Pre-code Deliciousness!: "Jewelry Robbery" (1932)

[00:00:34] Speaker A: Okay. And I think I stopped it. Okay, there we go. All right. And now I'm going to bring us on, because there's actually some people here. Hello, everybody. I'm Moya. And welcome to how Betty Davis saved my life. Life lessons from classic Hollywood. And we have our wonderful guest with us again. But, ma'am, who are you? You are Miss Mia. That's who you are. [00:01:02] Speaker B: Well, back for Return engagement, Moya. I'm not really AWOL. [00:01:08] Speaker A: I'm not really. She was AWOL. I'm sorry, Mia. You know, she's a military person, so they know how to do know and then try to. I don't have a break to throw her in. And gentlemen, we have a lovely gentleman here. Who are you, sir? [00:01:26] Speaker C: Hello, how are you? My name is Norman. Nice to be here. [00:01:30] Speaker A: Thank you so much for joining us again, Norman, with the ultimate faster in history. And guys, we have a great. Just fantastic. We've been waiting months to do jewel robbery, starring none other than William Powell and Miss Kay Francis herself. So we've been waiting so long to do this. But before we do this, Norman, I always want to shout out the ultimate fashion history, because I love that page. I just want to. Want you to walk us through that page a little bit because they always have the best stuff on there. So they have a Facebook page. They also have a YouTube page. And I just want us to just let. Norman just. Can I make this bigger? I think. Yeah, let me make this bigger. And let's feature the page more. Okay. There we. Right, yeah. [00:02:30] Speaker C: The YouTube page, I believe, started first. Professor Amanda Haley Heath was doing lectures at university and decided to start filming them. And she felt like the content was interesting on a broader platform, so she brought it to YouTube, and then, you know, it really caught on. She got a lot of followers, and she moved it over to Facebook as well. And it's a great community. I really enjoy both. I love the know she has passed on, unfortunately, but her sensibility and her humor are really interesting, and also her dedication to the topic of fashion history. I think those episodes are really well worth watching and joining ultimate fashion history. It's a terrific little community. I think people are really interested in the content. There's a lot of conversation that happens. It's nice to know that people are still kind of having these conversations and thinking about clothes as a function of their historical moment. And Amanda Halleheath would say that fashion is not an island. It's always a response. And so thinking about clothing in response to their era is always fun. [00:03:49] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:03:50] Speaker C: So that's. That. [00:03:51] Speaker A: That's a really good way to look at. And we're looking at some of these Victorian fashions. And I want to go back to this picture with this lace. And this is all hand before. This is probably right when an industrial revolution. [00:04:07] Speaker C: Yeah, we're getting into machine. We're getting into machine. I think that's what really changed things at this point. So people could really buy this now at different price points. [00:04:19] Speaker A: Let's look at some more stuff right here. [00:04:24] Speaker C: So there's fashion as a response. There's the color of the year. For some reason. It's this color. So there's response to the current moment. I think it's a very interesting response to our moment. Very soft and harmless. I don't love it. [00:04:48] Speaker A: I love this cut. [00:04:49] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:04:51] Speaker A: Gorgeous. I had a little peachy dress. Look how pretty this. You could get married in this. I think if you just like a little summer dance, little summer garden wedding. Look how pretty that is. Guys, please check this channel out. Yeah. What's his name? You know, I'm trying to say Ryan what's his name died. [00:05:17] Speaker B: O'Neill. [00:05:17] Speaker A: O'Neill. I didn't know he was 80 something. [00:05:20] Speaker C: Wow. Yeah. [00:05:22] Speaker A: I did not know that. [00:05:24] Speaker C: Oh, the Ronnettes. I love the Ron. [00:05:26] Speaker A: I know. Remember the beehive? Like, they had a hive of beehives. And then my girl Amy White House brought it back. I love beehive. [00:05:37] Speaker C: And they wore pants in a lot of. They wore pantsuits, which was like, what the heck is going on in 1965? They were pretty daring. [00:05:47] Speaker A: And if she married Phil Specter, that was wild. Killing somebody. [00:05:54] Speaker C: That'S a whole nother story. Look at the 70s busiNess. [00:05:57] Speaker A: Okay? This is my life right here, if you got it. Blonde it. [00:06:03] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:06:04] Speaker A: Let's see if you're lucky. [00:06:05] Speaker C: And the pants were very revealing at this point in time. Yeah, it was very revealing. [00:06:13] Speaker A: Yes. And that's why, Polly, then they didn't breathe well either. [00:06:18] Speaker C: No, they did not. [00:06:20] Speaker A: Gee whiz. This man at my church had almost the same suit on, but he looks great. I think he goes to a habit. Look at this. [00:06:28] Speaker C: Yeah, there you go. [00:06:30] Speaker A: He goes to a habitat. I love it. So, guys, our podcast listeners, we're looking at some 70s fashions, and this dude is doing. He has the mullet, the Magnum P out of marble, ma'am. Mustache. And what color is this, Norman? It's like Navy. [00:06:45] Speaker C: That is deep purple. Yeah. Plum. A lot of luck. [00:06:56] Speaker A: Love that. Well, I could look at this all day. So go to the ultimate Fashion Histories page. Check them out. They cover every facet of fashion. They know what they're talking about. Look at our dearly departed Angela Lansbury. She was so pretty. She wasn't known for being a sex symbol, but she was gorgeous. Really gorgeous. [00:07:18] Speaker C: And she had a tremendous career throughout her entire lifetime. She was always. [00:07:25] Speaker D: Okay. [00:07:25] Speaker A: I could look at that all day. So we're going to get to our movie. So who wants to start us off with Jewel? Robert? Let me pull up some photos. Let me put up IMDB. You all go ahead on and start off about that. And then we can actually start talking about this movie. So I'm going to share as y'all talk. So y'all kick it. Okay, here we go. Okay. [00:07:56] Speaker B: Well, Moya and Norman, this movie is about Kay Francis, who's playing a very wealthy baroness, and she's bored with her husband and her. Yes. And they both know about each other, which is pretty surprising. She leads the most excessively pampered existence imaginable, and she is enraptured by jewels. And