The Saturday Night Kid (1929)

Oh you kid! But which one? When Clara Bow and Jean Arthur are sisters and Jean Harlow has a small role, it's hard to make up your mind which is the Saturday Night Kid for you.At least we can be sure it's not Edna May Oliver in her first talkie role. In this remake of 1926's LOVE THEM AND LEAVE THEM. Miss Bow and Miss Arthur are sisters who share a room in a boarding house . They're both sweet on fellow lodger James Hall -- who thinks of Clara as his girl -- and they all work at the same department store. When Miss Arthur, who is the pet of the store's formidable Miss Oliver, winds up in charge of the employees' welfare fund, she not only blows it on the horses, she makes a play for Mr. Hall and blames the loss on her sister.There are a lot of problems with this movie. Overlay a nasal dem-dese-dose accent on Miss Arthur's squeaks, and you've got something very annoying; Miss Bow had been stress eating and was a few pounds over zoftig here, and the film was edited down to 64 minutes, so short that a lot of plot points are left hanging. B.P. Schulberg had been complaining for some time that Miss Bow needed better vehicles. Despite a formidable cohort, this was not it for the It Girl.

Shopgirl sisters, one fun loving but virtuous (Clara Bow), the other a conniving, selfish brat (Jean Arthur) are in love with a fellow Ginsberg department store employee (James Hall). Trite screenplay, lousy production values, terrible directing. Bow only really becomes interesting in the second half where she's finally given interesting things to do. Jean Arthur is quite good as the dissembling brat sister. James Hall is dull. Edna May Oliver does her thing (which I love) in her talkie debut, and an unbilled (and very young looking) Jean Harlow has a tiny but memorable speaking part (her first). Ultimately, this is for Bow fanatics only (I raise my hand), and for those who want to see the earliest sound film appearance of the fully formed Jean Harlow persona.

Even though "Love 'em and Leave 'em" had been a Louise Brooks vehicle in 1926, that didn't stop Paramount from lifting the plot and refashioning it into "The Saturday Night Kid" for Clara Bow in 1929. As Clara often said she was given "any old story that was fished out of a rubbish bin"!!! To add personal insult to injury, Edward Sutherland was assigned to direct it. Louise Brooks, who was married to Sutherland, wrote that Sutherland always excluded Bow from parties and gatherings - he didn't think Bow was of their "class" - even though Brooks begged him to invite Clara.Mayme (Clara Bow) and Janie (Jean Arthur) are sisters - they both work at Ginsbergs' Department Store - but while Mayme is in love with dependable Bill (James Hall), Janie is on the look out for money. "Poor kid, she doesn't know what it's all about" worries Mayme, then when they see her driving past in a flashy car Bill quips "I'd hate to see her when she wises up"!! From the first scene Janie shows she is not to be trusted - borrowing Mayme's "step ins" and perfume - she is also not above betting heavily on the races. Jean Arthur steals the movie "on a red hot platter". Her's is the only role with any get up and go and her husky voice is very pleasing. Janie does her best to drive a wedge between the cute couple and at a rooftop party, Mayme gets fed up - "I'm just a Saturday Night Kid, the love 'em and leave 'em kind" - I thought now for some Clara Bow action, but it was not to be. She was the good girl, the nice sister and as such had to hang around while her "bad" sister got all the attention. Janie gets deeper and deeper into debt and gambles with the store's welfare fund (she is the treasurer). She confesses what she has done to Mayme, who wins back the money in a crap game. Janie, though, has already told Mrs. Streeter (the glorious Edna May Oliver) that Mayme is the thief and when Mayme turns up with the money she (Mayme) is sacked. All ends well for Mayme and Bill - he overhears the girls talking and realises Janie is the sneak - not that he ever doubted Mayme's honesty.True to Clara's generous spirit - there was one actress, a bit player, whose confidence was really boosted - that was Jean Harlow. Bow, as always, took the newcomer under her wing. There was a beautiful evening dress that was designed for Clara but she insisted that Jean wear the dress. Not only that but Clara also insisted that they both have photographs taken together - that apparently was simply not done - stars just didn't pose with beautiful bit players!!! Not Clara, who said "She's a good kid, I just want to help her out!!!Recommended.

In THE SATURDAY NIGHT KID, Clara Bow plays Mayme, a salesgirl who's in love with a fellow clerk named Bill (James Hall). Her sister Janie (Jean Arthur) also has eyes for him and schemes to snare for herself. The scenario is ordinary and the resolution is both banal and predictable. Clara Bow's performance in her third talkie is good, proving she could easily handle sound. Unfortunately, her role is, for the most part, colorless and inhibited. Mayme lacks the free-spiritedness and boldness of such roles like Alverna in MANTRAP and Betty Lou in IT; she's just a blandly virtuous heroine searching for true love. It doesn't help that her leading man Hall is uncharismatic and dull.Occasionally, however, Bow gets to shine. She displays her comedic flair in some funny sequences, particularly a scene where she tries to help the inexperienced Hall in a difficult task without making him look incompetent. Bow also exhibits a flash of her effervescent "It" persona in a flirtatious chasing sequence. And in her big dramatic moments, Clara is persuasive and invigorating, making one regret she rarely had the opportunity for substantial dramatic material.Jean Arthur is delightfully perfidious as Janie. Among the supporting players, Edna May Oliver as Mayme's snooty, imperious supervisor Miss Streeter and Charles Sellon as Lem Woodruff, the fumbling proprietor of the boardinghouse Mayme, Janie, and Bill live in, stand out. In an early film appearance, Jean Harlow has too minute a role to create any impression.Overall, THE SATURDAY NIGHT KID is a pedestrian movie that doesn't take full advantage of Bow's talents. Considering that many of Clara Bow's films are lost or deteriorating, however, one should be grateful that this film has been recently restored.