The Gorgeous Hussy (1936) User Reviews

An Assassination that never happened.

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 24 April 2004]

MGM in trying to expand Joan Crawford's repertoire into period costume pieces spared no expense and gave her one all star cast in this drama about the Peggy O'Neal Eaton affair. The basic facts are true, Peggy O'Neal, daughter of a Washington, DC tavern-keeper and widow of a young Navy Lieutenant, marries the Senator from Tennessee who then is chosen Secretary of War in President Andrew Jackson's original cabinet. The Cabinet wives however refuse to receive Peggy socially as does the wife of the Vice President John C. Calhoun. Jackson blows his cabinet up, requests resignations from all involved and Eaton and Peg are sent in exile so to speak as he is made Minister to Spain.

The real story is far more complex than that. Jackson did regard Peggy as a slandered woman, much like his late wife Rachel was. Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson dies between the election and inauguration of Jackson. Beulah Bondi plays her in the movie and it's the best performance in the film. In real life this whole affair was being maneuvered behind the scenes by John Calhoun and Secretary of State Martin Van Buren taking anti and pro Peggy positions respectively. Van Buren's character is barely mentioned here. Played by Charles Trowbridge, he's given one or two lines in the film.

Robert Taylor strikes the right note as the young Naval Lieutenant Bow Timberlake. After Timberlake and Peggy are married, he is ordered to sea and dies there. The manner of his death has never been satisfactorily explained. It's also not explained here and that leaves the audiences up in the air.

Franchot Tone plays John Eaton and I think a lot of his performance is left on the cutting room floor. In real life there is some question as to whether Eaton and Peggy were involved while she was married to Timberlake.

But the most fantastic error in this plot is John Randolph's interest in Peggy. The real John Randolph was impotent, his testicles never descended, he never reached puberty. He never had any romantic attachments with anyone, he wasn't capable of it. In real life John Randolph because he never reached puberty had this girlishly high-pitched voice when he spoke on the floor of Congress. No one ever dared make fun of him though as he was a crack shot with a dueling pistol. Melvyn Douglas played a character with no basis in reality.

One of the other things I found a bit much was Douglas's constant prattle about state's rights. To him this a nice philosophy to be debated on the floor of Congress. Louis Calhern's character who is admittedly like a previous reviewer describes him as a Snidely Whiplash villain, is ready for secession. He goes to Randolph and says that he's organized a movement and he wants Randolph to lead it. The real Randolph would have been hot to trot for that. Melvyn Douglas reacts in horror however, he threatens to expose Calhern's villainy. Calhern has to shoot him. But if you think about it, the only thing Calhern did was take that state's right talk of Douglas to its logical conclusion and translate it into action.

The real John Randolph was never assassinated, he died of natural causes and had no major role in the Peggy O'Neal affair at all.

Maybe some day someone will make a better film of this incident.

History soup

[netwallah · 6/10 · 22 July 2008]

A star vehicle for Joan Crawford, who plays Margaret O'Neal, daughter of an inn-keeper, adoptive niece of Andrew Jackson (Lionel Barrymore), hopelessly in love with Virginia Senator John Randolph (Melvyn Douglas), married first to the dashing naval lieutenant Timberlake (Robert Taylor), and then after turning down Randolph because he's intent on breaking up the Union, to steadfast John Eaton (Franchot Tone). The cast is made more lively by the presence of Beaulah Bondi as the pipe-smoking backwoods Rachel Jackson, by Sidney Toler as Daniel Webster ready to orate at the drop of a hat, by Alison Skipworth as the gossiping Mrs. Beall, and the gosh-shucks comic interludes of a very young James Stewart as Rowdy Dow. This is a sentimental melodramatic revision of history, with historical figures gravitating or (perhaps) orbiting about a beautiful, headstrong, smart young woman. But though she's smart and loyal, possessing all the same political convictions of most of the male characters, the only real scope she has is to marry, or not to marry, somebody whose politics she agrees with. And then the worst she has to endure—other than the heartbreak of not being able to marry Randolph because he's an incipient secessionist—is the petty nastiness of stuck-up Washingtonians who despise her because of her humble origins (she's "Pothouse Peg" to them) and because of what they imagine is scandalous behaviour—especially visiting Randolph's deathbed after he's assassinated by a really vile, sneaky rebel. Jackson intervenes, dismissing his entire cabinet, and Margaret sails with her husband for Spain.