her husband takes her to a jewelry store to buy a 28 carat diamond. It's known as the Excelsior Diamond. And when suddenly, who should appear but the most dashing, gentlemanly Joel robber imaginable. And the Baroness immediately is struck by him and his panache. And you will not ever see another robbery done like this because he does it with such class and he does it so swabbly. His MO is, he is so dignified and so civilized. His victims are caught completely off balance. He takes a ring and she is just giddy by this encounter. And they, of course, being moviegoers, you know, they are destined to meet again. And you won't believe where. And it's pretty audacious. [00:09:20] Speaker A: Oh, to say the least. [00:09:22] Speaker C: That was great. [00:09:25] Speaker A: And so this one I can't rewind. Oh, can I rewind this? That scene with Helen Vincent is so. Well, I'll come back to it because I don't know if I can rewind it on IMDB. So it's directed, as you see, by William. And this is pre code. Okay, so we know what that is. For those who don't know, they had the code on books that was supposed to stop, make Hollywood pure and scandal free, blah, blah, because it was full of scandals and it kept on being with scandals. It was just the appearance of being not scandalous, but they didn't enforce it. So during this time, this is 1932, I believe. And so you're going to see things on a screen that you probably wouldn't see again. So what, guys, maybe 30 years later, like in the 60s or something, like drugs and outright sex, because this movie is very sexual. So we'll get in that in a minute. But here we go with our stars. And you all jump in at any time. I'm just trying to give people some background about this really great movie. So this is our cast of characters, and y'all jump in at any time if y'all have anything y'all want to say about. [00:10:38] Speaker C: I also want to join you in shouting out for Helen Vincent, who's fabulous in this movie and a number of other movies. She was in that one that we did a little while ago with Carol Lombard. She played the best friend, and she's just so good at playing these sophisticated society ladies who's just a little bit, I don't know the word, but has a little bit of an underbelly, has. [00:11:02] Speaker A: A little bit of tramp. Vampire. [00:11:05] Speaker C: She's like, okay, tramp. There you go. [00:11:07] Speaker A: A sophisticated tramp. Sophisticated nonetheless. I'm going to give it to her. So I want to find that clip. But I love her. I don't know a lot about her, but I don't recall really seeing her a lot in the 50s. [00:11:23] Speaker C: No. [00:11:24] Speaker A: And so maybe she retired or she just died. Just retired. I don't know. If you all in the audience know, let us know what happened to Helen Vincent. But she had a run in the. She kind of almost played the same, like a shady lady. We're going to go with that. Kind of played that. And she was wonderful at Helen Vincent. Let's look at the rest of our cast of characters and some of these people you've known for quite some time. And Alan Marlberry, he's always in a lot of stuff. Henry Coker played the Baron. So why did we want to do this movie so much? Guys, what was it about this movie that we were like, okay, let's do Jewel robbery? Why do we love this movie? [00:12:12] Speaker B: Well, first of all, William Powell is my favorite actor of all time, and if I had been born 50 or 60 years earlier, I would have been arrested for stalking him. Move over, Carol Lombard and Gene Harlow. I just fell so in love with this man. I just want to watch every single movie he's ever made. There's just something about him that is just so beguiling. He's pretty amazing. And he's also, to me, I think he is probably the most important, versatile star of the 1930s. I think even more so than Clark Gable, in my opinion, because I think he and Herbert Marshall really set the stage for Carrie Grant later on by playing. He invented that smoothness with the comic, the humor, the humility all. And when he does this role, I love the way he talks about the sex is insinuated. It's not exploited, it's crude, it's not gratuitous. And then him not even mentioning his name, him keeping, there's an aura of mystery about him. So naturally, of course, she's going to fall for this guy, right? [00:13:29] Speaker C: And I also want to say, like, yes, he's so gentlemanly. And it looks like in every movie that he's in, he looks like he's having the time of his life. He looks like he's just enjoying every bit of it. And this whole movie is like that. Everybody seems to be just having a laugh and just enjoying it. It's kind of campy. It's just kind of a little bit, like, unbelievable. But that's what makes it so enjoyable. And I had said earlier that I think this is my 10th time watching it. I still got a kick out of it. So that's another reason why I think, for me at least, it endures. If you like K Francis, this should be one of your movie to see. [00:14:07] Speaker A: Absolutely. And this is the scene, and we're probably going to get copyright struck. And that's fine for just showing this little piece, but to give you just an idea, let me share my screen of the pre codeness of it all. So those of you who seen this movie, we know what you want us to talk about. We're going to get to that in a second. Like, the scene of scenes that still to this day is just jaw dropping. Like, how in the world were they able to get away with this? Putting this in this movie? But, yeah, let me. Let y'all take a look at this scene from what, Helen Vincent just tramping it. She, like, just didn't even think twice about what she was saying. And I thought, Kay Francis reaction is absolutely hilarious. Even though Kate Francis will know she's not too wholesome herself. That I should say so. Let's take a look. Don't you think? I'm afraid I shall close my eyes all night. Well, this is one night I should be very glad to be with my husband. I love it. You couldn't do that like post pre code or after they started enforcing it? Guys, I don't think women were allowed to be that candid anymore. Were they post pre code? [00:15:34] Speaker C: If they were, they were. They had to get paid the price by the last real. They had to be brought to submission. [00:15:43] Speaker A: They had to die or something. [00:15:45] Speaker C: Yeah. Again, one of the things that I noticed that I never had seen before, which I just loved. And how it established her characters. When they're in the jewel store and she meets her lover. She's saying hello to her lover, and she just gives him the little tiniest wag of her finger when he goes to kiss her hand. And as soon as her husband comes into the thing, she stops. And iT's just sort of like this little moment where you realize they're romantically involved. And her