed depression era comedy/drama features such frivolity during the darkest financial era of our country. Carole Lombard is feisty but sweet, turning down all the opportunities to go out seriously with playboy Walter Byron, while the man she loves (Chester Morris) has passes made by his own boss (Adrienne Ames). It's obvious that the two wealthy people have rebellious streaks which take them to the other side of the track, intending to get what they want then toss it aside like a new toy they've gotten bored with. It turns out that Byron already has a wife, causing Lombard's father to kick her out. Handsome Morris has it better with the noble Ames who tries to pull Morris into a marriage doomed from the start.This is silly and unbelievable from the start, but often very funny and ironic. Lombard is decked out in some wonderful chic clothes, hiding behind them and clamping in tears after learning about Morris's pending nuptials. I can see this helping young ladies deal with the depression, but giving a false indication of how it would all end. The young Cary Grant has a smallish role as another one of Lombard's admirers, and it is obvious that stardom was destined for him. Alison Skipworth plays Lombard's worried mother, quite a different type of role for her. It's an adequate time filler that uses the best of what made pre-code so fascinating. Of course, Carole Lombard could read the comics aloud and keep attention on her. The timeless quality of her personality is undeniable.

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MartinHafer

This simple 1930s film seems to have the underlying theme that a person should be happy with their lot in life and shouldn't want more out of life--a reasonable less considering it was the Depression! When the film begins, Doris (Carole Lombard) and Jimmie (Chester Morris) are in love but to Doris there needs to be much more. This is because although Jimmie has a job, he's not exactly wealthy and she wants money and a fancy life. So, she dumps him and goes off on a search for a rich husband. Jimmie is angry and disgusted but eventually he goes looking for a rich wife. However, even though both have a cushy rich life in front of them, neither is happy.The biggest reason to see this film is to see Cary Grant in one of his first films. He's reasonably good as a nice rich man but nothing more. As far as the story goes, I liked it but felt the fast run-time was a serious detriment. Because it went by so fast, the story felt more like an object lesson than about real people. But it still was modestly interesting and is worth a look.

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tedg

What's interesting about these projects is the collage.The story is simple: two young lovers. She refuses to marry him because he is poor. They break up and each become coupled with someone wealthy. They discover love is what matters so they reconcile.Its boring and predictable. The thrill is supposed to be in watching their debauched fun while rich. The cinematic device is the collage. We see a series of images, first of her and later of him. Images of partying, laughing, drinking. We are meant to infer wild sex, gluttony, but the collage is tame.That's because the technique within the collage is the swirl. Compared to the rest of the movie, indeed all movies of the era this collage was supposed have much shorter segments, more focused and abstract, whooshing by with lots of swirls in between.I'll bet it worked in its day. I'm sure it did. But today this brisk skating of images is the norm.Its a disturbing realization. Its not just the notation that's changed, is it? Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

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boblipton

A beautifully written and sometimes magnificently played serious movie. Chester Morris and Carole Lombard love each other, but she is terrified of the corrosive effects of the life of poverty that she foresees with Morris. So they break up and drift into lives as a kept woman and a gigolo.The two are almost perfect in their roles; Chester Morris plays a character who is almost unable to phrase a clear thought and pulls it off beautifully, for a wonderful payoff scene. Miss Lombard only fails in one scene, towards the end, when she is contemplating suicide: I blame the heavy-handed direction of it rather than her performance. But the movie is riddled with wonderful performances: the always excellent Alison Skipworth as Lombard's supportive mother; Reginald Barlow as the father who gives her no chance; Adrienne Ames and Walter Byron as their likable seducers. Particularly good is Rita La Roy, an actress whom I have never noticed before, as a kept woman who kills herself -- alas, this was her best part in the movies, After her career faded out she sold yachts. Cary Grant is also present in a small role, in his second movie, but if you're not paying attention to the soundtrack you could easily miss him: his voice was far more distinctive than his good looks at this stage of his career.There is a happy ending, but it feels forced. That is the one flaw in this movie. Otherwise it is well worth your time.

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