Somehow, I have reservations about Crawford here—and not just the part written for her. True, she is very good-looking indeed, but she doesn't seem to inhabit the part as much as she moves and holds still for the camera, and employs the appropriate facial expressions, the big sad eyes, the sparky impish look, the indignant glare, the soft yielding gaze, the angry flounce. She's overdressed (by Adrian) for the part, and so is her accent. If the dialogue didn't mention it from time to time it would be hard to remember she's not supposed to be a "lady." Her carriage reflects this problem, too, until it seems that everybody else in the cast is acting while she is delivering Joan Crawford content.

And now the other problem with this movie—Andrew Jackson. Lionel Barrymore does a great job making him a crusty but kind-hearted and principled backwoods original, with his colourful curses and idioms, with his corn-whiskey voice and with his bushy white eyebrows. But this is a sentimentalized Jackson, retooled in a process of romantic primitivization: he is made up of equal parts of federalist principles, loyalty to his hayseed origins and his beloved hillbilly wife, avuncular kindness to Margaret, and huffing-and-puffing temper. He is made out to be a proto-Lincoln,determined to Save the Union. I suppose he might have been, but I am so angry with the real Jackson about manifest destiny—the banishment of Indians from the east and the Trail of Tears—that I find this soppy idolatry rather creepy.

Joan and Old Hickory

[utgard14 · 5/10 · 12 January 2014]

Fictionalized historic soaper about Andrew Jackson's friendship and protection of a young woman named Peggy O'Neal. Lionel Barrymore plays Jackson and Joan Crawford plays Peggy. The rest of the cast is pretty impressive. Melvyn Douglas, James Stewart, Robert Taylor, Franchot Tone, Beulah Bondi, and Louis Calhern....not a bad lineup. Too bad the movie is boring. Andrew Jackson's wife dies and asks Peggy to look out for him. Thus she becomes the unofficial First Lady, despite not being married to or even romantically involved with the President. Peggy has a somewhat scandalous reputation of her own, which reminds Jackson of his wife, who suffered at the hands of Washington gossips. Worth seeing for Lionel Barrymore alone. But the rest of the cast being what it is warrants you check it out.

Crawford was not meant for period dramas

[nickandrew · 22 June 2003]

Fanciful, but silly biography of Peggy Eaton (Crawford), a controversial figure during the Andrew Jackson administration in the late 1820s, and her relationships with influential men of that era. Semi-fiction story is "gorgeous" to look at thanks to elegant period settings and costumes, not so much the performances or script.

Melvyn Douglas as Ashley Wilkes

[HotToastyRag · 7/10 · 20 May 2019]

If you think Joan Crawford is gorgeous, you're in much better shape than I was to watch The Gorgeous Hussy, since she plays the title character. Despite what the title leads you to believe, this is a movie about President Andrew Jackson. Lionel Barrymore plays the beloved president, and he puts his whole heart into the many speeches the script provides. Beulah Bondi plays Rachel Jackson, and in case you don't know your history, I won't tell you anymore, except that she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in 1937.

Where does Joan Crawford come in, and why is the movie named after her? She's Jackson's niece, and she's desperately in love with a much older senator, Melvyn Douglas. When he sends her away for her own good, she throws herself into a relationship with the second man who flirts with her, Robert Taylor. A very young, gawky James Stewart is the first man, but she doesn't want anything to do with him. Robert is handsome and flirtatious, but he's also a sailor and therefore a little untrustworthy.

Joining the cast is Joan's then-husband Franchot Tone, Louis Calhern, and Gene Lockhart. The film alternates between a political drama and a love triangle between Joan, Melvyn, and whichever guy Joan is flirting with at the moment, hence the title. If you know your trivia about Gone With the Wind, you'll know that Melvyn Douglas was on the short-list for Ashley Wilkes, and after you watch this movie, it's easy to imagine him running circles around Leslie Howard's performance. He would have been a wonderful Ashley Wilkes, and if you agree, rent this movie for the next best thing.

Well produced but somewhat lacking in entertainment value!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 16 June 2018]

NOTES: Beulah Bondi was nominated for an AMPAS Award for Best Supporting Actress, losing to Gale Sondergaard in Anthony Adverse.

George Folsey was one of three nominees for Best Black-and-White Cinematography, yielding to Tony Gaudio's Anthony Adverse.

Shooting commenced: 27 April 1936. When initial shooting shut down is not known. Certainly, the studio was still dickering with the film on 15 August 1936.