husband, it's right under her husband's nose, and it just really establishes the character. Such a tiny little gesture. I do like her for a lot of her mannerisms that I do find endearing. [00:16:25] Speaker A: Yes. Like I said, we'll probably have to edit this later into just some clips. And so let's take a look. I don't know if it's in this clip, but let me see. This is William Powell, the jewel robbery scene. And just so a smooth criminal like Michael Jackson had back in the day. Smooth criminal. He was a smooth. And I can't see anybody but William Powell playing it, to your point, Georgia, because he just had that air about him, and we love. So let's get into that. Let's take a look at the actual jewel robbery scene. Okay. So he arrives in his fancy car, and you see how he's dressed to kill to the nines, crisp and everything. So he looks like aristocracy or somebody so totally unsuspecting. [00:17:32] Speaker D: Good evening. Anything I can do for you? I'm sorry to intrude at this late hour. It's perfectly all right. Well, then, will you kindly put up your hands? All of you. [00:17:48] Speaker A: So the dude who bolt Nestles Norman is talking. Let me kind of go back. Sorry. So, not Georgia. Kay France had to be bored as hell, didn't she? Oh, she was. [00:18:09] Speaker B: But he has this bad boy charm, and that's part of the war. [00:18:13] Speaker A: I'm talking about this dude here. [00:18:15] Speaker B: Oh, him there. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. [00:18:21] Speaker A: Because he ain't got. You see, he bolted for the door. Okay, let's go, all of you. [00:18:28] Speaker D: I shoot anyone who moves. [00:18:31] Speaker A: I'm out of here. [00:18:32] Speaker D: Proceed, gentlemen. Never mind the lady. [00:18:39] Speaker A: Okay, let's stop. Let's talk about the clothes. [00:18:41] Speaker C: All right. Look at that coat. Look at that hat. [00:18:44] Speaker A: Yes. [00:18:45] Speaker C: Look at that collar. Oh, my God. [00:18:48] Speaker A: Let's go back and try to get a full deal of that. Okay? Yeah, I was trying to get that other mean holding the. [00:19:03] Speaker B: Just every detail is just. [00:19:06] Speaker C: Yep. [00:19:07] Speaker A: Look at who Orie Kelly did this one, right, or no? [00:19:11] Speaker B: Yes. [00:19:12] Speaker A: Okay. But even the men, that box top hat, look at the. They're wearing gloves. Well, I don't know if he has gloves on, but the walking cane, Norma, why don't men wear that? The walking cane, why did that just went out of fashion or. I think it's so classy. You need it nowadays walking. In some parts of America, you need a cane. And the kind with a knife that pulls. [00:19:33] Speaker C: Yeah, I know. I think it's just like a little bit of affectation that kind of went out. It just seemed like a little like hats went away, gloves went away, all the little extras to show off. Status kind of changed over time. And I think this is one of the ones that was ditched pretty early. It was just kind of know we got things to. [00:19:54] Speaker A: So let's take a look at this. Look at the back of our podcast listeners. Kay Francis is decked out in this, like, coat dress. Norma, is that a good description or how would you describe. [00:20:09] Speaker C: Yeah, it's a long coat. It's worn over a dress. Yeah, she's got a long coat on with a fur collar, stand up collar, and beautiful sleeves. The sleeves are incredible, too. Love those. [00:20:21] Speaker A: Right? And you didn't have to take this off. I guess depending where you're going, you could take it off. But if you left it on, it wouldn't be weird today if we kept a coat on. Obviously it's coat now. We don't know the weather. Did you think it would be wintertime? Or she's just being fashion max or what do you think? [00:20:41] Speaker C: I think it is set in the wintertime. Also, these outfits were made as sets. They were made to be worn together. If you went, I'm sure she went to like a hot couture sort of level of price point. So it was made to be like you said, like, you can wear the coat, you can take it off. You've got a beautiful matching dress underneath. You can play with it as much as you wanted to. Everything was appropriate and all went together. [00:21:06] Speaker A: Right. And then she has the hat. And Georgia, I can't wear, I mean, I can physically wear hats, but they don't look good on me. And Georgia, you say, are you a hat person? [00:21:17] Speaker B: I used to do hats. [00:21:19] Speaker A: Oh, wow. [00:21:20] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:21:21] Speaker A: Okay. But she has this hat on, guys, and it's almost like a bowler hat shape at the top. You know how the men will wear. But obviously it had that ridge with like this crinkle ridge and some, I don't know what that is is it fruit or some kind of ornamentation? Normally, do you think this is felt, this hat or what do you get? The wool? [00:21:43] Speaker C: Definitely could be felt. Something soft. This is sort of the end of the close fitted to the head thing because hair is starting to get a little bit more curly and bigger. So they didn't want to smoosh it down with the hat. So this is sort of the end of that. You can see the hair starting to get a little bit more. Less flat. And the hats are also going to start changing around this time. [00:22:09] Speaker A: Okay. With these two gorgeous. I love pearls. [00:22:16] Speaker C: Look at how she's lit. Look at the beautiful. I mean, this is the detail to movie making that you don't see right now. It's like she's lit so beautiful. Everything there is know, the fur, the pearls, everything is just lit to maximum. Just. It is quite gorgeous. [00:22:31] Speaker A: She is, you know, Kate Francis was a closed horse, to her detriment sometimes because she wanted more in depth roles. She actually shout out to the. Let me try to get this right. The real who poo YouTube channel. Go and check them out. She did a really in depth piece on Kay Francis's life. Also, Age of vintage does some good work, but the real hoopoo really did a good job on it and talked about Kay Francis and how she didn't just want to be a fashion maven, she wanted to be taken seriously as an actress. And before Betty Davis, y'all, she sued Warner Brothers for that. So she preceded Betty, which is, I didn't know that fighting for roles and just didn't want to be typecast as his clothes horse. So I'm kind of skipping ahead because I don't want us to get copyright struck and we probably will. So I want to get some of the banter between she and so I might find another clip. But in the jewel robbery scene, she and William Powell, the robber, they flirt and it's very sexual and sentineling without being vulgar. Would you guys say I was. [00:23:51] Speaker D: Horn belt? [00:23:53] Speaker A: You know me. [00:23:54] Speaker D: I