Whenever I need a smile, I can usually rely on classic cinema.  Academically speaking, I know the happy endings that most films from Hollywood’s golden age receive were contrived.  The Production Codes controlled many aspects of filmmaking, and one of them was a commitment to having more pleasant conclusion.  For better or worse (most argue worse), the Catholic Church had a hand in such material.  On the other hand, it is nice to escape the cynicism of modern productions for the warmth of a bygone era, or at least the stylized version of it.  Of course, things were more complicated in the past than we want to admit, and today’s movie, The Rage of Paris (1938), speaks to this fact as it pertains to women.  When viewed from a current perspective, it is full of regressive stereotypes.  Nonetheless, I could not help but smile by the end of it.

The person who is not doing much smiling at the beginning of The Rage of Paris is Nicole de Cortillon (Danielle Darrieux).  Though I would not say she is “raging,” she has come from France to New York City in order to find employment.  Being pretty, she attempts to sign on with a modeling agency.  At each turn, she is denied but gains a little more information that allows her to make it into the office of the talent scout.  Once there, he informs her that the job they have for her involves wearing drapes, and nothing else.  She is shocked by the suggestion, but when he turns to the next woman in line, she steals the address of where she thinks she is supposed to go and sneaks out of the office.  Her destination is the office of Jim Trevor (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.).  Upon entering the room, she begins to undress while she waits for him, thinking he is the photographer.  He quickly informs her that this is not the case, and she runs away embarrassed.  She returns to the boarding house at which she is staying, but the managing woman says that Nicole is locked out because she is four days behind in rent.  To the rescue comes Gloria (Helen Broderick), a slightly older divorcee who offers to pay Nicole’s outstanding balance.  Gloria’s kindness does not end with this charitable act.  Nicole is open about how desperate she is for work, and Gloria says she will introduce the young lady to Gloria’s longtime friend, Mike (Mischa Auer).  He is the headwaiter at the Grand Savoy, and Gloria is confident she can get him to offer Nicole a position.  Once they are able to confer with Mike, he tells them there are no jobs.  Going on, he mentions that he has saved up $3,000 for his own restaurant, but that an extra two grand will be better.  Hearing Mike’s plans give Gloria an idea.  Using Nicole as a sort of honeypot, Gloria and Mike will set the young lady up in the hotel with fine clothing, all to attract a husband.  Once that is accomplished, Nicole will divorce, collect the alimony, and help Mike open the best establishment possible.  He initially hesitates, but the thought of being able to do something fancy has him quickly agreeing.  Nicole goes along with it, too, thankful for the assistance.  It all sounds a bit sordid to me, but I am a square Catholic.  It does not take long for Nicole to catch the eye of Bill Duncan (Lewis Hayward), who she is later told owns half of Canada.  He is also sweet and eager, and he is soon taking Gloria and Nicole with him to the symphony.  As they are listening to the performance, Bill notices his best friend a couple boxes down from his party.  This best friend is, of course, Jim.  Nicole spots him too and tries to hide, but Bill invites Jim to join his group.  Jim greets Nicole and recognizes her, but does not immediately uncover her for being a phony.  He intends to, though, when they go to dinner afterwards, although Gloria and Mike conspire to keep this from happening.  Jim is able to get Nicole off by herself, telling her that either she tells Bill the truth or Jim will.  Before anything more can come to light, the evening ends.  Jim waits for Bill in the hallways as the potential suitor says goodnight to Nicole.  Jim then tries to tell his best friend the truth, but Bill does not believe it.  The next day, Jim convinces Nicole to have dinner with him, still trying to get her to come clean.  She refuses once more, saying she will marry Bill regardless of Jim’s feelings.  In response, Jim tries to lock her in his house with his butler, Rigley (Charles Coleman), guarding her.  Unfortunately for him, he is too late to catch Bill at his club.  Also, Nicole uses literal sleight of hand to get away from Rigley.  By the time Jim catches up with them at the Grand Savoy, the engagement has already been announced.  Jim has one last trick to employ.  This time, he literally kidnaps Nicole from the engagement party, taking her to his country estate eighty-six miles outside of the city.  Though she demands to be taken back, and expects Bill to find her at any moment, Jim keeps her overnight.  During those late hours, she has trouble with her window.  Despite his annoyance with her, Jim is attentive to her needs.  As a result, she realizes that she actually loves Jim, and admits as much.  He ruins the confession by remarking that he has more money than Bill.  In the morning, she hitchhikes with the milk truck driver back to the city.  Her sadness is evident when she gets back to her and Gloria’s room.  Mike notices it, too, and is fearful that his plan is about to be ruined.  Thus, he finds Bill and tells the truth about Nicole, which corroborates the businessman’s own investigations.  Jim arrives at this moment of realization and learns that the wedding has been canceled.  Elated, he books a room on the ship Nicole is taking back to France, and has asked the captain to marry them.

You could say that The Rage of Paris, which is not a title fitting for Nicole, has finally accomplished her goal of marrying rich.  Then again, that was more Gloria’s objective for Nicole.  Before Gloria’s help, Nicole had been content to get any job she could find, including in a restaurant.  As such, it is important to push back on the notion that Nicole is a gold digger.  She is more the victim of circumstance, although ending up with Jim would suggest that she is not much of a “victim.”  Still, if I may continue with that theme for a moment, if there is anyone who puts her in a predicament, it is Gloria.  Granted, she does a Christian thing by giving Nicole the money for the late rent, then taking the young woman to find employment.  She offers these acts of charity openly and without thought of recompense, which is how we should all behave towards those in need.  It is the influence Gloria exercises over Nicole that I question.  When Nicole is down about her misadventures in modeling, Gloria responds by saying that there is nothing wrong that a good marriage cannot fix.  Remember those regressive stereotypes I mentioned in the introduction?  This is where they are first brought to light. Recall that this is the 1930s, and that was an era when most were expected to be wives and little else.  It was a tradition that many scholars have blamed on Christianity, and there is some truth to that statement.  However, this has never been Catholic teaching, at least not in the same spirit.  Women are expected to be mothers in some fashion, taking after the Virgin Mary, but there are many forms of motherhood that the Church has recognized from its earlier days.  In other words, there are options in Catholicism.  Sadly, this is not reflected in the movie.

What is reflected in The Rage of Paris is the talent of Darrieux.  In addition to being a classic film, I picked it because I figured it would be set in Paris.  This turned out not to be the case, but I was charmed to be introduced to this interesting actress, who lived to the ripe old age of 100.  If for no other reason, watch this movie for her.