Brief Moment

So one cliché, the greedy gold digger, is subverted and replaced by another one, the spoiled heir redeemed through real hard work. This is a one-idea morality tale, and probably not a particularly original one at that. Yet Carole Lombard and Gene Raymond are very fine, dialogues are brisk and the tempo lively. Some of the supporting actors are also worth a mention - Arthur Hohl as the torch singer's caring boss, friend and wishful would-be husband, Herbert Evans who has a very funny scene as a butler with some useful experience of dealing with his master's hangovers - he looks and sounds like a twin brother of Edward Everett Horton of Lubitsch's fame. That's quite enough to make this simple-minded, unambitious story quite worth watching.

In the time-old tale of a rich boy falling for a poor girl, Gene Raymond falls for Carole Lombard in Brief Moment, much to his family's disappointment. He threatens to marry her, and they cut him off and out. They marry, but in a twist, his father still writes him checks on the side. The meat of this story is the dissolution of the marriage. After the beginning, Gene's family practically disappears. Gene and Carole learn quickly that love doesn't conquer all. He drinks and gambles, and Carole's heart breaks with each ruined night. I've seen a lot of these types of movies, and this one isn't the best. It's rather stereotypical, boiling down a troubled marriage to a day at the races and too many martinis. But if you like the leads, you can rent it.