The Shopworn Angel (1938)

I first saw this gem, knowing nothing about it, over thirty years ago in the much missed Theater 80 St. Marks in the east Village in NYC. I remember how deeply the film moved me as vividly today as back then. This is the kind of modest, sweet and emotionally true - and superbly written, acted and directed - movie that is the glory of the Golden Age.I cannot add to the perfect reviews above (especially the first few) except to reiterate their points about the emotional maturity and complexity of the picture. We feel the raw, physical nature of the relationship between Daisy and Sam - amazingly, with no nudity or the crudeness of films today. May I add the highly accomplished direction of the unsung pro H.C.Potter. His direction of the final scene is masterly: heartbreaking, with no dialogue, thereby heightening the very emotional climax's impact on the viewer., One of the chief techniques which make those films so superior to the vulgar, self-indulgent excess of today.

When the United States enters World War I, patriotic Texan Jimmy Stewart (as William "Bill" Pettigrew) is among those to sign up for service. In New York for basic training, Mr. Stewart is bowled over by showgirl Margaret Sullavan (as Daisy Heath), but she is promised to distinguished Walter Pidgeon (as Sam Bailey). With Mr. Pidgeon's okay, Ms. Sullavan shows young Stewart around the city, including the roller-coaster at Coney Island. They're supposed to be "just friends" but Stewart is falling in love… This was a direct re-make of the 1928 silent/sound success starring Nancy Carroll and Gary Cooper, and there were dozens of films with this romantic wartime love triangle. Most of the time, the male characters had different outcomes. The story is strained in places and diluted from the original, but the picture is nicely produced and performed well. The Stewart/Sullavan chemistry is easy to appreciate. A new Broadway musical sensation known as Mary Martin provides Sullavan with a beautiful singing voice.****** The Shopworn Angel (7/15/38) H.C. Potter ~ Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Walter Pidgeon, Hattie McDaniel

This movie is definitely a blast from the past. The way people reacted to war in the time of WWI is so much different from the way things are today. It seems like people cared so much more about soldiers then. I don't know any body who would want to get married now, go to war in Iraq or Afghanistan and leave a beautiful wife behind to "keep the home fires burning". Maybe in age of WWI, Americans were more unselfish. This movie is worth seeing if only to serve as a documentary of how times change. The plot is definitely far-fetched by today's standards.The love story here is more about the love of country instead of love between people. This thought provoking film is expertly carried by James Stewart and Walter Pidgeon. Margaret Sullavan's performance is less impressive because her character is not as believable to me.

James Stewart plays a naive hick soldier who falls for Margaret Sullavan and wants to marry her before going off to war. She is a selfish actress who undergoes a remarkable character transformation in his presence and, in a ridiculous plot turn, agrees to marry him, even though she is in love with Walter Pigeon (who's the best part of this movie) the whole time. It has something to do with keeping his spirit alive while he's off fighting. Or something like that. Stupid plot aside, the unsettling part of this is Stewart, who yet again plays a character so selfish and obsessive that he comes across as creepy and unappealing, despite (or perhaps because of)the outward singular innocence he's supposed to represent. His obsessiveness in Anthony Mann westerns and in movies like "Vertigo" were fascinating because his characters were supposed to be flawed and difficult. But in this movie and other early films like "Of Human Hearts" and "Come Live With Me" (the way he flips out in childish rage at Hedy Lamarr near the film's end, for example)I find him completely off-putting and have to remember his later films in order to remind myself that, yes, I actually do like him.