''But the Flesh Is Weak'' is a 1932 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 ...
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
directed by
Jack Conway and written by
Ivor Novello
Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century.
He was born into a musical ...
based on his 1928 play ''
The Truth Game
''The Truth Game'' is a comedy play by the British writer Ivor Novello, first staged in 1928.
Film adaptations
In 1932 Novello went to Hollywood to adapt the play for MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-M ...
''. The film stars
Robert Montgomery,
Nora Gregor
Nora Gregor (3 February 1901 – 20 January 1949) was an Austrian stage and film actress.
Biography
She was born Eleonora Hermina Gregor in Görz, a town which then belonged to Austria-Hungary, but is now part of Italy, to Austrian-Jewish paren ...
,
Heather Thatcher
Heather Thatcher (3 September 1896 – 15 January 1987) was an English actress in theatre and films.
Dancer
By 1922, Thatcher was a dancer. She was especially noted for her interpretation of an Egyptian harem dance. Her exotic clothes were desig ...
,
Edward Everett Horton
Edward Everett Horton Jr. (March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970) was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television, and voice work for animated cartoons.
Early life
Horton was born in Kings County ...
,
C. Aubrey Smith
Sir Charles Aubrey Smith (21 July 1863 – 20 December 1948) was an English Test cricketer who became a stage and film actor, acquiring a niche as the officer-and-gentleman type, as in the first sound version of ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937) ...
and
Nils Asther
Nils Anton Alfhild Asther (17 January 1897 – 19 October 1981)[Swedi ...](_blank)
. The film was released on April 9, 1932, by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
.
''But the Flesh Is Weak'' was remade in 1941 as
''Free and Easy''.
Plot
Max Clement and his father Florian, short of money, take advantage of wealthy British women by romancing them. Max's problem is that he is far more attracted to more attractive women, ones without the means to support him.
While seeing a pleasant but plain Lady Joan Culver socially, Max is introduced to Austrian widow Rosine Brown, quickly falling in love with her. Max is persistent in his romantic advances, but Rosine reveals that she is penniless and, much like Max, counting on a richer but less exciting man, Sir George Kelvin, to marry and take care of her.
Florian's gambling losses in the casino leave him heavily in debt. The only way Max knows how to aid his father is by marrying Lady Joan, who can afford to solve his financial difficulties. Max's guilty conscience and true love lead him back to Rosine, and the sudden engagement of Florian to a wealthy woman helps bring everyone together.
Cast
*
Robert Montgomery as Max Clement
*
Nora Gregor
Nora Gregor (3 February 1901 – 20 January 1949) was an Austrian stage and film actress.
Biography
She was born Eleonora Hermina Gregor in Görz, a town which then belonged to Austria-Hungary, but is now part of Italy, to Austrian-Jewish paren ...
as Mrs. Rosine Brown
*
Heather Thatcher
Heather Thatcher (3 September 1896 – 15 January 1987) was an English actress in theatre and films.
Dancer
By 1922, Thatcher was a dancer. She was especially noted for her interpretation of an Egyptian harem dance. Her exotic clothes were desig ...
as Lady Joan Culver
*
Edward Everett Horton
Edward Everett Horton Jr. (March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970) was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television, and voice work for animated cartoons.
Early life
Horton was born in Kings County ...
as Sir George Kelvin
*
C. Aubrey Smith
Sir Charles Aubrey Smith (21 July 1863 – 20 December 1948) was an English Test cricketer who became a stage and film actor, acquiring a niche as the officer-and-gentleman type, as in the first sound version of ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937) ...
as Florian Clement
*
Nils Asther
Nils Anton Alfhild Asther (17 January 1897 – 19 October 1981)[Swedi ...](_blank)
as Prince Paul
*
Frederick Kerr
Frederick Kerr (born Frederick Grinham Keen, 11 October 1858 – 3 May 1933) was an English actor who appeared on stage in both London and New York and in British and American films; he also worked as a major theatrical manager in London.
Early ...
as Duke of Hampshire
*
Eva Moore
Eva Moore (9 February 1868 – 27 April 1955) was an English actress. Her career on stage and in film spanned six decades, and she was active in the women's suffrage movement. In her 1923 book of reminiscences, ''Exits and Entrances'', she des ...
as Lady Florence Ridgway
*
Forrester Harvey
Forrester Harvey (27 June 1884 – 14 December 1945) was an Irish film actor.
From 1922 until his death year Harvey appeared in more than 115 films. He was credited for about two-thirds of his film appearances, but some of his roles were un ...
as Gooch
*
Desmond Roberts
Desmond Roberts (5 February 1894 – 11 January 1968) was a British stage and film actorLeibfried & Lane p. 105. who also played first-class cricket, 1913–1936, for Surrey. He was born in Hampstead, and died in Eastbourne.
Partial filmography ...
as Findley
References
External links
*
1932 films
1930s English-language films
American comedy films
1932 comedy films
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
Films directed by Jack Conway
American black-and-white films
Films set in England
Films set in London
American films based on plays
1930s American films
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