know all the people who own unusual jewelry. One of the elementary requirements of my trade. Won't you chat, please? [00:24:01] Speaker A: Chat? Yes, chat. [00:24:03] Speaker D: Every knight. Can't you smile a little? You look so charming when you smile. [00:24:07] Speaker A: This is a joke, isn't it? [00:24:09] Speaker D: Joke? [00:24:10] Speaker B: We're not really a thief. [00:24:12] Speaker D: See, that's an ugly word. Let's say robber. [00:24:16] Speaker A: What's the distinction? [00:24:18] Speaker D: There's more flavor to robber. We're in the most exclusive jewelry shop in the ring Strausser. In robbing a place of this sort, one must have a drawing room technique. This, I find, always helps to make the atmosphere more congenious. And nothing like music to keep people from doing rash things in a moment like this. [00:24:34] Speaker A: And Norman and I in Georgia, we were talking about. This was set in Vienna. And Norman, what did you say? Historically speaking, in just a matter of few years, it wasn't going to be looking like this anymore. Right? Oh, my gosh. [00:24:49] Speaker C: Yeah. To speak to your point, though, yeah, they definitely have an interesting approach to each other. Like, she's fascinated by him, and he's just equally fascinated by her. I think this movie still endures because of the interplay between them. It's very adult, it's very sophisticated. It doesn't go over the top, but you know exactly what's going on. You could watch this with your grandma in the room or your kids in the room, and they might not understand what's going on, but the adults in the room do know what's going on. [00:25:23] Speaker A: Absolutely. [00:25:23] Speaker C: And are loving it. [00:25:25] Speaker A: Right. I was trying to find a scene. I should have it queued up where they were. This salacious flirting. Okay, let's see if it's on here. [00:25:37] Speaker C: He throws her, like, on the pillows or something. He literally throws her down. [00:25:41] Speaker A: Yes. During the trailer. [00:25:45] Speaker C: Yeah, you can't do that very often. [00:25:51] Speaker A: So let's see. Okay, so y'all let me. Let me share. I'm not sharing my screen. We're going to get down to the scene and I'll try to try to find them flirting, but let's see. Let me go to full screen. So as this says. And who is this channel comic spirit, I think has this? The robber reefer and the present order society. This is a very pivotal scene. This is, again, pre code. When I first saw this, and probably, like you all as well, I was shocked. I was like, is that weed? I'm sorry? Marijuana. [00:26:34] Speaker B: It could have been either weed or it could have been opium laced cigarettes, because actually, that was kind of a thing for a while, too. So it was one of the. Yes, it could have been that, too. [00:26:45] Speaker C: At this point in time, there would be no distinction legally about them as narcotics. They would both be considered narcotics. And even if the public didn't understand what the effects of either one would be, they would immediately class them as, like, a narcotic type of a situation. [00:27:03] Speaker A: Because I know TCM and people saying it was weed, but everything is hyperbolic. But their reactions were so immediate. Because I don't smoke weed or I've never smoked, but I don't know it to have that immediate effect. [00:27:22] Speaker C: Well, I think this is some strong medical grade stuff. Yeah, I think they got their hands on the good stuff. [00:27:30] Speaker A: Let's see. [00:27:32] Speaker D: Thank you. [00:27:32] Speaker C: These are rich people. [00:27:33] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:27:39] Speaker D: Cigarette? [00:27:40] Speaker A: No, thanks. [00:27:41] Speaker D: Mr. Holland. I do smoke one of my cigarettes. [00:27:45] Speaker A: Pleasure. [00:27:48] Speaker D: Now, inhale deeply. Thank you. Yes, in Paris once, as I started to tell you, I carried away a case of gold in broad daylight. And twelve Jean Darmes accompanied my motor. Nothing like having the help of the police. Mere bravado. Not at all. I don't fancy your method of buying the authorities. That's a lie. Come now, Baron. We know that you bankers keep governments in your Westkeep pocket. You're a communist. I'm not a communist. Never mind us all. The present order of society is entirely satisfactory to me. You think I should do as well for myself under communism? What should I steal? [00:28:26] Speaker A: Power plants? [00:28:27] Speaker D: Grain elevators? [00:28:32] Speaker A: We were talking about this scene before we got on, and we were like, ain't nothing changed? [00:28:41] Speaker C: No, I definitely have to say, I've hung out with this guy in my. Yeah, I know this guy. I want to also point out the husband, the man in the white hat. The whole time he's chain smoking and he's throwing the cigarettes on the floor. And he's constantly lighting one after the other after the other. I mean, it's such a different era. [00:29:06] Speaker A: That's another thing that we were talking about as well, before we got on. How we kind of came to consensus that pre code kind of. Even though people still smoked until fairly recent history, the cigarettes got totally demonized, for better or for worse, whether they agree with or not. But like I said, people don't do this anymore. People don't smoke. Ever see people smoking? I don't see people smoking in public anymore. It's just gotten so taboo. But you're right. How? Pre code and then post pre code kind of just sanitize everything. But you're right. Nobody even thought about it. Like, he's chain smoking. You're right, Norman. And it's so true. [00:29:48] Speaker B: The studio was real concerned that audiences would object to the use of either the marijuana joints or the opium laced cigarettes. But instead, moviegoers were writing the studio. [00:29:58] Speaker A: Asking, where could they get those cigarettes, right? Because it was a depression. And look, I just say, no, I'm on record with that. But know it's the Depression. [00:30:13] Speaker C: Hey, you got to give them something. [00:30:19] Speaker A: George. You probably saw this in your research as well, that these type of movies, even though the audience could not relate to, like Norman said, these uber rich elite. But they wanted to see them because of the escapism, and especially if they were getting screwed by getting that. So they kind of had, like, a love hate relationship with these type of images. [00:30:42] Speaker B: You're exactly right, Moya. I did come across that. I think that they had a trouble relating to that, because that's why initially, when this movie came out, believe it or not, it was a flop. It didn't get appreciated until later on. Yeah, shockingly. But they did really, I think, enjoy seeing them be divested of their jewels. And