Joan Crawford in No More Ladies (1935)

Obscurity factor: 7

Joan Crawford went through various phases in her remarkably long career - the free spirited flapper, the, the no nonsense woman who got what she was after... This film is from her later MGM period - the young society woman phase. Joan plays Marcia, a glamorous, rich young woman who is in love with Sherry (Robert Montgomery), who's a bit of a heel. She's not happy with the situation and knows the odds are against her when she sets her mind to marry him. Her grandmother (Edna May Oliver) sees what's happening, but short of giving advice, must look on, helpless. Everyone tries to convince her to break it off, including Jim, the ex husband of a woman he had an affair with (Franchot Tone).  After they're married things seem to go well, until a fateful weekend when Sherry stands her up on the weekend they were supposed to spend together. Marcia is crestfallen, but rallies to make her point by inviting Jim and his ex wife and her new husband as well as the girl who he stepped out on her with to the country for a weekend party. As you can imagine, fur flies.

No More Ladies is a good example the myriad films about the ins and outs of society relationships in the 1930's. It's beautifully art directed with magnificent, if slightly understated art deco sets and beautiful costumes. I'm always somewhat bemused by Joan when she plays this sort of role. It's so different from the Joan we all think of today. Edna May Oliver is delightful as usual and beautifully turned out and Franchot Tone is just gorgeous. It's no wonder Joan married him. Though this isn't a masterpiece, it's still a delightful throwback to the era, and a nice evening's diversion.

This film was recently released on DVD, thanks to TCM. The trailer is above, uploaded to YouTube by skipjacktuner. The poster above is available from MoviePosterShop.com.

Obscurity factor: 7 (Lost in the shuffle of similar films from the era, available on DVD)

Edna May Oliver in the Hildegard Withers Series

Edna May Oliver is one of those ubiquitous character actors seen in films of the 30's and early 40's. You're probably familiar with her from the 1933 classic Little Women with Katherine Hepburn (she played Aunt March) and Pride and Prejudice (1940) with Greer Garson (she played Lady Catherine). Before she moved over to the greener pastures of MGM, she was a contract player at RKO, where she was cast as the lead in a series of films based on the Stuart Palmer novels about a crime solving schoolmarm. There were three of them, beginning with the Penguin Pool Murder (1932), followed up by Murder on the Blackboard (1934) and Murder on a Honeymoon (1935). Assisted ably by her detective/boyfriend played by James Gleason, Hildegarde perseveres to solve the crime and save the day.

The films are pretty fluffy, but have a fun, 1930's quality to them that makes them enjoyable to watch. They were recently on TCM in a celebration of Ms. Oliver's birthday. But while the books are still available, the films are not released on DVD. When Ms. Oliver decamped for MGM they tried to recast Ms. Withers with Helen Broderick and Zasu Pitts, but no one could embody Hildegarde like Edna May - at least until 1972 when the inimitable Eve Arden played the part in a made-for-TV movie that has persisted in eluding me. Watch for a post on that one sometime in the future! The poster above can be purchased at MoviePosterShop.com.

Obscurity factor: 7 (not available on DVD, occasionally aired on television, not available on YouTube)