Hokey yarn that suffers from writing, directing, and acting, that feels awkward to sound cinema (even in 1932). The barely present score only adds to the uncomfortable silences that can make early sound cinema seem so alien. (In other movies, the lack of didactic sound cues can be highly refreshing.) The Purchase Price finds Barbara Stanwyck as a torch singer who has just been dumped by a “decent” and “honest” young man. Not wanting to cavort any longer with her racketeering boyfriend, she skips town and heads from New York to Montreal. When he traces her there, she takes a powder once again, heading to a small, rural town and marrying a farmer. This is where the script falls apart: there’s no real motivation for running away from her boyfriend, and the marriage is too far fetched (to make a long story short: her maid used a matrimony service but sent Stanwyck’s photo, and then Stanwyck takes her place when she needs to make a fast getaway). And assuming that Stanwyck ran away from the racketeer to gain independence, why would she blindly marry a stranger? The mawkish marriage is humiliating to the typically strong-willed Stanwyck, though her immutable charm greatly improves the movie. William Wellman’s direction, mostly staid, shines in the bar fights, drunken dances, and atmospheric winter scenes.
by Cullen Gallagher | Source: Turner Classic Movies Broadcast
12 Sep 2008 1:34 PM | Submit Comment
