Living on Velvet (1935) User Reviews (15)

An unfocused romantic melodrama carried by the stars, but with a very funny sequence.

[Art-22 · 5/10 · 22 September 2002]

There's not much of a plot. George Brent piloted a plane which crashed killing his parents and sister, while he walked away with hardly a scratch. So he believes he's living on borrowed time - "living on velvet" as he puts it. But he meets Kay Francis, the fiancee of his best friend, Warren William, and they fall in love. William wants her to be happy and not only approves of their marriage, but helps them out by setting them up in a Long Island estate he rents at $4.50 a month. Still the marriage has its problems because of Brent's irresponsible attitudes about working.

Although the movie is somewhat enjoyable at the melodramatic level, there is one sequence that had me in stitches. To appreciate it, you must know in advance that Kay Francis always had trouble with the letter "r", which often sounded like "w". I notice it in all her movies. Here, George Brent gently ribs her about it. The night they meet, he tells her he likes the sound of her voice, and asks her to say something nice and long. She begins "30 days has September, Apwil June..." "Apwil? Apwil?" he interrupts. "Repeat after me please 'Around the rugged rocks the ragged rascals ran'." Miss Francis repeats it, purposely exaggerating the "w" sound and starts her poem again this time saying "Aprrril", but letting the "w" sound creep in for some of the other months. It is a very funny sequence. As star of the movie, she easily could have suppressed that dialogue, but all the more power to her for letting it stay. It raised my opinion of her considerably.

Pleasant enough domestic drama with a trio of interesting stars...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 15 March 2010]

There's really nothing too special about LIVING ON VELVET to distinguish it from many other Warner melodramas of the '30s. The trio of stars--GEORGE BRENT, KAY FRANCIS and WARREN WILLIAM--are suitably cast in the leads and the script moves along at a brisk pace to tell the story of an adventurer (Brent) and a society woman (Francis) who fall in love but can't seem to save their failing marriage until he nearly loses his life in an accident. The plot is really as simple as that.

It's performed capably by the three stars with Warren Williams given little to do except to stand on the sidelines while Brent and Francis fall in love. Director Frank Borzage keeps the story moving swiftly after the first meeting of Kay Francis and George Brent at a party wherein they fall instantly in love. Nothing much happens except that their romance loses its luster when she decides to walk out on him, but soon returns for the happy ending.

It passes the time pleasantly, but don't expect too much. It's typical Warner Bros. romantic fare for Miss Francis and that's about it.

living on velvet

[mossgrymk · 6/10 · 24 January 2022]

Director Frank Borzage goes out of his romantic comfort zone where a pair of lovers is trying to survive in a dangerous, shattered world. Here the emotional damage is in the relationship itself as the husband is suffering from PTSD arising from survivor's guilt. And in dealing with this decidedly unromantic situation Borzage's dreaminess and airiness of tone just seems all wrong. Not only is it stupidly sexist in its eschewing all medical help...psychiatry was certainly available to affluent couples in 1935...and insisting on the wife's sole responsibility to effect the healing, but it seems to trivialize the very real horrors of this particular mental illness as George Brent goes through the first three fourths of the film with insouciant charm and a never ending line of banter that we're supposed to find, as Kay Francis playing his wife does, delightfully eccentric rather than disturbingly delusional. And when Francis finally leaves him and he suddenly, magically, and most unconvincingly decides to pull himself together and declare himself cured we're supposed to buy it 'cause the couple is sitting in a snowstorm, all snuggly, while the snowflakes and the annoyingly mushy score swirls around them. And you just want to grab Borzage by his sentimental shoulders and order him to watch some Cukor or Sirk to properly restore his balance of light to darkness. Give it a C plus.

PS...I'm guessing this is the first film to even hint at global warming even though they erroneously blame it on the gulf stream.

Passionate & Moving Borzage Melodrama

[Kalaman · 4 August 2003]

"Living on Velvet" is a passionate, though slightly incoherent Borzage melodrama starring Kay Francis and George Brent. I'm a fan of director Borzage and the always wavishing Kay Fwancis (she had trouble pronouncing the Rs), so I was very eager to see this one. I happened to watch "Living on Velvet" the other night together with another Borzage love story with Francis & Brent called "Stranded", also made in 1935 for Warner Brothers. Of the two films, "Living on Velvet" is the best and most uncompromising illustration of Borzage's lifelong preoccupation with spirituality and humanity. Francis is wonderful in the role of Amy Prentiss, the passionate, devoted wife of Terry Parker (Brent), a rather reckless pilot who miraculously survived a plane crash with his family. The most romantic & unforgettable moment is of course the scene in which Terry meets Amy, seriously looking each other for the first time, their charging eyes never even blinking. The scene is one of Borzage's greatest achievements. It illustrates his genuine commitment to his material; the couple is looking at love itself, something concrete and tangible. Our involvement and identification are heightened through the emotional intensity of the couple's passion. The capable supporting players include Warren William as Gibraltar, Terry's best friend, and Helen Lowell as Aunt Martha.

