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.
Review of The Gorgeous Hussy