I think they did like that. But when this came out, it was the height of the Depression, and about 25% of Americans were unemployed at the time. So, yeah, this was pure escape for them. You're exactly right. [00:31:17] Speaker C: And it's also in America, we're still under prohibition for another year or so. To see them slinging back cocktails and sauntering around, I could imagine it would have been a little off putting to some folks. [00:31:32] Speaker A: Right? That is so true. I forgot about the prohibition. So the poor people. I see why they wrote and said, give us some of them cigarettes. [00:31:44] Speaker D: Welcome to Communism. What should I steal? Power plants, grain elevators? International finance takes brain. [00:31:59] Speaker C: There he is, throwing those cigarettes. [00:32:01] Speaker D: Just like you're laughing at Mr. Hollander isn't. You're so clever. Why not come around to my office someday and I'll try you out? I couldn't take that chance. You're a banker. You might not be honest with me. Smoke cigars. [00:32:15] Speaker A: I was trying to Pete. The part about I'll find. Oh, I think this might be some of it. Where they flirt with each other. I hope I didn't over. I hope I didn't pass it up. Okay, here we go. What are you going to do to me? No. [00:32:43] Speaker D: A cigarette? No, but they're harmless, really. Two pups and you'll be hearing soft music. The world will begin to revolve pleasantly. [00:32:51] Speaker A: No. [00:32:51] Speaker B: Free. [00:32:52] Speaker D: A beautiful dream. [00:32:53] Speaker A: How do you know all this? [00:32:54] Speaker D: Experience. I assure you, all the ladies fall asleep happily. [00:32:57] Speaker A: Oh, so you can steal their jewels and peace, I suppose. I'm sorry. I won't take it. [00:33:02] Speaker D: I don't want her to force you. [00:33:03] Speaker A: I won't take it. [00:33:05] Speaker D: You're adamant? [00:33:06] Speaker A: I prefer to keep my wits about me, thank you. As we talk, I'll try to find. And I'm sorry I don't have a queued up audience, but yeah. Georgia, do you think that's real? I know this is a dumb question, but I've heard that danger is like an aphrodisiac to some people. And now we know Kay Francis was unfaithful because her husband was older than her know, stuffy as they. I think I heard it being called. But do you think it had been. I don't. Girl like, who is my, like Henry Cavill. So, like, if Henry Cavill came and robbed the Walmart where I was shopping, would I be like, oh, hell yeah, baby, take all my money. What would you doing after this robber, after this felon? I know it's a movie. This is a dumb question, but it's fun. But what do you think, George? I don't know. This is a dumb question. What do you think? [00:34:14] Speaker B: I think that definitely appeals to some women, and especially Kay Francis. She makes some illusions about she know you'll have to take me by force and these kinds of things. She likes the danger. She likes the fact that this person is pretty much a stranger to her. I think also what makes her so convincing is there's part of her personality that goes into the character that makes it so convincing. Why the two of them have such great chemistry together. But yes, I think that's part of it. The danger aspect, they make a statement about fear is like, well, can wet the appetite. There's a phrase in the movie, I think, that not being fully in control is also kind of an aphrodisiac for some people. So, yes, I know that there is something to it. This movie is more modern in many ways than what we originally think. [00:35:18] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:35:19] Speaker C: I think you could anticipate movies like Badlands with Sissy Spacek and Charlie Sheen, where it's a real life story, where this really bad guy just kind of sweeps into the life of this girl and she's know, on for the ride. Also Bonie and know, I think there's always been sort of. And she does also say she's just so terribly bored. So terribly, terribly bored. I think she's just like dying for some life, dying for some adventure to come into her life, which is ridiculous to us because she seems to have a pretty darn good. But it's clear that her husband's not delivering a certain amount of adventure that she's craving. [00:36:04] Speaker A: Right. Go ahead. [00:36:08] Speaker B: And we like to believe that the idle rich just aren't happy. I think that's part of why people like to watch this, because they like. [00:36:15] Speaker A: To think, you think you have everything. [00:36:17] Speaker B: But you don't, right? [00:36:19] Speaker A: Yeah, that's a really good point. I cannot find what I want, but let's look at her. Some pre code stuff that is pretty risque. So I would say, outside of Jean Harlow, and her taking a bath and red dust. There's some other bathroom scenes that I cannot think of. I was like, oh, my gosh. Okay, just show hEr. And I can't think of it right now. But this was a really good me bathroom scene with Kay Francis getting ready to go to the jewelry store and watching her get ready. Guys, I mean, this was wild. I was like, I want to hate on her, but I really couldn't because I was like, god knows if I had the means to live like this, I would totally do it. So I'm not even going to hate on her. But let's take a look at this. Look at. They have this shack sold us match. And like I said, an Uber rich, right? [00:37:35] Speaker C: Hurry, hurry. [00:37:38] Speaker A: You have to tell us why this was a flop. [00:37:40] Speaker D: Come, come. Hurry, hurry. [00:37:43] Speaker B: I think it's because they felt that K. Francis didn't quite do as well on the part, which I disagree with, but also Depression era audiences could not relate. [00:37:54] Speaker A: Okay, I can see that. But, I mean, you know when you're going to this. [00:38:10] Speaker B: Good morning, Marianne. Morning. [00:38:12] Speaker A: Afternoon is more like it. What's the latest news? [00:38:16] Speaker B: Another one of those sensational jewel robberies. [00:38:18] Speaker A: Not Hollanders? [00:38:19] Speaker B: No, Strasburgers. [00:38:21] Speaker A: Fashionable Strasburgers jewelry shop in Ringstrath was the theme this morning of the. [00:38:25] Speaker C: Look at that hat. [00:38:26] Speaker A: Yeah, let's take a look at it. She has what? That is a ring around a rose. I personally could not pull it off. And it is a gorgeous hat. And that's pretty tame to some of these other hats that in some other movies. Norman, what do you think that is kind of material as that? [00:38:49] Speaker C: I have no idea. But I think that this movie, if you take it as a satire, especially at this point in time, people were really questioning the excesses of capitalism that might have caused the economic collapse. And so this is, I think, the intent. If you look