Relic

[mikenmarydusold · 6/10 · 15 March 2024]

At it's core, this is just a typical parlor drama of the thirties. All of the voyeuristic fantasy of the wealthy classes is on display for the masses. Largesse and a total lack of want or fear of it, pervades the film from start to finish. Even the disasters revolve around the objects of the very rich; personal airplanes, big automobiles, etc. George Brent plays George Brent and does it well. Kaye Francis emotes all over the place but does manage to come off as self deprecating with a wink, wink scene in which she makes fun of her famous speech impediment. Warren Williams spends much of the film, wearing a hang dog expression as the unrequited beau of Francis and Brent's noble pal. Combined with an illogical plot and eye rolling dialogue 'Velvet' is another great depression, studio artifact notable for only the curious, era psychology of it's target audience.

It's a nice try, but somehow, this is more sponge than velvet.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 16 August 2018]

The focus is on George Brent for once, not leading lady Kay Francis, in this drama about a troubled amateur pilot who accidentally kills his sister and parents when flying in the fog with a low tank of gas. So what do you do when you kill off your family, lose your pilot license and really have no other goal in life than to party your life away? Look for a rich socialite to support you! That would appear to be the case in Brent's sudden flirtation and marriage to the well dressed Francis who falls in love with his non-conformist ways from the start, even allowing him to laugh at her charming speech impediment as she recites "30 days has September", pronouncing April as "Apwil". You have to give Ms. Francis credit for allowing the script writer to include this "wefewance" to her inability to really pronounce any word with the letter "r", and the scene is more than just a cute passing reference to the well publicized deficient in her speech. They marry and are soon living in the country, against the advice of Francis's well-meaning but interfering aunt (Helen Lowell).

Better known for her glamorous wardrobe more than for her slight lisp, Francis actually goes from gowns to house dresses, shockingly shown cleaning cupboards as Brent prepares to go grocery shopping. Of course, he comes back with only half of what is on the list, which is supposed to be an indication to her that he is not very responsible. To think that she gently dumped his friend Warren William (her co-star from "Dr. Monica") for Brent is unbelievable, and when she reveals that she had hoped to change him by marrying him, you know she's asking for heartache. A man like Brent's character can't be easily manipulated, and even if her intentions seem good (starting by aiding him in getting over his suppressed guilt), he's sort of like Holly Golightly from "Breakfast at Tiffany's" to where he does wacky things just to act like he's living, even though he's only living an obvious imitation of life. One scene after a break-up has Francis laughing heartily simply just for the point of laughing to hide her pain, and it seems rather false. In fact, this being a woman's picture told from a man's angle makes this seem rather forced from the beginning, even though Brent and Francis are a good team. It's odd to see Warren William on the sidelines in this, although he does provide the wisdom in their circle of friends, making him the guiding light in the solving of the issues that Francis's character wanted to become.

Good actors in a very bad movie....and a horrible message for the audience!

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 19 April 2010]

Wow...talk about a ROTTEN pilot. The film begins with George Brent flying his sister, mother and father some place. However, the plane runs out of fuel. Now this is really a bad scene, as instead of just gliding down as any SANE pilot would do in a case like this, the plane inexplicably goes into a spin(!) and crashes into the ground. No sane pilot can be this bad but the film expects the audience to accept that it was just a mistake! What a sloppy setup.

Following the crash, Brent goes through a period of a few years where he is aimless reckless. He travels the world--nearly getting killed or landing in jail repeatedly. Eventually he ends up back in the US and you see him buzzing a squadron of military planes--something that the film said was not against the law--though it clearly was and would have resulted at least in his pilots license being suspended or revoked! IT seemed odd that the deaths of his family caused him to become a jerk and not a morbid and brooding character. What a sloppy follow-up to the crash.

After the US Air Corps incident, an old friend (Warren William) takes Brent under his wing--and introduces him to his society friends. Why introduce this nut-job to these folks is a bit beyond me! When Brent meets the woman William plans on marrying (Kay Francis), Francis almost immediately falls in love with Brent and they marry. While the idea of a smart and well-educated lady marrying a definite 'fixer upper' is silly, it does happen in real life. But, William magnanimously stepping aside good naturedly when this occurred is sloppy and tough to believe. It's a shame to see such a usually confident and good actor like William playing such a mushy wuss.

