This DVD has no special features, but the picture and sound quality are good and even though Joan Blondell has a small part, she alone makes 1931s “My Past” worth watching multiple times. (Above picture, Joan Blondell, "My Past")
The story-line is a timeless tale of a free-loving man
and woman who have no shame when it comes to fornication, or adultery.
Bebe Daniels portrays Doree Macy, a showgirl juggling
a relationship with two men who are business partners and friends. Both men
fall hard for Doree, (Daniels) and she falls for one of them, and the infinite
web of love and lust manages to complicate things.
“My Past” rewards adultery, and is considered racy,
even by today’s standards. In one scene, Doree (Daniels) takes off her swimsuit
while in the ocean and says to Bob (Ben Lyon), I bet you can’t catch me. Bob
immediately jumps in the ocean and swims toward her.
Joan Blondell did a great job of portraying Bebe
Daniels best friend, especially when giving her advice about dating a married
man.
“I know these young married men. When there wife’s
away, the play. They’ll tell you anything, make all sorts of promises. They’ll
even kid themselves into thinking they’re not married, but just as soon as the well-known
ball and chain gets back, they creep home on their hands and knees,” Joan
Blondell said.
Daniels shows some cleavage and a lot of leg in “My
Past,” and this illustrates the fact how much less skin was shown in mainstream
movies from 1935 to the mid-1960s. Anybody who is knowledgeable fan of the
Pre-Code Hollywood era between 1930-1934, will want to view this pre-coder, or at least I think so.
Mark Izzy Schurr
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