No one in their right mind would ever cast one of the biggest young starlets of the 1930s – Constance Bennett, to play an ordinary plain Jane secretary in a movie. . . but, of course, that’s exactly what Hollywood decided to do in 1930 with the Pre-Code romantic dramedy Sin Takes a Holiday, directed by Paul L. Stein.
Bennett plays Sylvia Brenner, a near constant on-call secretary working late nights for a snooty playboy divorce lawyer named Gaylord Stanton (Kenneth MacKenna). Liking nothing better than playing the field with both married and unmarried women (though it seems like he prefers the former better), and then having some fun joking around with his group of friends, including the somehow even snootier barrister Reggie Durant (Basil Rathbone – this at the end of his matinee idol first run. . . making it big five year later. . . add another four years and he’d take on his most famous role of Sherlock Holmes), this lifestyle soon backfires on him after a divorcing dame client, Grace Lawrence (Rita La Roy), is looking for a proposal from him as she starts her immediate rebound.
Of course, the playboy has no interest in being tied down, so he develops some weaselry by creating a sham marriage with his secretary, offering her a large salary, vacation to France, plenty of spending money for fashion, and posh room and board. What the Gaylord doesn’t realize is that Sylvia is head over heels in love with him, so of course she says yes.
Sending her off almost immediately. . . after she finds a replacement secretary for herself – a nice cameo from Zasu Pitts (Shopworn; as well as part of the first female movie comedy team with Thelma Todd), it does not take her long to posh up – holy moly, that actually is Constance Bennett! Of course, as fate would have it, Reggie Durant will be on the same ship heading to Paris – and he’ll recognize her charming personality and beauty immediately. Intriguingly, he’s just as much a ladies’ man, but seems to have more of a conscience at the same time.
As this bizarre ménage à trois develops, many questions arise – can someone in a marriage of convenience really cheat? Does a sham marriage need a divorce before someone enters a new relationship? Might the fake suitor begin to have feelings for his wife when he sees her all made up? If this becomes the case, who will she choose?
Though not as edgy as other Pre-Code movies from the time (think The Cheat, Baby Face, or Search For Beauty), it certainly exemplifies that not too much has changed in the last ninety-five years. Of course, just four years later, the topics of affairs, marriages of convenience, and other such things would be eliminated from motion pictures by the Code, but this was par for the course in 1930. Sadly, its conclusion is also a bit of a let down. . . but that somehow helps exemplify some of the finer things in the picture at the same time.
Not as cut throat as other films from this era, Sin Takes a Holiday is at its best when highlighting the great Constance Bennett and her fashionable wardrobe, or drawing attention to the already impressive scene-stealer that is Basil Rathbone. They are both wow factors, shining bright while MacKenna fades into the background. So, make an indecent proposal by seeing this film, let’s just hope she picks the right guy.