Caught "Confession" on TCM. Never heard of Kay Francis and this movie. But WOW! I was immediately hooked anyway.
Watching Kay saunter through the crowd with the most natural portrayal of a saucy cabaret singer with attitude to rival any Cagney performance made me feel like I was watching someone more sophisticated and modern for that time period. Pay particular attention to Kay's facial expressions talking between her singing "One Hour Of Romance". She owned the crowd and that scene along with the later courtroom performance. A striking woman indeed.
It's rare I catch these kind of naturally acted moments in these old films because most are stiffly delivered with predictably paced speech patterns picked up from a Broadway theater "over" acting style but this one along with Crawford/Gable's "Forsake All Others" gives you a glimpse of the real personalities of these actors and their natural charisma revealed in a relaxed and honest acting style that draws you in and makes you want to watch them.
Watching Kay saunter through the crowd with the most natural portrayal of a saucy cabaret singer with attitude to rival any Cagney performance made me feel like I was watching someone more sophisticated and modern for that time period. Pay particular attention to Kay's facial expressions talking between her singing "One Hour Of Romance". She owned the crowd and that scene along with the later courtroom performance. A striking woman indeed.
It's rare I catch these kind of naturally acted moments in these old films because most are stiffly delivered with predictably paced speech patterns picked up from a Broadway theater "over" acting style but this one along with Crawford/Gable's "Forsake All Others" gives you a glimpse of the real personalities of these actors and their natural charisma revealed in a relaxed and honest acting style that draws you in and makes you want to watch them.