"Allotment Wives" is a 1945 film from a poverty row studio, Monogram. And it looks like that's where it came from: a bad print that kept freezing and rotten sound.
But give Kay Francis credit. Even when she knew Warner Brothers was trying to get rid of her, she kept right on working as if the rotten parts didn't bother her at all.
By 1945, Francis was all but through, and she starred in this film. It's the story of a ring of women who married several servicemen at a time in order to get their pay as well as their life insurance if they were killed. The leader of the group runs a tight ship, but trouble begins when a government agent posing as a reporter starts snooping around.
I wasn't as impressed with this film as several others on this board. I thought it was routine. I always enjoy Kay Francis, very much a star in the early '30s. Here she's in a Joan Crawford type of role and handles it differently from the way Joan would have, much more subtly. Paul Kelly and Otto Kruger are featured and give good performances.
Kay Francis returned to her stage roots in the '40s and finally retired in 1952. When she died, she left one million dollars to train Seeing Eye Dogs.
There's an interesting story about her. Once when she had been retired for some time, she was recognized. "Aren't you Kay Francis?" someone asked. She answered, "I was."
But give Kay Francis credit. Even when she knew Warner Brothers was trying to get rid of her, she kept right on working as if the rotten parts didn't bother her at all.
By 1945, Francis was all but through, and she starred in this film. It's the story of a ring of women who married several servicemen at a time in order to get their pay as well as their life insurance if they were killed. The leader of the group runs a tight ship, but trouble begins when a government agent posing as a reporter starts snooping around.
I wasn't as impressed with this film as several others on this board. I thought it was routine. I always enjoy Kay Francis, very much a star in the early '30s. Here she's in a Joan Crawford type of role and handles it differently from the way Joan would have, much more subtly. Paul Kelly and Otto Kruger are featured and give good performances.
Kay Francis returned to her stage roots in the '40s and finally retired in 1952. When she died, she left one million dollars to train Seeing Eye Dogs.
There's an interesting story about her. Once when she had been retired for some time, she was recognized. "Aren't you Kay Francis?" someone asked. She answered, "I was."