at it as a satire, it kind of works a little bit better. I think her clothes is kind of ridiculous. Rich people are kind of ridiculous in their pursuits and their boredom and all of this stuff. And I think having a team of twelve ladies have to put a lady together so she can go to a jewelry store, it's kind of silly. I look at it as a satire. I could see how people looked at it and took it as straight on, but it feels like such a satire of the whole economic setup and how these rich people can be so very rich and wear these ridiculous hats and go about their know. [00:39:44] Speaker A: That's a good way of looking at it. And then. So I'm thinking about. Don't. Norman, I don't know if you looked at Downton Abbey. I know. [00:39:51] Speaker C: Oh, sure. [00:39:52] Speaker A: Georgia and I, we did have. They had servants, obviously, but would it be more like a Downton Abbey thing? Because I'm scrolling a little quick, because, like you said, this woman had. She has a spa in her house. Okay? She's getting spa treatments in her house. She's getting a massage or whatever. So do you think it's more like Downton Abbey? [00:40:16] Speaker C: Downton Abbey is old family money. This is new. Is her husband's a banker. Her husband's like a financier, which is a relatively new thing to so slightly different. I think maybe that's part of the mix as well. These are sort of like new rich people. They're not old rich people. All the elegance that that's supposed to give. Look, she's being carried to a chair. I mean, come on. [00:40:44] Speaker A: I don't know about you all, but I'm ignorant. I mean, I have no reason. If I'd have been in that Depression era audience, I would have no reason not to think they live like this. And I would feel some kind of way. I'm not even going to sit up here and lie to you. I would feel like, well, dang, we're missing out. But, you know, guys, they did this in a 20th century. Well, this is 20th century, but later on, like, in the was the era of me. So, like, if you weren't the jet set or a club mad. And that's how people credit cards got more readily available, and people went into debt trying to have these jet set lifestyles. Remember lifestyles of the rich and famous with Rob. So everyday people would see that. Is that almost kind of like this? [00:41:33] Speaker C: Don't forget, one of Betty Davis's first movies was the Rich are always with us. And that's always been true. I mean, there's always been this 1% who's just, like, volling around, having a great time. [00:41:45] Speaker A: But now, guys, I think it's changed because the Elon musk of the world and whatever you like, I'm going ahead. And the man is filthy rich. And whoever else, the Bill Gates, like, the rich, rich, rich, rich, rich people. Okay? Like Carlos Slims. We don't know how these people live, but they seem more relatable. Like these people back then in Downton Abbey, that's aristocracy. You know, that's English and all that kind of stuff. But they would die. They would turn over in their grave, in my opinion. Y'all let me know how you feel like how Elon Musk relates to people, and he hangs out like the rich. This is the rich people, period. How they. With the people and hang out. These people wouldn't do that. Right. [00:42:32] Speaker C: You have different access to people now than you did back then. These people lived in a very rarefied bubble. You wouldn't see them except getting out of their limousine to run to the jewelry store. They would be like, on your TV, on your phone every five minutes. You wouldn't have that same kind of relationship with them. [00:42:51] Speaker A: Right. [00:42:52] Speaker C: I don't know. That's just my thought. [00:42:54] Speaker A: No, I think there was that on purpose barrier that they wanted to know, they wanted to keep, rather, and so they didn't want you to have access to them, in my opinion. So I think these people would turn over in their grave to see how they hang out with the rich. Hang out? The commoners. Georgia, what do you think? [00:43:18] Speaker B: I think you described it spot on. I agree with Norman. I think there was also a degree of insulation they wanted to have, and they didn't want to rub shoulders with the common folk, and that was part of one of the privileges of being rich. You could pick and choose who you were with, and you thought of other rich people. It's kind of like an exclusivity to. [00:43:41] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. That's the word. Exclusivity. And whereas now, like I said, Norma with the tech, and it's just a different. Like, a lot of these super rich kids, they shun their richness. They denounce it for whatever, know. I don't know. That's their business. [00:43:58] Speaker C: Well, they denounce it all the way to the bank. It's really easy to denounce it when you've got plenty of it. [00:44:06] Speaker A: When you've got plenty of it. And they turn on their parents, and they do all kind of weird stuff. [00:44:11] Speaker C: Now, they're still cashing the check. [00:44:14] Speaker A: Still cashing the check. So I will say now, something recently happened in Black world where one of these rappers, Ti and his son and his wife got into it, because it's so weird. Not just Ti's son, but Michael Irvin, the famous Dallas cowboy from back in their children. So this is how the black culture, so to speak, denounces their riches. They want to be so. And their parents are know, they get all iG, Instagram and all that saying, yeah, I'm hood. And I could go in the hood and be down. And their parents like, no, you live in a gated community. You never woke up with roaches and rats around you. Like, you went to a private school. Like, what are you talking? You rap, you down. And it's hilarious to those of us looking at it because it's so crazy. Normally, like you say, it's either to denounce them when you have it, which is. And ain't nobody falling for it. And you actually feel sorry for these young men who do that because if they go in the wrong parts of town and try to act like they down and they don't get it, it's bizarre. It's very bizarre. [00:45:31] Speaker C: Well, you're making me think of sort of shows empire and succession and the whole Kardashian phenomena. I guess people have always been sort of intrigued by the very rich. It's very interesting to think about how it really doesn't change. That fascination with that lifestyle doesn't really change. Yeah. See, people that live like this, they're in a different world. It's a very different world. [00:46:06] Speaker A: It is. That's the perfect way to describe it, is a totally different world. And how people react to it, it's objective. It depends on. I mean, it's subjective. Depends on who it is. But I wasn't poor by the. On paper, I guess I grew up poor, but I mean, I've never lacked for anything. But