The Purchase Price
Encyclopedia
The Purchase Price is a Pre-Code
American film, which was directed by William Wellman and adapted from Arthur Stringer
's novel, The Mud Lark (1932).
who runs away from her gangster boyfriend (Talbot) and becomes a mail-order bride
to a struggling North Dakota
farmer (Brent). Their relationship has a rocky start, but just as Joan realizes that she is developing feelings for her husband, her old boyfriend arrives to win her back.
wrote that "many of its individual scenes are undeniably good, but the effect is of fifteen scenarists collaborating on a story without consulting each other. It seemed a bit hard on the cast." NYT also called it "totally incomprehensible" and "one of the weirdest scenarios within the memory of man."
Variety
thought Stanwyck and Brent were "both 100% miscast", while the Kansas City Star stated that "the picture has more entertainment value than the plot has logic." The reviewer added, "Miss Stanwyck continues to exercise her uncanny ability to make the most phony heroines seem like human beings."
Time
reviewed the film accordingly: "The picture hews close to the line of probability ... [R]are until recently has been the cinema heroine who preferred the stupid poor man to the bright city fellow. The viewpoint of The Purchase Price is simple and masculine. It advertises the virtue of hard work and loyalty."
's 2009 Forbidden Hollywood, Vol. 3 collection in 2009.
Pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood refers to the era in the American film industry between the introduction of sound in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines. Although the Code was adopted in 1930, oversight was poor and it did not become rigorously...
American film, which was directed by William Wellman and adapted from Arthur Stringer
Arthur John Arbuthnott Stringer
Arthur John Arbuthnott Stringer was a Canadian novelist, screenwriter, and poet who later moved to the United States....
's novel, The Mud Lark (1932).
Plot
Joan Gordon (Stanwyck) is a torch singerTorch Singer
Torch Singer is a 1933 film made by Paramount Pictures, directed by Alexander Hall and George Somnes, and starring Claudette Colbert, Ricardo Cortez and David Manners and Lyda Roberti.The screenplay was written by Lenore J...
who runs away from her gangster boyfriend (Talbot) and becomes a mail-order bride
Mail-order bride
Mail-order bride is a label applied to a woman who publishes her intent to marry someone from another country. This term is considered offensive by some people. The mail-order bride industry is the economic trade of contracted domestic partnerships, often between citizens of different countries or...
to a struggling North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
farmer (Brent). Their relationship has a rocky start, but just as Joan realizes that she is developing feelings for her husband, her old boyfriend arrives to win her back.
Cast (in credits order)
- Barbara StanwyckBarbara StanwyckBarbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
as Joan Gordon - George BrentGeorge BrentGeorge Brent was an Irish film and television actor in American cinema.-Early life:He was born George Brendan Nolan in Raharabeg, County Roscommon on the opposite bank of the River Shannon from the town of Shannonbridge, County Offaly, Ireland, the son of a British Army officer.During the Irish...
as Jim Gilson - Lyle TalbotLyle TalbotLyle Talbot , born Lisle Henderson, was an American actor on stage and screen, best known for his long career in movies from 1931 to 1960 and for his frequent appearances on TV in the 1950s and '60s, including his decade-long role as Joe Randolph on television's The Adventures of Ozzie and...
as Eddie Fields - Hardie AlbrightHardie AlbrightHardie Albright was an American actor and the son of travelling vaudevillians.Born as Hardie Hunter Albrecht, he made his stage debut in one of his parents' acts at the age of 7....
as Don Leslie - David LandauDavid Landau (actor)David Landau was an American film actor who appeared in 33 films between 1931 and 1935.He appeared on Broadway in 12 plays from 1919 to 1929....
as Bull McDowell - Murray KinnellMurray KinnellMurray Kinnell was an English actor. He appeared in 71 films between 1930 and 1937. He was best known as the two-timing petty-larceny hood Putty Nose in The Public Enemy...
as Spike Forgan
Production
During the fight scene between Talbot and Brent, Wellman approached each actor privately with the instruction: "let him have it." The actors worked the fight out between themselves beforehand. However, when Talbot flew back against a wall (as planned), his head struck a nail. "It just bled like mad. They had to take me over to the infirmary and sew me up." Stanwyck's rendition of "Take Me Away" marked the first time she sang onscreen.Critical response
The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote that "many of its individual scenes are undeniably good, but the effect is of fifteen scenarists collaborating on a story without consulting each other. It seemed a bit hard on the cast." NYT also called it "totally incomprehensible" and "one of the weirdest scenarios within the memory of man."
Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
thought Stanwyck and Brent were "both 100% miscast", while the Kansas City Star stated that "the picture has more entertainment value than the plot has logic." The reviewer added, "Miss Stanwyck continues to exercise her uncanny ability to make the most phony heroines seem like human beings."
Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
reviewed the film accordingly: "The picture hews close to the line of probability ... [R]are until recently has been the cinema heroine who preferred the stupid poor man to the bright city fellow. The viewpoint of The Purchase Price is simple and masculine. It advertises the virtue of hard work and loyalty."
Home media
The Purchase Price was released on VHS under MGM's Forbidden Hollywood 1990s label. In addition to four other Wellman Pre-Code films, it was released to DVD as part of Turner Classic MoviesTurner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
's 2009 Forbidden Hollywood, Vol. 3 collection in 2009.