Honor Among Lovers Reviews

Like other star vehicles of its kind, HONOR AMONG LOVERS was criticized for being a "shopgirl's delight," because it offered little more than the usual dose of women's magazine romance. HONOR AMONG LOVERS, however, can boast a top-notch cast of Hollywood faces, including the rising starlet Claudette Colbert, who was fast becoming one of Paramount's busiest players. Here she stars as an assertive young secretary to March, a well-to-do Wall Street broker. March makes a calculated play for her, only to have her reply with a blunt "No" to his offer of a world cruise. Unknown to March is Colbert's romance with Owsley, a young securities broker. Afraid that she may be won over by March's charm, Colbert quickly accepts Owsley's proposal of marriage. It isn't until after Colbert has already tied the knot that March also makes an offer to marry her. March irrationally fires Colbert and predicts that her matrimonial bliss will sour after six months. He apologizes, however, and offers Colbert her job back. To make further amends, he even offers Owsley an important account. It's not long before March realizes that Owsley is swindling the company and using March's own money for stock speculations. The market crash occurs and Owsley emerges from the rubble without a penny. As a last hope, Colbert offers herself to March in return for some financial support. March nobly refuses her offer but agrees to write out a check for $100,000. When Owsley learns that Colbert went to March for help he becomes enraged and threatens his rival with a gun. A bullet is fired and March is wounded. March decides to protect Owsley by insisting that his wound was self-inflicted. Owsley, however, blames the shooting on Colbert. She is arrested and the police, suspicious, record a conversation she has with Owsley--implicating him as the guilty one. Moved by March's decision not to continue the prosecution, Colbert finally is convinced that she married the wrong man and leaves Owsley. The fantasy-come-true finale has March and Colbert preparing to take that long-awaited world cruise. While a nominal effort for stars Colbert and March, and a respectable showing for Ruggles, O'Brien, and Rogers--all of whom would soon take off to bigger and brighter careers--HONOR AMONG LOVERS did little for the forgotten career of Monroe Owsley. Here he turns in a fine, tortured portrayal, but he still was unable to make more than a slight ripple in film history.