''Bought'' is a 1931 American

Pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, 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 censorshi ...

drama film produced and released by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

and directed by

Archie Mayo Archibald L. Mayo (January 29, 1891 – December 4, 1968) was a film director, screenwriter and actor. Early years The son of a tailor, Mayo was born in New York City. After attending the city's public schools, he studied at Columbia Unive ...

. The movie stars

Constance Bennett Constance Campbell Bennett (October 22, 1904 – July 24, 1965) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress and producer. She was a major Hollywood star during the 1920s and 1930s; during the early 1930s, she was the highest-paid ...

and features

Ben Lyon Ben Lyon (February 6, 1901 – March 22, 1979) was an American film actor and a studio executive at 20th Century-Fox who later acted in British radio, films and TV. Early life and career Lyon was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Alvine ...

, Richard Bennett and

Dorothy Peterson Bergetta "Dorothy" Peterson (25 December 1897 - 3 October 1979) was an American actress. She began her acting career on Broadway before appearing in more than eighty Hollywood films. Early years Peterson was born in Hector, Minnesota, the dau ...

. It is based on the 1930 novel ''Jackdaw's Strut'' by Harriet Henry. Warner Bros. paid Bennett an all-time high salary of $30,000 a week for her work in this film.Hirschhorn, Clive. (1979) ''The Warner Bros. Story'' p.106

Plot

Raised in poverty by a never-married mother, Stephanie Dale resents her mother's working-class sensibilities. Dreaming of a rich lifestyle Stephanie gets a job modeling as a

modiste A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Nota ...

shop when a wealthy patron, David Meyer, notices her and is immediately attracted to her. However, the same day Stephanie returns home to find that her mother has died. She moves out and finds an apartment in a good location for meeting celebrities. David and Stephanie begin spending time together and his wealth allows her to indulge in luxuries. They share an interest in books, but she's put off by his age, clothes, and manners. Young, handsome Nick Amory who lives in the building next door is also interested in Stephanie, and they begin a romance. One day David notices a photograph of Stephanie's mother and realizes that he is her father—but keeps this information secret as he helps his daughter meet wealthy socialites. At one of the many parties she attends, she meets Charles Carter Jr. who immediately falls in love with her, but she rejects his advances despite being drunk. Nonetheless, Nick gets jealous and ends their relationship. When Charles then proposes, she accepts, and 11 days later when Nick finally gets a raise, he proposes to Stephanie as well, but she is forced to turn him down. All is going well as Stephanie and Charles plan their wedding—until Charles discovers that Stephanie's parents were never married and the backstory she has created for herself has all been a lie. He promptly cancels the wedding. This makes Stephanie realize how shallow society people truly are, but upon returning to Nick, he too rejects her when she admits that she slept with Charles despite "Never really loving him". One day she receives a book from David and visits him to apologize for her past regrettable behavior. While she is browsing through his library, she discovers that Nick has been waiting there to see her. They reconcile and Stephanie finally learns that David is her father. The film ends with David arranging his daughter's wedding to Nick.

Preservation

The film survives intact and has been broadcast on television and cable. It was transferred on to 16mm film by

Associated Artists Productions Associated Artists Productions, Inc. (a.a.p.) later known as United Artists Associated was an American distributor of theatrical feature films and subjects for television. Associated Artists Productions was the copyright owner of the ''Popey ...

in the 1950s for broadcast on television. ''note'', not in Catalog of Holdings from 1978

Cast

Cast notes: *Richard Bennett was Constance Bennett's father in real life. ''Bought'' was the only film they made together. 1893-1993

Box office

According to Warner Bros the film earned $598,000 domestic and $179,000 foreign.

References

Notes Bibliography * Hall, Mordaunt (August 15, 1931
"'Bought': All is not gold"
''

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 ...

''; accessed August 11, 2015. * Kellow, Brian (2004) ''The Bennetts: An Acting Family'', University Press of Kentucky. pp. 149–50,
''Bought!'' New York Times Archive 1931

External links

* 1893-1993 * * * {{Archie Mayo 1931 films Warner Bros. films Films based on American novels 1931 drama films American black-and-white films American drama films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films