mark.waltz In other words, it's all about scandal and it took two directors to get it done.In other words, it's combination soap opera, screwball comedy, mother love saga, backstage saga, love story and even a bit of a musical, although Constance Bennett never does sing "Poor Butterfly" for the pesky Sterling Holloway. It starts off with Bennett in court as a corespondent in a scandalous trial, losing her adopted daughter as a result, and then sailing off to Paris with vain mother Jobyna Howland, returning to star in a play ironically called "Rockabye", getting to visit her former daughter thanks to understanding respectable adoptive parents, and being fought over by producer Paul Lukas and playwright Joel McCrea. With a lack of direction in it's structure struggling plot, it's ironic that two directors (George Cukor and William Fitzmaurice) were at the helm. At her most glamorous, Bennett does get to stretch her acting muscles, but it is the boozy, glamour obsessed Howland who steals the film, vainly comparing her looks to daughter Bennett's as her frozen face barely moves around her lips. It's everything (and more) that made precode so much fun, but simply goes around in circles plotwise, leaving the viewer truly dizzy.

Michael_Elliott Rockabye (1932) * 1/2 (out of 4) Growing up trashy but turned into a lady, an actress (Constance Bennett) wants to adopt a child but isn't allowed after her past is brought up in a court trial. This is an early film from George Cukor that really doesn't have any of the charm or spirit that his later films have. The film is incredibly slow moving and the 67-minute running time feels longer than three hours. Bennett is good in her role but she doesn't have a lot to work with and Joel McCrea is wasted as is Walter Pidgeon. With a cast like this you'd expect a lot better.

blanche-2 Possibly because her heyday was 70+ years ago, the beauty and glamor of Constance Bennett is not mentioned much today. It's a pity, because she was a vivacious film presence and remained so until her death in 1966. Lana Turner was a bit taken aback when, on the set of Madame X in 1965, she first saw the woman who was to play her formidable mother-in-law - a gorgeous Bennett. If Turner was to wear mink, Bennett wanted sable and got it. Unfortunately, she died shortly after the film's completion.Rockabye is a 1932 film about an actress with a certain reputation. She has three suitors - her ex-fiancée, Walter Pidgeon, whose trial begins the film, in a very small role, youthful Joel McCrea as a married playwright, and her agent, played by Paul Lukas. Directed by Cukor, it's an interesting film (and I believe pre-code), fueled by Bennett's performance, who is especially charming in scenes with the child. She also does all her own singing.This is a good one to catch on TCM.

kmk-3 This enchanting 1933 movie's series of remarkable moments -- a courtroom trial where a blonde Broadway actress actually defends a former "friend;" realistic playtime with a darling little girl; exuberance in a speakeasy, with old chums; a joyously funny, sexy scene in a kitchen; and much more -- are simply delightful. The plot doesn't do justice to the energy and excitement generated by Constance Bennett, Joel MacCrea, Paul Lukas and many others... she's a "Gashouse" neighborhood girl who has made herself into a lady, an actress who searches for love through family, children, travel, a new man, her work, etc., and he's an old-money college-boy playwright with a strong social conscience. And her agent loves her... But see the movie for its pleasures and overlook the occasional creakiness -- it's an unexpected treasure.