COMMENT: Joan Crawford's rare period picture wasn't received well by the fans. Yet Joan looks very attractive in her Adrian costumes and curls, and is beautifully photographed throughout by Folsey. Maybe what the fans were objecting to is that this is a very long film with very little action. Instead we have lots of political speeches in which Lionel Barrymore hogs the camera in his usual superficially bombastic style, fulminating at tiresome length about preserving the union, egged on by other cardboard caricatures of well-known political figures.

Beulah Bondi is the worst offender, James Stewart is not far behind. At least Franchot Tone manages to invest Eaton with a degree of charm, while Melvyn Douglas gives Randolph a similar degree of conviction. Taylor is not out of his depth as the superficial fun-loving Bow Timberlake and there is a happy selection of character players to help things along. The film is superlatively well produced.

Un-gorgeous trouble

[TheLittleSongbird · 4/10 · 7 August 2020]

'The Gorgeous Hussy' had a lot of potential to be good. The subject sounded really interesting. Clarence Brown may not be one of my favourite directors, but he did do some good films. His films more often than not looked great and he was often very good in his direction of his lead actresses, a prime example being Greta Garbo. Have always loved period drama films. Plus who can resist a cast with the likes of Joan Crawford, Lionel Barrymore, Melvyn Douglas and Beulah Bondi in the same film?

Sadly, the film was a pretty major disappointment. There are certainly far worse films out there and it has its good things, but a story that actually is a lot more interesting than the film made it deserved better. As far as Brown's films go it is a lesser effort and it is a lesser effort of Crawford's too, both film and performance. Everybody, even the few actors that came over well, did a lot better both before and since (primarily since as some of the cast are in early roles).

Certainly there are good things. The best asset is the production values. It is sumptuously designed and costumed and even better is the cinematography, it clearly loved Crawford who didn't always look this luminous at this point of her career. The best performance belongs to Barrymore, he has the juiciest character and gives the role so much zing and enthusiasm (it may not be what one calls a subtle performance but then again Barrymore was not a subtle actor, which is not actually a bad thing in his regard).

Bondi also comes over very well, making the very most with what she was given. The score is not too over-bearing or melodramatic.

Most of the cast disappoint. Crawford to me was too mannered in her role and never seemed to gel with the setting with too modern a look. Douglas, Robert Taylor, Franchot Tone and James Stewart all gave their fair share of good performances, but all four are dull in sketchy roles. Tone is particularly wronged and doesn't look comfortable with dispiriting material. Brown's direction at best is undistinguished and quite leaden.

Also felt that the story never properly engaged, with too deadingly dull a pace and with too much narratively being too uneventful. It is a shame too that the story didn't have the same amount of juice and venom that the character of Andrew had and took on a far too careful approach that made the film feel very safe. The script is well intentioned, but came over as too talky and preachy.

Summarising, rather lacklustre though not without good things. 4/10

The President and his two ladies.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 30 March 2013]

1952's "The President's Lady" cast Charleton Heston and Susan Hayward as Andrew and Rachel Jackson, the very controversial couple that once faced charges of bigamy when her first marriage wasn't actually final upon their union. That film covered many years of their relationship, so it was appropriate that the two stars aged throughout the film. In "The Gorgeous Hussey", it is the quite different Lionel Barrymore and Beaulah Bondi who play this couple, already aging, with him about to be elected president and her ailing as a result of both the affects of smoking a pipe and the sadness by how her reputation as a supposed fallen woman has affected his public image. The women of Washington are all resentful of a pipe-smoking first lady (who sadly never makes it into the White House) and their resentments and extremely petty jealousies move on to his surrogate daughter, Peggy Eaton, whom they consider beneath high society in a still infant nation.

The film shows these women (among them Alison Skipworth and "The Wizard of Oz's" Clara Blandick) gossiping non-stop, so viciously that you wish the president could pass a law against it that would put each of them into solitary confinement. The hysterically funny Zeffie Tilbury has a great moment telling off the hags in this social circle and gets a good wink in later when the wives of the president's cabinet meet with Barrymore who is revealing some changes.