I don't know why. Let me just say this and we'll move on. There is no circumstance that will make me want to go back and live beneath where I thought the American dream are just the inequalities of a human is for him or her to try to survive. And survive means being stable, not wanting or lacking. So you want to move forward. So when I see, like I said, these famous people and their children going live in the hood and won't be down with. That's just bizarre to me. To what end? What is that going to do? Is that going to improve anybody else? It's just bizarre. But anyway. But no, you said it's a totally different world. So let me set this up. So this is after the robbery. So this is my favorite outfit of Francis of all time. And we talked about this with Shout out to Tom Malham, also with Ufh. And we talked about this when we were doing another movie, I think of, he said, and then you talked about this, I think you chimed in on one of our lives, you said, I don't know, it was this outfit. What is this material, Norman? What is this? [00:47:50] Speaker C: Which. So I think it's like a satin. And then I think the trim might be like Ermine or some sort of. Yeah, and you had actually mentioned that you thought it was kind of like a medieval shape. [00:48:03] Speaker D: I think that. [00:48:04] Speaker C: Yeah, it definitely has that medieval kind of look. It's really harkening back to that kind of that time period. The backlist thing is so amazing. [00:48:14] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. [00:48:15] Speaker C: Beautiful. That is. Yeah. [00:48:17] Speaker A: Now, Georgia, do you think, like, you can't have any back knee, and if you do, you got to get it airbrushed out. Like, you have to have the perfect back. Like her. She has, like, the alabaster with the alabaster skin. Girl, look at that. I will kill. Whatever. But my back is ugly and it's fat. [00:48:33] Speaker C: So you don't have Max Factor making you up and a bunch of lighting folks either. [00:48:44] Speaker A: But it don't stop some people because, child, I'm like, please go home and take that off. Like, back fat and rolls? What is that? They will wear this and got their toe. Has no business in this dress, but they'll wear back fat and rolls. Be down well. [00:49:02] Speaker C: And backless was very unique at this point in time. Sort of like the late 20s, early thirty S. A backless thing was, like, shocking and very sophisticated. Like you said, very few women could pull it off, but those who could were like the fashionistas. And it was beautiful. It was quite sexy. [00:49:21] Speaker A: Absolutely. [00:49:22] Speaker B: It is just sumptuous. I originally thought this was velvet when I saw, which I might be right. [00:49:28] Speaker C: Yeah, you might be. [00:49:30] Speaker B: The thing is, she's got, at times, it really is low in the front. And at times I thought, oh, my gosh, it's like antigravity. And then the back was so open, I thought, how does she keep this on? And I saw somebody who maybe Norman knows so much about this, but how she manages to keep this dress from not falling off, because wouldn't she have had to have really tight sleeves or. [00:49:57] Speaker C: Something to maybe understructure probably on her bodice area? It's probably like a really constructed undergarment that everything's kind of pinned to holding it up. Yeah. It's kind of got, like, maybe a more stricter, more constricting undergarment that kind of hold everything into place. And then you kind of have that coming off of that. [00:50:26] Speaker A: That's so interesting. So it was some architectural. [00:50:29] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. [00:50:31] Speaker A: Shenanigans. Magic. Let's say that, if you will, because you're right, Georgia. The illusion of it, it looks like at any. [00:50:41] Speaker C: And that's kind of sexy, right? You're just waiting for it to fall off. It's kind. [00:50:48] Speaker A: Of in love with this guy. When I first saw it, I love this gown. But let's talk about the set design. Look at this. These studios did not. Even though, like I said, don't ever think the world is broke. Somebody always has some money because these studios, this may have been real or because some of them did not spare expense like this chair. It might be know, because they were competing with each other to. And I think this is at. What is this? Are they at Paramount? No, they're Warner Brothers. This is Brothers. [00:51:29] Speaker B: Yes. [00:51:29] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:51:30] Speaker A: And Warner Brothers were. No. So they would compete with MGM. Well, all of them competed. MGM was the most lavish, but they competed. And this is with each other for the most authentic and expensive and lavish. Upset. But look at this. [00:51:44] Speaker B: Yeah. This is 30s. Art Deco is what you're seeing, is it? [00:51:49] Speaker A: This is Art Deco. [00:51:50] Speaker B: Yeah, the sets were Art Deco. [00:51:53] Speaker A: Okay, this looks like some European. I don't know what my period is, but Louis, the 14 night, maybe not. [00:52:00] Speaker B: Quite that, but it is European, too. Yeah, it is. [00:52:04] Speaker A: Wow, look at the doors. Massive. [00:52:10] Speaker C: The scale of everything is just so big and over the top. It's very big. [00:52:16] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:52:16] Speaker C: But I mean, I think that just heightens the wealth of these people. [00:52:21] Speaker A: Right? And so, guys, I know we are not explaining the story. I mean, look at it for you, though. Look at him lusting over her and her back. Look at that. [00:52:30] Speaker C: Yeah, look at that. Exactly. That should be falling down, by rights. That should be falling down. It should be around her knees. But it's fastened in there. [00:52:45] Speaker A: Right. I love it, guys, the story. And we're kind of running out of time. He sneaks back in, as it says, and they flirted so heavily. Go find it. Just go look at it. Because, of course, since we're on here, I can't find the clip I want. But they flirt so heavily and it's really sexual and seductive when they're in a jewelry store. And girl, Georgia, she's feeling him, as they say. And so he's like, hey, let me go back. And so I don't want to give too much of a plot twist away. But I think, Georgia, you did say it about the ring because he took her ring off of her in the story. So I don't think you're giving too much away, Georgia. So the ring becomes a plot of device. Right. [00:53:33] Speaker B: It is. Because, I mean, a 28 carat diamond. Oh, yeah. He's such a connoisseur of jewels. Got to have it. And so I was wondering at one point, what's more important to him, the jewel or her? [00:53:49] Speaker C: Why not have both? [00:53:52] Speaker A: So here's the ring. So