Contrary to popular belief, Depression audiences enjoyed romantic comedies depicting the rich. It gave them a chance to imagine themselves in another world, escaping the desperation they were in for a few happy hours. Romantic comedies generally featured men or women who were spoiled, rich, and bored with their wealth. This was supposed to make the masses feel lucky they had a purpose in their lives......to find their next meals and keep looking for a job. Despite this fact, escapism still triumphed over reality for most audiences. After all, didn't you imagine you might be rich and/or wildly successful someday?

The 1938 remake benefits from a more assured production and, of course, Cukor's direction. And the two are surprisingly close: Whole swatches of dialog from 1930 are lifted more or less bodily (the 1930 version, most likely, did the same with the stage dialog). And it's a rather stagy early talkie, trying, but not very hard, to move the action around and make it more cinematic. What the early version does have is Ann Harding. She's so lovely, and her playing has, I don't know, a stillness, a contemplation to it; she seems to think very hard about what to say before she says it. It lends a certain gravitas to what is already a fairly serious comedy dealing with rather large issues--how to live one's life, and how one's choices affect those around one. Mary Astor is also miles beyond Doris Nolan, creating a multifaceted, complicated character out of what could come across as just a selfish sister. Robert Ames hasn't Cary Grant's polished comedy playing or looks, but he's credible, and Edward Everett Horton is delightful in the same part he played in 1938. It's a mellow, thoughtful movie, marred but hardly ruined by the primitive movie-making. And we're very lucky to have Ann Harding's Oscar-nominated Linda Seton preserved.

Terrific performances by Ann Harding and Mary Astor guide this comedy based upon the Philip Barry play where socialite Astor becomes engaged to factory worker Robert Ames, planning to "better" him even though it's her who needs lessons in being "bettered". When Ames meets her sister, Harding, it is apparent that they have a lot more in common than Astor and Ames, and that Astor intends to manipulate the entire marriage. The whole family becomes involved in the undeclared war between sisters with Harding begging Astor to accept Ames for who he is, and the seemingly decent Astor proving how much of an elitist she is.

Best known for the remake starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, early talky version is quite good on its own and got Oscar nominations for the remake was completely overlooked. There are excellent supporting performances by Hallam Cooley, Edward Everett Horton (from the Broadway play as well as the remake) and I don't want gossip columnist Hedda Hopper. Cooley is Harding and Astor's stuffy businessman father, objecting to Harding's free thinking nature (accepting everybody for who they are regardless of their background), and more concerned with the family's public perception rather than what Harding feels.

Harding at times seems to sound like Katharine Hepburn who had not made her film debut but ironically appeared in the play on Broadway. she was exquisite, and proves herself to be adept at drawing-room comedy even though RKO would mainly cast as long-suffering sophisticated heroines. Astor gives a very grounded, diversified performance, easy going and sweet at one moment and hard-headed at others. It only suffers slightly from early sound technology, and while the camera may not move as fast as it would later in the remake, it is still quite good and innocent even better because it is not played for screwball comedy, but rather as a drawing-room comedy with moments of drama that have important social ramifications.