Peggy is played by Joan Crawford, the only historical character she ever portrayed, the widow of a Naval hero (Robert Taylor) and now wife of the Secretary of War (Franchot Tone) whose love for one of Barrymore's rivals (Melvyn Douglas) was cause of scandal of its own and lead to murder. James Stewart, still a rising young star, has a small role as one of Crawford's confidantes, and Louis Calhern plays a political villain. A lot of real-life American heroes of this time (the 1830's and 1840's) appear in the story, so in spite of its somewhat inappropriate title, this is a fairly good history lesson of the early years of our country, then only 24 states and even then faced with trouble.

This is a film also about rising above ridicule and the importance of understanding why gossip is a vile evil which needs to be continuously smashed. It is obvious as to why these petty women hate both Rachel and Peggy; They are ladies who remained free from the temptations of the tongue and were true to themselves, their men and their ideals. The society women are more concerned with status, power and a misused sense of respectability which makes them keep their husbands prisoners and is ultimately the disease which destroys them.

Powerfully acted, especially by Crawford and Bondi, it is extremely well directed by Clarence Brown who directed many of MGM's most lavish epics of the time. Lionel Barrymore gives his all to the powerful role of Andrew Jackson and in spite of bellowing many of his lines is riveting.

Joan in hoop skirts

[jjnxn-1 · 3/10 · 28 January 2012]

No! No! No! What is that most modern, at least to her time, of actresses Joan Crawford doing in hoop skirts and crinoline? Pretty much making a fool of herself, not that it's her fault MGM should have known better. There is not one look or gesture that she makes that has a feeling of any period but the 20th century.

Both stagnant and silly this completely miscast picture takes an interesting and scandalous piece of American history, The Petticoat Affair, and make it seem asinine and trivial when it practically tore Jackson's presidency apart and did lead to most of his cabinet's resignation.

Proof positive that not every film that came out of Hollywood's golden age and its premiere studio was a classic worth seeing filled with top flight talent or not. Even if you are a completist of any of the stars work this will be a struggle to get through.

too genteel for its subject matter

[mukava991 · 3/10 · 28 April 2008]

THE GORGEOUS HUSSY, based on a 1934 historical novel by Samuel Hopkins Adams, is another one of those genteel forays into the past from squeaky clean MGM. The only compelling ingredients in this overlong saga about the controversial hussy Peggy Eaton who wielded much influence over President Andrew Jackson are a few of the performances and the novelty of actual political debates occurring in the context of a love affair; Hollywood seldom mixed those two elements. The first half hour is bone dead, with familiar performers strutting around in period costumes and delivering the necessary exposition. Joan Crawford is not particularly persuasive as a young tavern keeper's daughter. She looks somewhat haggard and hard, but still beautiful. Things liven up with the appearance of Andrew Jackson (Lionel Barrymore) and his unpopular and maligned wife Rachel (Beulah Bondi). Barrymore may have been a ham who gave basically the same performance in film after film, but at least he puts some juice into the proceedings, making the most he can of the extremely diluted representation of Jackson supplied by the script. Bondi is touching in her depiction of the ill-fated Rachel, the love of Jackson's life. Until then we have had to endure endless moments with a dashing but wooden Melvyn Douglas and a competent but unexciting contribution from neophyte Robert Taylor. Jimmy Stewart and later Franchot Tone are on hand too but only in a few scenes and to little effect. And we have the always nasty and conniving Alison Skipworth as a disapproving society matron to hold our attention. And the marvelous Zeffie Tilbury as Skipworth's deaf mother who disagrees strongly with her snobbish daughter's malicious gossip. Between these bits there are occasionally interesting sketches of the political contentions of the time, mostly about how much power should be granted to the individual states, foreshadowing the Civil War. But we never get a sense of what an extraordinary woman the title character was. Nothing in Joan Crawford's performance or in the material given her indicates that this is anything other than an unusually attractive and well behaved lady with romantic yearnings – but someone for whose honor and reputation a President would dissolve his cabinet and change the course of US history? No way. You cannot make a polite film about these characters in this historical period, but this is what MGM tried to do.

Better than it gets

[beyondtheforest · 10/10 · 31 October 2007]

Joan Crawford stars in The Gorgeous Hussy, often referred to as her only historical drama. This is a myth. During her silent years, Crawford was the star of other historical films (Across to Singapore, Rose Marie) and westerns. She also went on to star in Johnny Guitar in 1954, set at the turn of the century, which became one of her most famous films. When reviewers say Crawford was too modern for historical pictures, they conveniently forget the terrific reviews she received for Rose Marie in 1928, now a lost film, and her electric presence in Johnny Guitar.

