''Behind the Make-Up'' is a 1930 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

drama film directed by Robert Milton and

Dorothy Arzner Dorothy Emma Arzner (January 3, 1897 – October 1, 1979) was an American film director whose career in Hollywood spanned from the silent era of the 1920s into the early 1940s. With the exception of longtime silent film director Lois Weber (who d ...

(who was uncredited),Mayne, p. 54, 183 and based on the short story "The Feeder" by

Mildred Cram Mildred Cram (October 17, 1889 – April 4, 1985) was an American writer. Her short story "Stranger Things" was included in the O. Henry Award story collection for 1921. A number of her stories and novels were made into films. She was also ...

. The film stars

Hal Skelly Hal Skelly (James Harold Skelley; May 31, 1891 – June 16, 1934) was an American Broadway and film actor. Biography He was born James Harold Skelley in Alleghenyville, Pennsylvania to James and Martha Skelley. His family moved to Daven ...

William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the '' Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters cr ...

, Kay Francis, and

Fay Wray Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian/American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international r ...

. This was the first of seven in which Powell and Francis co-starred, the others being '' Street of Chance'' (1930), ''

Paramount on Parade ''Paramount on Parade'' is a 1930 all-star American pre-Code revue released by Paramount Pictures, directed by several directors including Edmund Goulding, Dorothy Arzner, Ernst Lubitsch, Rowland V. Lee, A. Edward Sutherland, Lothar Mendes, O ...

'' (1930), ''For the Defense'' (1930), '' Ladies' Man'' (1931), ''

Jewel Robbery ''Jewel Robbery'' is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic comedy heist film, directed by William Dieterle and starring William Powell and Kay Francis. It is based on the 1931 Hungarian play ''Ékszerrablás a Váci-utcában'' by Ladislas Fodor a ...

'' (1932), and '' One Way Passage'' (1932).

Plot

Good-natured vaudeville clown Hap Brown befriends Gardoni, a vain but penniless comedian contemplating suicide. Trying to help him out, Gardoni initially dismisses Hap's ideas but ultimately steals them and goes on his own to find success. When they meet again, Gardoni takes Hap as a partner in his show, but woos away Hap's girlfriend Marie and marries her. Soon after, as Hap and Marie try to deal with Gardoni's shabby treatment of them, he pursues an extramarital affair with the worldlier, wealthier socialite Kitty, with whom he also racks up a significant gambling debt.

Cast

as Hap Brown *

as Gardoni *

as Marie Gardoni * Kay Francis as Kitty Parker * E. H. Calvert as Dawson *

Paul Lukas Paul Lukas (born Pál Lukács; 26 May 1894 – 15 August 1971) was a Hungarian actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and the first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for his performance in the film '' Wat ...

as Boris * Jean De Briac as Sculptor * Torben Meyer as Waiter

Critical reception

Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', praised the performances of Powell ("excellent"), Wray ("pleasing"), Skelly ("goes about his part with earnestness and intelligence"), and Francis ("does nicely"), but noted "the story is rather limp and disappointing."

References

Bibliography

* Mayne, Judith. ''Directed by Dorothy Arzner''. Indiana University Press, 1995

External links

* * * 1930 films 1930 drama films 1930s English-language films American black-and-white films American drama films Circus films Films based on short fiction Films based on works by Mildred Cram Films directed by Dorothy Arzner Films directed by Robert Milton Films scored by John Leipold Paramount Pictures films 1930s American films {{1930s-drama-film-stub