Pre-code: If I Were Free(1933).

If I Were Free(1933). Director: Elliott Nugent. Cast: Irene Dunne, Clive Brook, Nils Asther, Henry Stephenson, Vivian Tobin, Tempe Pigott, Lorraine MacLean, Laura Hope Crews, Halliwell Hobbes.

While in Paris,English lawyer Hector Stribling convinces Gordon Evers, also a lawyer, to forget about his divorce and join him and his wife Jewel for dinner with Tono Casanove and his wife Sarah. When Gordon and the Striblings arrive at the home of the Casanoves', they learn that Tono, is having an affair and planning a vacation in Cannes, with his new girl friend.

Heartbroken, Sarah thinks about committing suicide, but.. is stopped by Gordon, who suggests that she move to London. She agrees.. and after a short time in London, opens a little antique shop.

After a few months, Gordon asks Sarah if she would marry him if he "were free." Sarah meets Gordon's mother, Dame Evers, at her charity ball. Even though Dame Evers, likes her, she is concerned about the gossip surrounding their relationship..

Not having any of it, Gordon's wife Catherine, changes her mind about divorcing him, but... Sarah, stands her ground and refuses to end their relationship.

The trouble does not stop there, Sarah's ex- husband Tono, drops by her shop and threatens blackmail, unless Gordon buys some of his expensive antiques.

Hector, who is concerned over Gordon's failing health, convinces Sarah to end their relationship.

Unknown to Sarah and Hector, Gordon, who has a war-wound bullet lodged near his heart, has just learned that, unless he has a risky operation, he has only a year to live. When Gordon receives Sarah's "goodbye" note, he tells Hector about his condition, which causes Hector to confess that he was the one that talked Sarah into breaking it off with him.

Gordon decides to go ahead with the chancy operation and asks Hector not to tell Sarah. Just before the operation, Dame Evers, spills the beans to Sarah, who rushes to the hospital to be by Gordon's bedside. Will the operation be successful and will they live happily ever after?

Excellent acting performances by both Irene Dunne and Clive Brook. The quick dialogue keeps your interest in this soapy pre-code film. Wonderful performances are also given by the supporting performers: Henry Stephenson, Vivian Tobin, Laura Hope, Crewsand Tempe Pigott. Also, Silent film star Nils Asther, plays the role of Dunne's bad boy husband. His celebrity had  begun to fade with the arrival of talking pictures. Classic movie fans may recognize an uncredited Halliwell Hobbes as Brook's butler.

 Video: First of 7.

 

Nils Asther (17 January 1897 – 19 October 1981). Asther was adopted shortly after birth by a wealthy couple in Malmo, Sweden.

As a young man he moved to Stockholm, where he received acting lessons from famous star Augusta Lindberg, who also became his mistress, who was almost 30 years older than him. Through her, he received his first theatrical engagement at Lorensbergsteatern in Gothenburg, and in 1916 Mauritz Stiller cast him in, The Wings.

In 1927 he left for Hollywood, where his first film was, Topsy and Eva. The film also featured the Duncan Sisters, and in 1930 he married, Vivian Duncan, who gave him a daughter, Evelyn. By 1928 his good looks had made him into a leading man, playing opposite: Pola Negri, Marion Davies, Joan Crawford and Greta Garbo, with whom he made two films.

With the arrival of sound in movies, Asther took voice lessons so as to minimize his accent, and was generally cast in roles where an accent wasn't a problem, such as the role as Chinese General Yen in, The Bitter Tea of General Yen.

Between 1935 and 1940 he was forced work in England after an alleged breach of contract led to a studio-based blacklist. There he made six films. He returned to Hollywood in 1940, and although he made another 19 films back up to 1949, his career wasn't the same as it used to be.

In the early 1950s he landed a few roles in minor TV shows. In 1958 he returned to Sweden, almost destitute. He managed to get an engagement with a local theatre and had four film roles in Sweden and Denmark, before finally giving up on acting in 1963 and devoting his time to his love of painting.

Pawsome Pet Pictures: Nils Asther.

Fun Fact:

Proposed to Greta Garbo in 1929. She turned him down.

Pre-Code: The Bitter Tea of General Yen(1933) .

The Bitter Tea of General Yen is a pre-Code 1933 film, directed by Frank Capra based on the novel by Grace Zaring Stone. Cast: Barbara Stanwyck and Nils Asther. The film was the first to play at the Radio City Music Hall upon its opening in January, 1933. Even though the General Yen, is played by a white actor in yellow face, it was one of the first movies ever to deal with interracial attraction.

While Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, missionaries in Shanghai, prepare their home for the wedding of their friends missionary Dr. Robert Strike and Megan Davis. They receive news of the out break of the civil war and they decide to postpone the wedding, so that Strike can rescue the orphans. Megan waits in the car while Bob asks General Yen, a Chinese warlord, to give him a safe passage. Yen, does not support Bob's missionary ideals and gives him a worthless piece of paper. When Megan and Bob reach the burning orphanage, the soldiers steal their car as they are leaving with the children. They reach the train station, but in the confusion, Bob and Megan are both knocked unconscious and are separated. Megan regains consciousness in the private train of Yen where she meets, Mah-Li. They soon arrive at Yen's summer palace, where Jones, Yen's American financial advisor, is waiting to tell Yen that he has the six million dollars, hidden in a boxcar. Yen, who is fascinated by Megan, tells her it is unsafe to send her back to Shanghai. Soon, Megan's own attraction to Yen is revealed to her in a dream.

It becomes obvious that Mah-Li is betraying Yen with Captain Li, one of his soldiers. Yen arrests Mah-Li for being a spy. Megan offers to answer for Mah-Li's actions if her life is spared. Yen knows that Mah-Li will not change, but, for the growing love for Megan, he agrees. Mah-Li does betray him, and he is ruined. Megan's world shatters around her.

Fun Fact:
The sets for this film were reused for Columbia's One Night of Love (1934).

In my opinion excellent performances of both Nils Asther and Barbara Stanwyck. Nils Asther, a matinee idol during silent days, found it difficult to find good roles in talking pictures, because of his exotic looks. But, with BITTER TEA he found the role of a lifetime. His performance as General is very believable. Barbara Stanwyck, also gives a wonderful performance with the emotions of Asther Yen a missionary captive.

Toshia Mori (January 1, 1912 – November 26, 1995), began her film career in silent films. In Mr. Wu (1927) she was credited as Toshia Ichioka. In Streets of Shanghai (1927), she was credited as Toshiye Ichioka. In The Man Without a Face she was also credited as Toshiye Ichioka. Finally, she entered the sound era as Toshia Mori. She played Miss Ling, in The Hatchet Man (1932). In the same year, she played "Butterfly", in the Roar of the Dragon. She maybe best known for her performance in, The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933), playing a role which was first scheduled for Anna May Wong. She also performed in the films: The Painted Veil (1934), starring Greta Garbo, In Chinatown Squad (1935), Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936), she was credited as Shia Jung. Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937). This time she was credited as Tashia Mori. In Port of Hate (1939). Again, credited as Shia Jung. After her film career ended, she worked as a researcher for Robert Ripley short films, Ripley's Believe It or Not.

Wild Orchids (1929)

Wild Orchids(1929). Director: Sidney Franklin. Cast: Greta Garbo, Lewis Stone and Nils Asther. This was Greta Garbo's 15th film, the 8th of her Hollywood career and her 7th silent movie after talkies. It was also her 1st film with Swedish actor Nils Asther, with who she would star again in The Single Standard in the same year, and the 2nd of seven films between Garbo and Lewis Stone.

Please click here to view Silents movie review.

Greta Garbo "The Single Standard" (1929)

"The Single Standard" (1929) is a silent romantic drama starring Greta Garbo, Nils Asther, and Johnny Mack Brown. Directed by John S. Robertson and adapted from the novel by Adela Rogers St. Johns, this film examines female liberation and sexuality. The story begins with young socialite Arden Stuart, played by Greta Garbo, in a party. That evening Arden asks Anthony Kendall, a family chauffeur to take her for a ride. When they are caught returning from a romantic fling, the chauffeur is fired by his employer and then commits suicide by speeding out the car and crashing it into a nearby tree.

Three months later, Arden meets famous artist Packy Cannon, played by Nils Asther. They sail together for a long romantic trip aboard his yacht. Arden wants to marry him, but Packy soon dumps her. Back home in San Francisco, Arden is proposed again by an old friend, millionaire Tommy Hewlett, played by Johnny Mack Brown. On the rebound from Packy, Arden accepts his marriage proposal. Three years later, Packy returns and wants her back. Arden loves Packy, but has a son with Tommy. What will she do? "The Single Standard" incorporates the ideals of women's liberation in the 1920's. Modern viewers would be surprised to know that by 1929 women had been liberated and had achieved sexual equality. The films of the era reflected these movements of America's slipping puritanism until the Hays Code became fully operational around 1934. Greta Garbo's Arden Stuart was made to relate with the modern women who made her own rules of sexual behavior. The Garbo character in "The Single Standard" insists on revised moral principles that would eliminate the double standard of sexual behavior and replace it with a single rule applying equally to men and to women. "The Single Standard" was Garbo's penultimate silent film. Worried that her rich, deep voice and thick Swedish accent would not record properly, MGM executives kept Garbo in silent films longer than any of the studio's other contractees. This film was Garbo's first "modern" role and she gives one of her most sensitive and restrained performances. The love scenes are romantic and tender. Most of the film is beautifully photographed and lit even though there is some nitrate decomposition. "The Single Standard" is worth watching just to see the divine Garbo perfectly cast playing an unconventional and independent woman.

THE SINGLE STANDARD (1929) MOVIE CLIP.