The Gorgeous Hussy is not a popular film. Many writers claim that Hussy was a disastrous box-office flop, which is not true. It actually made back all of its huge production cost (Hussy was an MGM prestige picture) and turned in a small profit. A lot of people went to see Gorgeous Hussy in its day--more people than saw other films referred to as hits, such as No More Ladies, and yet the high production did not allow it to make a significant enough profit to be considered a hit.

This movie deserves nullification

[pbeat · 4/10 · 5 December 2009]

This movie is a disgrace to history and period pieces of the 30's. The true story of Peggy Eaton was so much better and I have no idea why they didn't follow the storyline the way it played out in real life. Peggy Eaton was a flirt and married while she was having an affair with Sec. of Agriculture John Eaton. It didn't make any sense in this movie to have Joan Crawford's character not be turned on by Francot Tone, who she was married to in real life. Instead she was attracted to John Randolph, who was a Senator and this part was fictional for no reason. Why not have her fall in love with her future husband? Her husband, at the time, did die at sea and it was rumored that he committed suicide because Peggy was having an affair with John Eaton, who she married a month later. That would have been a real drama. Then, when she went calling on the Washington Ladies, they snubbed her and called her a "hussy." Andrew Jackson was so mad, he fired his whole cabinet, like in the movie. This movie didn't make any sense and to call it "Gorgeous Hussy" made people think they were going to get a good soap opera, which they could have if they would have written a script that stuck to the story. I can just see a good scene with Peggy calling on the ladies only to kept waiting in a hallway and head held high as she had to leave in shame. Joan Crawford can't act. Vivien Leigh, she is not. She spends every scene trying to look radiant and only looks like a deer in headlights.

Andrew Jackson was not Jed Clampett, as he is portrayed here. For God's sake, he was a lawyer, Senator and General at the time of his inauguration. He would not have been brawling at his inauguration party and he didn't say "ain't". Rachel was not Granny Clampet either. She was from a wealthy family in Tennessee and did smoke a pipe, but then a lot of independent minded women smoked. I was just appalled at the portrayal of these characters. No plot was developed and the political issues of nullification, states rights, Bank of America and Peggy Eaton as the 'hussy' were not developed and if the viewer doesn't know history, this whole movie would be perplexing to say the least. As the last scene fades, when the "heroine" who doesn't love her "hero" sails off to Spain, we are left feeling cheated of history. This movie is only good to see the beautiful sets and costumes of the time. I don't even understand why Beulah Bondi, who was great as Rachel was nominated for an Academy Award for her 3 or 4 scenes. There must have been other actresses who had more complex roles that year. Joan Crawford was just awful and Lionel Barrymore should have done a little more study on Andrew Jackson, who was a strong and noble gentleman, not a country bumpkin.

I only rate this movie as high as I did for the costumes and set design. Don't take any of the history seriously. They shamelessly bungled this movie.

Not gorgeous, but watchable

[hte-trasme · 5/10 · 7 March 2010]

"The Gorgeous Hussy" impressed me at once as a rather trite, artificial history-based (I won't actually call it historical) film about the Eaton Affair scandal of Andrew Jackson's presidency. It's an odd subject somewhat to choose as the basis for a romance-filled drama, and the script doesn't do it a whole lot of justice at times. A lot of the dialogue is just difficult to swallow or sickly-sweet, and American history is treated with a kind of overly orthodox distorting reverence -- turning the scandal into a stage for Andrew Jackson to be held up as an early defender of the Union in a proto-iteration of the Civil War -- that grates.

There are good points too however: Lionel Barrymore creates a wonderfully memorable performance as the raucous and rough yet wise President Jackson. He makes the former president human even while the script presents him somewhat two-dimensionally as a kind of grumpy but lovable old uncle most of the time (with a few nice scenes where he gets to be principled and statesmanlike in the face of his congress). Joan Crawford seeps magnetism and sympathy as Margaret, even as we are not really allowed to see the struggles between men that make up much of the movie emotionally dramatized for her. These actors get to play a few nice dramatic scenes amid the posturing, including a very effective one after President Jackson's wife's death.

Unfortunately, the piety with which "The Gorgeous Hussy" treats American history extends to other elements of its subject matter. We are supposed to sympathize with Margaret about the viscous rumors that are spread about her, but we never really learn what the rumors are or why they are spread. In other words, in this Hays-code influenced feature, we see how the titular gorgeous hussy is gorgeous, but never really how she is a hussy.

