The Moviegoer

The three leading ladies in "Ladies in Love," Constance Bennett, Loretta Young, and Janet Gaynor all have their romantic experiences in the setting of Twentieth Century Budapest. Faced with an overwhelming galaxy of some of Hollywood's best talent, the audience is whisked with bewildering rapidity from one love story to the next. The difficulty in keeping the proper men connected with their respective females increases with each succeeding scene and the introduction of Simone Simon to further complicate the plot is the last straw.

Constance Bennett, a woman of experience, works as a model in a dress shop by day, and by night she exercises all the powers she possesses in securing Paul Lucas for a rich husband. Loretta Young, supposedly a simple country girl, has arrived in the great metropolis to become independent of men and to set herself up as the proud possessor of a hat shop. Janet Gaynor wants a man she can take care of plus a home and some children. Irrevocably lost among the three of them with their love affairs of which only one is successful, the audience completely gives up the ghost and settles back to enjoy the really outstanding performance of Alan Mowbray, who has found his forte in the field of comedy. As a clever magician suffering from the horrible disease of "polydigitalis" he offers a welcome relief from the plot.

On the whole, despite an excellent cast, "Ladies in Love" falls into the class of lower mediocrity with a definite and final thud. Simone Simon has lost all the appeal she had in "Girls Dormitory," and although we any pleased to see Janet Gaynor back again her return is wasted on a poor show.