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| Cary Grant and Nancy Carroll in the film's poster |
The film stars Nancy Carroll as Ruth Brock, a pretty young bank clerk living in a small middle-class town. Romer Sheffield (Cary Grant), a millionaire playboy living on the outskirts of town, plays the field with glamazon socialites, but has his heart set on simple Ruth. There's chemistry between the two, but Romer's reputation makes him a untenable choice for virtuous Ruth.
In a completely innocent scenario, Ruth hides out at Romer's home one night after a disastrous date with beau Conny (Edward Woods). Conny and one of Ruth's frenemies witness Ruth leaving and waste no time spreading the news. From there, her life begins unraveling very quickly. The bank fires her and she is relieved from her post at the local woman's club.
With no one to turn to and the entire town whispering about her, Ruth runs to the arms of Bill Fadden, a hunky geologist and childhood friend who breezes into town one day completely oblivious to the rumors swirling around about his former crush. Made desperate by her current situation, Ruth quickly accepts Bill's proposal of marriage and from then on lives in a perpetual state of anxiety for fear that Bill will find out about the Romer rumor (fun bit of alliteration there). Meanwhile Romer makes his intentions clear to a distressed Ruth: "Would it interest you to know that I've wanted you ever since I saw you in the bank?" The tension of the film rises as Ruth tries to keep Bill uninformed while dodging vindictive friends with cruel intentions and sorting out her feelings for Romer.
Like the 50s drama "Peyton Place," our movie tells the story of the destructiveness of lies and rumors. However, "Hot Saturday" is not a hard hitting drama bent on social reform. It is a work of camp and melodrama more apt to delight than to edify. Even scenes featuring the town's injustice towards Ruth carry only a lightweight sort of wrong compared to the maltreatment of Lana Turner in PP. This is not a disparagement. The movie's blatant 'B movie-ness' is part of its charm.
The script is mostly mediocre, but moments between Nancy Carroll and Cary Grant are at times worthy of a better movie. Their scenes together follow the usual romantic arc from banter-y pals to wistful lovers towards the end. Carroll gives Ruth an impressive depth and her charm is palpable in this film. Grant secures his place as a future leading male powerhouse with a sincerity in look and speech that provides weight to light words. He even outshines established male lead Randolph Scott whose aw-shucks boy-next-door performance feels underdeveloped.
Besides witnessing Grant's sterling potential as a leading man, the film's denouement is another reason to watch this film. After Bill proves inflexible, our heroine "sullies her good name" by shacking up with Romer and then running off with him to New York in the final act. The idea of marriage is brought up between the two but is not seriously regarded. Instead the real union is between Ruth and the possibilities of a new life without limitations. Though she technically becomes a "fallen woman," instead of regarding this as tragic, the film emphasizes the joy in Ruth discovering that after everything, the real punishment was denying her real feelings for Romer for the sake of morality. Once she lets go of self-judgement, she is able to truly live her life. The solution is not marriage and social inclusion, but venturing into the unknown and believing in one's self. This is a daring message for its time and a testament to film's ability to guide the direction of the social compass. If only Tess of the Durbervilles ended this way....sigh.
In a completely innocent scenario, Ruth hides out at Romer's home one night after a disastrous date with beau Conny (Edward Woods). Conny and one of Ruth's frenemies witness Ruth leaving and waste no time spreading the news. From there, her life begins unraveling very quickly. The bank fires her and she is relieved from her post at the local woman's club.
With no one to turn to and the entire town whispering about her, Ruth runs to the arms of Bill Fadden, a hunky geologist and childhood friend who breezes into town one day completely oblivious to the rumors swirling around about his former crush. Made desperate by her current situation, Ruth quickly accepts Bill's proposal of marriage and from then on lives in a perpetual state of anxiety for fear that Bill will find out about the Romer rumor (fun bit of alliteration there). Meanwhile Romer makes his intentions clear to a distressed Ruth: "Would it interest you to know that I've wanted you ever since I saw you in the bank?" The tension of the film rises as Ruth tries to keep Bill uninformed while dodging vindictive friends with cruel intentions and sorting out her feelings for Romer.
Like the 50s drama "Peyton Place," our movie tells the story of the destructiveness of lies and rumors. However, "Hot Saturday" is not a hard hitting drama bent on social reform. It is a work of camp and melodrama more apt to delight than to edify. Even scenes featuring the town's injustice towards Ruth carry only a lightweight sort of wrong compared to the maltreatment of Lana Turner in PP. This is not a disparagement. The movie's blatant 'B movie-ness' is part of its charm.
The script is mostly mediocre, but moments between Nancy Carroll and Cary Grant are at times worthy of a better movie. Their scenes together follow the usual romantic arc from banter-y pals to wistful lovers towards the end. Carroll gives Ruth an impressive depth and her charm is palpable in this film. Grant secures his place as a future leading male powerhouse with a sincerity in look and speech that provides weight to light words. He even outshines established male lead Randolph Scott whose aw-shucks boy-next-door performance feels underdeveloped.
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| Grant, Carroll and Edward Woods who played Conny |
Spoiler Alert!!
Besides witnessing Grant's sterling potential as a leading man, the film's denouement is another reason to watch this film. After Bill proves inflexible, our heroine "sullies her good name" by shacking up with Romer and then running off with him to New York in the final act. The idea of marriage is brought up between the two but is not seriously regarded. Instead the real union is between Ruth and the possibilities of a new life without limitations. Though she technically becomes a "fallen woman," instead of regarding this as tragic, the film emphasizes the joy in Ruth discovering that after everything, the real punishment was denying her real feelings for Romer for the sake of morality. Once she lets go of self-judgement, she is able to truly live her life. The solution is not marriage and social inclusion, but venturing into the unknown and believing in one's self. This is a daring message for its time and a testament to film's ability to guide the direction of the social compass. If only Tess of the Durbervilles ended this way....sigh.
