Primrose Path (1940)

 This is Ginger Roger's other 1940 film, and while she might be just as good here as in Kitty Foyle which would win her her only Academy Award.

Here, she's white trash, Ellie May Adams, who is the daughter of a drunk but educated man and a kept woman. She's uneducated herself and a tomboy but can be just as manipulative as her mother, faking a suicide attempt to get diner owner, Ed Wallace (Joel McCrea) to marry her and she fits in with his lifestyle like a glove.

But she lied to him and once the truth is out, Ed claims he no longer wants her because of that, but its likely because he's ashamed of her background. So Ellie May returns to her family, which is good, because they need her. Though it is not shown on screen, her mother probably wrestled a gun away from her husband and got shot as a result and dies in short time and after being unable to find a job, Ellie May reluctantly starts to follow in her mother's footsteps but thanks to some quick thinking and bantering with Ed, he chases her once again and this time it ends better, I guess.

Now, while I'm glad the two ended up together as I do think they loved each other, it was an odd courtship as in the beginning, Ed egged her on just until he got a rise out of her and kisses her without warning but at least she smacks him back. And she's so desperate to get out of her house that she lies through her teeth just to get him to marry her, which he does and they seem to get along well until the truth is out. And then at the end, he just takes control of her family at the end, even spanking her younger sister (Joan Carroll), which is enough to make me cringe though I know spanking was typical back then. 

While Rogers gave another natural performance (while Kitty was a stronger character, I think this may have actually been her better performance), the film actually belonged to Queenie Vassar as Ellie May's grandmother, sharp and witty and nasty if the situation requires it. However, it was Marjorie Rambeau (Ellie May's mother) who would receive an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, though I wasn't truly impressed with it, as it wasn't anything special. Though this film might have been daring for the day, I found it dated and safe and did nothing to advance the feminist movement. So take this film with a grain of salt. Grade: B

Side Notes:

-I loved how there was a warning at the beginning of the film, informing the audience that this film passed the censor tests. 

-Honeybelle is an unfortunate name for a child. 

-I felt that you were missing a scene as Ed says he wants nothing to do with Ellie May and then is told off by her grandmother in the next scene.

-This film has the double-standard as Ed was certainly a man about town before marrying Ellie May but she has to come from a pure family.

-My favorite character was Ed's grandfather (Henry Travers), one of the best characters in the business.