Douglas Fairbanks Jr. decides that "Love is a Racket" in this 1932 film directed by William Wellman and also starring Ann Dvorak, Frances Dee and Lee Tracy. Fairbanks Jr. is Jimmy Russell, who writes a Broadway beat column. He's in love with a young actress (Dee) who finds herself in debt to a criminal and asks Jimmy for help.
The story is okay, with a twist at the end. What impressed me the most is how underrated Douglas Fairbanks Jr. is. He's just wonderful here, as he has been in many other films - perhaps he never got that one breakthrough role. He was in an era of stultifying competition - Errol Flynn, Brian Aherne, David Niven, Ronald Colman - but acting-wise, he was very versatile, talented and charming.
The acting overall is quite good and doesn't suffer from some of the melodramatic work seen in early films.
The story is okay, with a twist at the end. What impressed me the most is how underrated Douglas Fairbanks Jr. is. He's just wonderful here, as he has been in many other films - perhaps he never got that one breakthrough role. He was in an era of stultifying competition - Errol Flynn, Brian Aherne, David Niven, Ronald Colman - but acting-wise, he was very versatile, talented and charming.
The acting overall is quite good and doesn't suffer from some of the melodramatic work seen in early films.