The Bride Walks Out (1936)
Directed by Leigh Jason

Film Review

Barbara Stanwyck is on cracking form in this breezy Depression Era comedy, her lively presence making up for the humdrum narrative and dearth of quality gags.  Gene Raymond has such an antipathetic persona that it stretches credulity too far for us believe for one moment that Ms Stanwyck would prefer him to the dreamy-eyed and lethally debonair Robert Young, later to be immortalised as Marcus Welby MD.  Fortunately, Ned Sparks, Helen Broderick and Hattie McDaniel are on hand to share the comedy load and brighten up what might otherwise have been a limp and predictable comedy.  The familiar themes of the Great Depression are made light of, although the most striking thing about The Bride Walks Out is its pro-feminist slant, with Stanwyck boldly defying the mantra that a woman's place is in the home.  Agreeable as the film is, Stanwyck and director Leigh Jason would achieve much better things on their subsequent collaboration, The Mad Miss Manton (1938).

Film Synopsis

Ignoring his girlfriend Carolyn's protestations that they cannot possibly live on his paltry salary of thirty-five dollars a week, Michael Martin marries her in haste and soon lives to regret it.  Thanks to Carolyn's shopaholic tendencies the couple soon find themselves up to their necks in debt and it isn't long before the bailiffs come along and take away all of their furniture.  Hugh McKenzie, the alcoholic son of a department store magnate who is infatuated with Carolyn, comes to the couple's rescue.  Without Michael knowing, Hugh replaces all of the repossessed furniture.  Carolyn's decision to get herself a modelling job so that she can pay back Hugh is ill-received by her husband and the couple are soon heading for a bitter divorce.  Michael hopes to win back Carolyn by earning a large pay cheque on a risky engineering project in South America...