For those of you who are expecting to see smirky and smart alecky William Haines
in Are You Listening you will be in for a shock. Haines is subdued and serious
and a result looks a bit lost in the part of an unhappily married radio writer. He
would like to get married to Madge Evans a cute and perky young thing. He's
asked for a divorce from Karen Morley.
Morley is the one who really carries this film. She puts some real bite into the
part. Her answer to Haines is, I'll stay married to you until you get a good enough job with a big enough salary so I can get some decent alimony to live
on. A woman like that, I'll bet you could have heard the hisses outside the
theater from the audience when Morley offered those sentiments.
It all ends rather badly in this pre-Code melodrama for some in the cast. Think
of the Dr. Crippen case from the United Kingdom and you will know.