The last movie I saw at CapitolFest was Reckless Living '31 starring Mae Clarke and Ricardo Cortez. It was basically a story of a girl married to the man she loved-who battled a gambling addiction and her old flame who is a successful bookie gangster type.
The story was breezy & fun- the gangster kept trying to lure the husband to place bets/lose money so Clarke would leave him, giving the gangster chance at getting her back. All principles were great, the writing was snappy and the situations were fun-especially when the cops came knocking when Mae's kitchen sink was full of home made gin!
But the real standout to me was Louise Beavers, whom garnered applause from the audience when she first came on screen. I love Beavers who can make the smallest, blandest "maid" role interesting. In this movie, she had very few lines but the gold was in her silent action:
As soon as she entered the apartment, she sat alongside "the action" and quietly poured herself a cup of tea, sipping & listening in while the principles were deep in conversation about their dilemma. When someone took out a pack of cigarettes, Beavers smiled, stealthily took one and smoked while all the dialogue/action took place around her! The doorbell rang and Beavers continued relaxing while the lady of the house rushed to answer, her entire pantomime receiving hearty laughs from the audience!
All I could think of was Marla Gibbs playing sassy maid Florence on The Jeffersons classic TV show 40-50 years later. While I'm sure the part was written that way, Louise Beavers did a great job fleshing out what could have been a minor, forgotten role - instead, her talent made the role & scene a standout!
Look how pretty she was!