There are a few fine performances here, and the film is quite watchable, but it is let down by an overly careful, pious, and reverent production in many respects.

A very good film --honestly!!

[SkippyDevereaux · 24 February 2001]

Joan Crawford shines in this movie, despite what many of her detractors have said about her. I have read many articles about how she was not right in this role and that she was much better in contemporary films and not period dramas, such as this. But I will tell you that they are wrong. This is one very entertaining film and it holds your interest from beginning to end. Everything about this film is breathtaking, the sets, the costumes, the acting (not only from the leads, but also the minors), and even the make-up is very good. Just take a look at Charles Trowbridge and his likeness of Martin Van Buren--amazing!! This film has it all and this film puts another jewel in the Crawford crown of great acting!!

What a cast ! What a load of crap !!

[ArtVandelayImporterExporter · 4/10 · 3 May 2019]

Joan Crawford rarely looked more beautiful. And the studio lined up an all-star cast of male co-stars. But by jeebus this movie is nothing more than a tawdry movie of affairs with a bit of cheap historical (probably entirely invented) theatrics lightly spread over it. Oh, Tone and Barrymore act their Azzes off trying to make this into something important. But it's just fluff. The best part is seeing Barrymore do his ''angry old man" shtick, so beautifully brought to life by Dana Carvey on SNL decades later. ''By gum we ate dirt for dinner and we LIKED it."

uninspired historical drama

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 26 March 2006]

This is a pretty boring film. Sorry--it just is. The true story goes like this: Andrew Jackson married a woman who was not divorced from her first husband (oops). The press later find out about this and hound him during his presidential campaign against John Quincy Adams. When Jackson does finally win (on the 2nd try), his wife soon dies. Jackson blamed the press for her early death. Then, once he was President, one of his cabinet members married a divorcée. The wives of the other cabinet members and Vice President openly snub her because she is a "hussy" since she is divorced. This hits close to home for Jackson, as it reminds him of the problem with his own wife, and he stands firm for this woman's honor--even when it means getting rid of the VP and cabinet. This is all true. However, the script is pretty lifeless and saccharine. And, since I summed up the story so quickly, why don't you save yourself some time and just see another, better film.

Politics Then and Now

[judithh-1 · 9/10 · 13 August 2012]

It's a story about Washington D.C. It's about dirty tricks, sleazy operatives, scurrilous personal attacks and lies. The 2012 presidential campaign? No, "The Gorgeous Hussy."

Many people have noted that "The Gorgeous Hussy" is not historically accurate. This is true and at the beginning of the picture they call it "fiction"-drawn from real characters, but definitely fiction. What did you expect? It's MGM in 1936. There is a huge budget, lavish production values, beautiful costumes (male and female), top-notch acting and, of course, romance.

The story centers around Peggy O'Neill, Joan Crawford, an innkeeper's daughter called "Pothouse Peg," for her politics and her men. The men are a list of Metro's best—Robert Taylor, Jimmy Stewart, Franchot Tone, Melvyn Douglas and Lionel Barrymore. Robert Taylor dominates the first quarter of the picture with his enormous energy, his playfulness, his rapport with Crawford and his skin-tight costume. Taylor even sings and dances.

After Bow Timberlake's (Taylor's) heroic off screen death, things settle down. Andrew Jackson (Barrymore) dominates every scene he's in. Beulah Bondi, as Rachel Jackson, is equally good. She won an Oscar nomination for her role.

Joan Crawford is usually criticized for appearing in an historical picture because she was too "modern." Here she handles her costumes beautifully, using her skirts to express a range of emotions. While her acting is fine, she is overwhelmed by the male contingent.

Franchot Tone, Crawford's husband at the time, is quietly effective as her second husband John Eaton. Melvyn Douglas brings strength and intelligence to his role as Virginian John Randolph. Jimmy Stewart is wasted as Peg's failed suitor.

"The Gorgeous Hussy" is fun, sometimes moving and a reminder that political behavior wasn't all that different in the 1820s.

the gorgeous hussy

[mossgrymk · 4/10 · 4 October 2021]

Andrew Jackson was one of our most complicated presidents, a fascinating combination of nationalism, populism and racism. And you get absolutely none of it from this cornball film and Lionel Barrymore's typically hammy performance, complete with tobaccy chawin. I mean, Jackson may have been from the back country but he was more William B. Travis than Davy Crockett, as shown here. C minus. PS...Is there such a thing as a plain hussy? Just asking.