Fortunately, while none of the film particularly made sense or was believable so far, at least the marriage went as you might expect in the real world. Brent continues to be incredibly irresponsible--having an aversion to work. At first, Francis is very long-suffering--but over time, Brent's attitude and actions take a toll on the marriage. She is incredibly co-dependent and always blames herself from not being able to change her loopy husband. And, even after they split up, the film seems to take the Tammy Wynette approach to life..."Stand By Your Man"....regardless!!! In other words, if you love an irresponsible man ENOUGH, things will magically work! What idiots!! What drivel!! Overall, this film is a great case of very good actors in a poorly written film. The characters rarely behave in a realistic or believable manner and it got boring watching them behave so stupidly. Brent, Francis and William were frankly ill-suited to such a crappy film that looks more like an insignificant B-movie than a film starring some of the top actors of the day. While I would watch anything these actors would appear in because I like them so much, most viewers won't be so charitable. And, since life is so short, why waste it with a film that had no right to be this bad.

By the way, the worst line in the movie has to be "Poor devil...flying in the fog" as Brent looks out the window as a plane passes overhead. Talk about subtle!!!

Unbelievably BAD for a Kay Francis-George Brent movie!!!

[fairweatherfan · 4/10 · 17 April 2019]

Well, I have to start by saying that my hubby and I only watched maybe one-third of this movie before turning it off and switching to another TCM recording - and we are both bigtime George Brent and Kay Francis fans, especially when they are together! Kay looked lovely (in her lovely gowns), and George was charming (and I've always liked Warren William) but the plot was TOTALLY UNBELIEVABLE! This is one of those films where you really have to "suspend disbelief."

Superior Soaper

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 27 August 2003]

A young wife tries to bring her improvident husband's head out of the clouds before his dreaming spoils their relationship.

What might have been a mere soap opera in other circumstances, here, thanks to high production values & a literate script, comes across as a fine, thoughtful drama. Most especially, however, the film owes a great deal to the trio of excellent performances which raise it above the ordinary.

Kay Francis, crisply articulate, coolly sensual, plays the wife who wants to make a success of her marriage, but is afraid her husband will never come down to reality. George Brent, playfully sophisticated, is the pilot fleeing a terrible personal tragedy, feeling he has cheated death and life from henceforth is mere LIVING ON VELVET. Warren William takes what is essentially a supporting role and turns it into something special. As the wealthy friend of Brent's who loves Miss Francis terribly, he assumes the role of benefactor for the couple, swallowing his own disappointments in an attempt to see them successfully established in marriage. Together, the three stars enact a story well worth watching.

Elderly Helen Lowell portrays Miss Francis' stern aunt. Samuel S. Hinds has the tiny role of Brent's doomed father. Slow-burning Edgar Kennedy helps to liven up a scene as an exasperated diner counterman.

Movie mavens will recognize chubby Harry Holman, uncredited, as a nervous bartender.

The brief & dangerous military air show flying sequence, early in the film, is especially well presented.

Is he worth it?

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 25 July 2019]

Kay Francis, George Brent, and Warren William star in this romantic love story directed by Frank Borzage. Living On Velvet is a typical tender romance that Borzage liked to direct. But he's done so much better with other films.

Warren William's character is too unreal. He and Kay Francis are an item until Brent appears in her life. Then William just steps aside and starts playing cupid. I don't see that in real life.

As for Brent he's a rich guy who likes to fly. That is until his parents and sister are killed in a crash that he walks away from. Then he becomes an irresponsible vagabond in need of a keeper. Francis decides to be said keeper. Why his salvation is so important we never do find out.

Living On Velvet has some plot similarities to another Borzage film Next Time We Love. It's sure not as good as The Mortal Storm or Three Comrades.

Nice, but not nearly as good as the aforementioned work.

C for Clarence

[dbdumonteil · 30 November 2008]

Coming just before " Stranded" , a movie dealing with the plight of people left out in the cold ," Living On Velvet" ,if there were any doubt about it,shows how much Frank Borzage was an auteur.His sympathy for suffering people was infinite and the things he tells us still reverberates today.

A man has lost all his family in a plane crash.So he is "living on velvet" now,playing the part of a faux bon vivant,incapable of "filling the void" .A man ("Gibraltar") will have to sacrifice his true love for a woman to give Clarence a reason to believe in life again.There are real saints in Borzage's work: Margaret Sullavan would do the same in " the shining hour" where she's willing to leave her husband she loves dearly so that two people will be happy.

Like this ? try these ......

"Phone Call from a stranger" (Jean Negulesco,1952) "Fearless" (Peter Weir,1993)

Unrealistic Plot and Theme that will cause Misery for Years to Come

[tr-83495 · 3/10 · 6 April 2019]

Here, again, we have very rich people, in the midst of the Depression throwing what money they have away, but always being saved by their rich and fancy friends. The butler can always come in another car and bring supplies if needed, Following a needless or deliberate plane crash, Kay Francis decides she will "change" George Brent. Here the movies start to shape American women's psyches. How much is absorbed we will never know, but to say that movies -- there were many more in this vein -- were not an influence in this regard would be a mockery to the inescapable truth. She will change him -- be damned, one way or another. In the movie, she can run off to her aunt and be safe and he never becomes violent. In real life, men do become worse and worse and women who try to "reform" them cannot run off to their rich aunts.