he giving it back to her, but he was, like, almost kind of blackmailing her a little bit. And I don't want to give away too much, but the ring is a plot device. And so we saw in the trailer where he throws her on those pillows and what happens? We need to go into that. And then there's another scene where he, quote, unquote, kidnaps her. And Norman said it. Why can I follow the clipS? When I was looking at on TV, they're not coming up when I do it on my computer, but just a game pre code. So they go to his love den, his house that's decked out, guys. And he got all his boys around, his butler and his valet and all that. I hope I'm not giving away too much, but I just want to just show you how sexual and scintillating it is without being disgusting. And so as soon as they get there, the butler or whatever opens the. He opens the curtain to the bedroom and the, you know, wait, that didn't happen. Girl, I'm getting that confused. Wait, no, that did happen. I just saw another K. Francis movie. I think I'm getting. No, that did happen in this 01:00 a.m.. I. Wrong. [00:55:07] Speaker C: I think you're thinking of trouble in. [00:55:12] Speaker A: This. Side note, I saw another K. Francis movie with Walter Houston, and it was like, set in Russia. I went on a K. Francis tear. Guys, I'm sorry. That's why I'm getting them all together. But go look at that one. That is on YouTube now. This movie is on YouTube. What is almost $3. Where is it? Is it on Amazon for $3? And I think Apple. [00:55:33] Speaker C: Guys, it's definitely worth $3. Yes, it's definitely worth $3. I mean, you're not going to spend $3 on much and get much entertainment out of it. But this is worth it. [00:55:44] Speaker A: That is so. But I just love pre code. Oh, my goodness. [00:55:51] Speaker C: I think if you've never heard of Kay Francis, this would be a great way to get to know her. I'm so sad that people didn't love it when it came out, but those clothes are just everything. If you like the 30s glamour and that whole sexy, slight, whatever, slinky kind of look, it definitely capitalizes it in this movie. [00:56:11] Speaker A: I know. I'm trying to find one more picture before we get out of here. I did not find a lot of pictures for this movie, and I'm looking for them because I got on a K. Francis tear, and so I was trying to find her later movies when she had kind of left the studio system and, like, her forty s and career is kind of winding down. But then I didn't find anything. Well, I found one. It was really stupid. So then I settled on this movie. I couldn't believe I didn't see it with Walter Houston and her where they were in Russia. And I can't remember the name of it. So if y'all know the name of it, let me know. Anyway, I can't find a picture. Did y'all find any more pictures of her in this movie with clothes? I don't see anything. Did y'all find anything? [00:56:58] Speaker C: You can, I think Ufh had a couple of pages dedicated to this movie. They have some clothes shots, so I know that they're in there somewhere. [00:57:10] Speaker A: Search, like, just put Ufh K Francis or something. [00:57:13] Speaker C: You could. Yeah. [00:57:15] Speaker A: Let me search on y'all. [00:57:17] Speaker C: Yeah. There's a lot of great clothes in this movie. [00:57:19] Speaker A: Okay. [00:57:22] Speaker B: She had wardrobes like no one in the movies before or since. I mean, she's stunning in everything she wears. [00:57:29] Speaker C: I heard in her biography, I guess when she was in the 20s, when she was in Paris with kicking up her heels in Paris, she had basically two outfits. And she wore those for like a year and a half. And everybody still thought she was the most elegant woman. She was so stylish. And she basically worked the heck out of two really good pieces, though. [00:57:50] Speaker A: But they were really good. [00:57:53] Speaker C: It was quality over quantity. She got, like, two really good pieces and wore them faithfully. [00:58:01] Speaker A: That is crazy. Really? [00:58:03] Speaker C: Yeah. Her biography is very interesting. I would check it out. [00:58:07] Speaker A: Okay. Now, how many does she have? Just one biography or does she have several? [00:58:12] Speaker C: I wish I could remember the name of this one. I'll post it on. I just got it a little while ago. It's not the best in terms of erudition or scholarship, but it's really fun. [00:58:24] Speaker A: It's very tawdry because one of them I remember. I don't know if this was the name of the whole piece, but it was called. I can't wait. I know she mentioned this in her journal. I can't wait to be forgotten. [00:58:35] Speaker C: Yeah, that's great. [00:58:37] Speaker A: That's this whole thing. But, guys, we are running out of time. Norman, thank you so much for coming. Join us. [00:58:46] Speaker C: And just always fun. Thank you. [00:58:48] Speaker A: And so our next. Well, so the next time we'll be together, guys, Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Happy festivals for the rest of us. All those things shout out to my Seinfeld fans, Frank Costanza, I hear you laughing, George. Best of us doesn't end till you pin me. Oh, my gosh. Don't make me go back and start looking at Seinfeld. Anyway, so we will be together again live on the 23rd for our podcasters. The audio of this will be uploaded on the 16th, and we're always glad when you can join us as any form of fashion. So Georgia is Mia again, guys. And so I'll be doing late to the party. I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm sorry. I will try to post it as soon as I find it out. It may or may not be Christmas theme, because when we do late to the party, we get super real, probably to a fault. But anyway, so we will be live back here on the 23rd. And so, Norma, just thank you again. Always catch him. Like I said, the ultimate fashion history has one of the best fashion film and history pages period around. So go and check them out and join if you can. Norma, anything you want to say before we get out of here? I think he's on mute. Oh, go. [01:00:28] Speaker C: Yeah, no, just. This has been so much fun. I always have fun talking about clothes and movies, and you guys are great. So thank you so much. [01:00:36] Speaker B: Thank you, Norman. Brilliant job. I always learned so much from you. [01:00:40] Speaker A: Absolutely. Well, guys, this is it for how Betty Davis saved my life. I'm Moya. And I'm Georgia and Norman again, anytime you want to stop by, you are welcome. So, guys, you guys, Merry Christmas. We love you. Thank you all for your support. Check out our YouTube channel where we've just started uploading these lives. So if you don't catch us live, you can always catch us there. All right, let's get out of here. Mary. [01:01:14] Speaker D: Mary, I'm in love with marriage. [01:01:20] Speaker A: She's my.