Petty coat politics in 1830-31

[theowinthrop · 14 April 2004]

If you recall Charleton Heston's first film about Andrew Jackson, THE PRESIDENT'S LADY, Jackson married Rachel Robarts (Susan Hayward) thinking she was divorced from Lewis Robarts. But the divorce was not completed. They had to remarry - unfortunately the scandal of a brief period of adulterous life together never was forgotten by Jackson's enemies. THE PRESIDENT'S LADY shows how Rachel's great love for Andrew took him to the White House in 1829, but that the scandalous political campaign against Jackson at her expense killed her. This apparently is true, and Jackson (a man who hated powerfully) never forgave his enemies for killing Rachel.

THE GORGIOUS HUSSEY touches this tragedy. Beulah Bondi is Rachel, and Lionel Barrymore Andrew, and Beulah dies early in the film, just as Andrew becomes President. She has a friend here, Peggy O'Neal (Joan Crawford)who tries to confront the widowed President. She's popular, having at least four beaux: Lt. Timberlake, a naval officer (Robert Taylor - in a very brief early part); Senator John Randolph (Melvyn Douglas), a distinguished spokesman for southern states rights; John Eaton (Franchot Tone), Jackson's Secretary of War; and James Stewart. She rejects Randolph's offer of marriage (he's too old for her), and marries Taylor - but there is some question about the legality of the marriage (we see them accidentally lose the marriage certificate). Taylor dies while at sea. Tone marries Crawford, and due to her "loose" behavior it causes a massive cabinet crisis that splits the U.S. government. But Jackson stands by Peggy O'Neal Timberlake Eaton, and remakes the cabinet and his government to mirror his view of democracy.

This film has a lot going for it and a lot going against it: It is a juicy, crazy scandal that makes an interesting tale - and it is true. But the script is full of errors - I will leave it to others to comment on the main one concerning one of the main characters in the film. All the performers play their parts well, from Crawford and her beaus to Bondi and Barrymore, Sidney Blackmer (as Daniel Webster) and Louis Calhern as a fictional villain. Some of the dialogue is ridiculous: the decision by Jackson to demolish Nicholas Biddle's Second Bank of the United States is consolidated to one line (but it was an issue that lasted six or seven years!). One hopes another attempt is made at telling the story of Peggy Eaton - one that is not so full of errors, and explains how petticoat politics got out of control in the early 1830s.

Deadly Dull

[evanston_dad · 3/10 · 2 May 2023]

Joan Crawford is lovely, and was so pretty when she was younger, but this movie about Peggy Eaton, influential confidante of Andrew Jackson during his presidency, is a deadly dull affair. Crawford is far too old for the role (she was about 30 when she filmed this, playing a...what?...18 year old?) and looks ridiculous in the frilly young woman frocks she's asked to wear. She looks a little Baby Jane-ish actually, kind of ironic given the ultimate trajectory her career would take. The movie does what so many movies from that time period did, which is take what could have been an interesting biography and make it instead about which man the main character will end up with at the end.

I only watched this in the first place because I wanted to see Beulah Bondi's Oscar-nominated performance in the very first year that the Academy gave a Supporting Actress award. But be warned if that is also your reason for seeking this one out. Bondi has a small role (she plays Jackson's wife) and is fine for what she's asked to do, but doesn't really give a memorable award-worthy performance.

The film was also nominated for Best Cinematography, though it's pretty pedestrian. And it's even more of a head scratcher nomination given that there were only three nominees that year so the field was even more competitive than usual.

Grade: D.

Dull and historical

[MOscarbradley · 5/10 · 27 January 2007]

Considering who's up there on the screen, (and I wouldn't necessarily call it 'talent'), this film is a disappointment. It sounds faintly salacious, a romp, but in fact is dull and historical. It's about Andrew Jackson and what a kindly old soul he was. He's played by Lionel Barrymore who is less irksome than usual. The gorgeous hussy of the title is Joan Crawford but she isn't gorgeous nor is she much of a hussy. The dashingly handsome men who flit around her flame are played by Robert Taylor, Franchot Tone and Melvyn Douglas, (James Steward is in there, too), and they have the charisma of cardboard. Nobody sparks off anyone else in this picture. You feel that when two or more people are on screen together they would rather be somewhere else. Everyone is directed by Clarence Brown who, presumably, was having an off-day.