The message this movie sends out is atrocious -- but this was before psychological studies had shown, beyond a doubt, that this kind of behavior only led to increased erraticism and violence on the part of these coddled men.

Nevertheless, this film must be judged on its entirety and on this, it cannot be scored well. The performances are not all that believable, the actions Brent takes are not all that congruent with what is allowable, and the constant attachment to the very rich in the height of the great depression cheapens and weakens this movie.

Oddly enough this is one of my favorites from the 30's

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 29 January 2011]

I say "oddly" because I cannot nail down precisely why I like it so much. There's just something magical and Christmas-like - in a renewed hope kind of way - about this film.

I admit that I would find Terry Parker (George Brent) an unendurable jerk if it were not for the first scene showing the airplane wreck plus his one serious speech to his good friend and benefactor Gibraltar (Warren William) about why he is wrecking his own life with wild abandon. One act of carelessness - not being sure he had enough fuel when he piloted his family to an event - has resulted in all of their deaths while he walked away unharmed, and now he is being intentionally reckless and insuring that he will never be successful or happy. He feels he's living on borrowed time and he wants to be sure he can't pay back the loan.

However, he can't help but reach for some bit of happiness when he meets Amy (Kay Francis) at a party. The two run out on the party, have a grand night together strolling through the park, riding in a carriage, and dunking donuts at dawn in a dingy diner. Then Terry learns that Amy is "Gibraltar's Amy" - the girl that his only true friend in the world loves and just told him about the day before. He won't betray that friendship, so in spite of Amy's pleas that the feeling is not mutual between herself and Gibralter, he refuses to see her any more and goes on a bender to try to get her out of his system. Uncharacteristic for almost any role Warren William ever played, he selflessly finds Terry, sobers him up, brings him back to Amy, and steps out of the way so that Terry and Amy can be together. Amy and Terry are immediately married, and Gibraltar lets them lease a lovely vacant house he owns on Long Island for only 4.50 a month.

The two are fabulously happy at first, but then Terry starts in with his passive aggressive destruction of their marriage. He just can't let himself be happy. The whole thing ends rather abruptly and rather unbelievably in the way that so many 30's Warner films did, but the final scene is sure to warm your heart.

What's great about this movie? It has a rather offbeat and unique premise even if word by word the dialogue is forgettable, Kay Francis and George Brent had amazing chemistry here as in all of their films, and there's that great romantic score playing through most of the film. I always thought that Warner's did these 30's high society dramas actually better than MGM, even though that was somewhat MGM's stock and trade, because Warner's knew to keep things moving and to the point rather than let things drag on as was the case in several similar films by MGM of that same era. Highly recommended.

Her noble suffering

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 13 August 2016]

For anyone who doesn't know what the title means, it's certainly spelled out in the picture's story. I won't give the whole thing away but I did find it interesting the way George Brent's character transfers his ideas of living on velvet on to his wife, played by Kay Francis. They both suffer a lot in this film, but since this is a melodrama geared for female audiences, her torment is designed to be a lot more noble than his. Warren William, billed over Brent, appears as the couple's best friend, in more of a supporting role; he probably suffers too but his reduced screen time doesn't allow us to glimpse his particular turmoil and neurosis. Tearjerking aside, I found the performances to be sincerely played, and the woman (Helen Lowell) cast as Kay's impatient aunt was particularly good. Some of the denouement didn't make sense in the last few minutes, because a character who was supposed to die was suddenly allowed to live (per Jack Warner's wishes). Even if said character had died, I am not too sure how it would have reinforced a point the writers were trying to make. Maybe it was all supposed to lead to a realization that pain and suffering can be erased somehow, once you stop living on velvet.

Loafing On Borrowed Time

[boblipton · 8/10 · 18 March 2024]

George Brent is flying his parents and sister when the plane crashed. He survives. Some time later, he's at a party thrown by his friend Warren William. William's fiancee, Kay Francis and he instantly connect.

I enjoyed this movie immensely, but in the end it's one of those movies that make no sense. Why is William so fond of Brent that he gives up his fiancee and helps them out? Is Miss Francis' willingness to leave Brent because she can do him no good, but willing to run back at all understandable? Perhaps if we remembe this is a Frank Borzage movie, and there something mystical about love for and between broken people. It still seems as if there is a lot left out that should be there.

Still, there are some marvelous moments, like Miss Francis' reaction when Brent says "Get your hat" that make this worth watching.