1828, According to MGM.

[rmax304823 · 3/10 · 11 August 2012]

Senator Andrew Jackson, about to become president, and his wife Rachel arrive in Washington and meet many famous people -- Daniel Webster, John Randolph, John C. Cahoun, and, well, just about anybody who's anybody. One of the less famous people the Jacksons meet -- less famous because mostly fictional -- is Joan Crawford, dressed in hoop skirts and dozens of ringlets. Crawford is being courted by three or four young men at the same time. I lost count, but among them are Jimmy Stewart, playing a comic suitor named "Rowdy", and handsome, dashing Robert Taylor as "Bow" Timberlake, a naval officer in a tight, fancy uniform. Suave, aristocratic John Randolph of Virginia is her secret love but he turns her away. Still, he may come around. Everybody is happy. Little do they know tragedy lies just around the corner.

I couldn't stand it. I was hoping for one of Hollywood's semi-educational historical epics with a rip-roaring Andrew Jackson who plunks his muddy boots on his desk and hangs around with low society. Instead I got a soap opera starring Joan Crawford.

Oh, there ARE some historical incidents, but then there HAS to be because the movie must be about something other than men worshiping Joan Crawford. I'll give you an example of how historical events are related to romance.

We see President Andrew Jackson, Lionel Barrymore, looking less like Andrew Jackson than anyone possibly could. He is pacing slowly in his presidential office, dictating to a scribe. "And so, Gentleman, I must insist that the Union remain united and --" The door bursts open and Crawford rushes in, gushing, demanding to speak to "Uncle Andy." Jackson turns to his scribe and orders sternly, "Now write that up in your best handwriting and we'll finish it later." He turns to Crawford, "Now, what is it, my dear?" "Oh, Uncle Andy -- he wants to MARRY me!" The historical stuff can be found folded into the soap opera like raisins buried in a muffin. Each little incident comes as a delightful surprise.

Is the climax, at least, of some political significance? I guess so. The gossip about Joan Crawford comes to a head and Uncle Andy saves her from being shunned by the stuffy old ladies of Washington. Maybe, in a sense, gossip IS politics. Sometimes, today, it certainly seems so.

I can't go on with this. I'm told that too many deep sobs induces strokes.

Joan Crawford at her loveliest

[moeoc68 · 9/10 · 22 November 2000]

This entertaining story is definitely worth the cost of rental. It is available in most video stores. It follows an Inn keepers daughter (Joan Crawford at her loveliest) through two marriages and a lasting friendship with Andrew Jackson. Although her particular character is fictitious, the rest of the story line is fairly historically accurate, especially the portrayal of the close campaign Jackson ran, due to the opposition of his wife Rachel.

Simply Appalling

[blueish35 · 1/10 · 14 September 2021]

Because of 45 we've become more AWARE of 7, Andrew Jackson. MGM is my least favorite studio of the Golden Age. They had several great exceptions, Dinner at Eight and Wizard of Oz and Les Miserables and handful of others but as a rule of thumb they were generally pompous and misguided and never so much as their apparent devotion to our seventh president. Racism is looked upon with humor in this vile depiction. Joan Crawford, "I'll trade my new slave for that" (that being Robert Taylor). Everyone involved is gone now but their shame is indelible. Six years later they romanticized Andrew Johnson in Tennessee Johnson. MGM just didn't get it and didn't care, similar to a current political party.

As MGM As It Gets

[marcslope · 1 July 2002]

Joan isn't all that gorgeous, only a halfhearted hussy, and not much of an actress, either--at least not here. Rather, she's a nice but confused innkeeper's daughter in 1820s Washington with love and politics on the brain. Mostly she lifts her considerable eyebrows up and down, up and down, to indicate joy, worry, bafflement, empathy, ecstasy... All the while she's pursued by most of the leading men of MGM circa 1936, for reasons best known to them, since there's nothing particularly fascinating about her character. This lengthy melodrama does have first-rate production values and intermittent good acting, especially from the quieter performers, Melvyn Douglas and (most of all) Beulah Bondi, as a gentle, pipe-smoking Mrs. Andrew Jackson. But as a historical romance it's rather listless, with a rote Snidely-Whiplash villain (Louis Calhern) and much nattering about states' rights. The conflicts feel painted-on. The ending feels hurried and contrived. And Joan always seems to be looking for her key light.