Free, Blonde and 21 (1940)

"Free, Blonde and 21" is a B-movie from Twentieth Century-Fox. In some cases, B-movies are enjoyable and well made, however this film suffers from a problem inherent in many Bs...it lacks subtlety. The problem results from a short running time of only about an hour...and it's hard to be deliberately paced when you rush through the plot like this. Worth seeing and interesting...but it could have been so much better.

The story is set at a women's hotel. The main focus is on two very different women, Carol (Lynn Bari) and Jerry (Mary Beth Hughes). Carol is a nice lady. Jerry, on the other hand, is very superficial, uses people and craves excitement...even if it ultimately is sabotaging. They both are dating successful surgeons but while Carol has a healthy relationship, Jerry uses her man and ends up getting involved with the wrong sort of guy. And, when things get ugly, Jerry tries to lie her way out of it. Clearly Jerry learns nothing from her mistakes.

If it sounds as if the plot is a bit preachy, it come off this way. Again, the length of the movie forces it to develop too quickly and ultimately it becomes predictable as a result. Worth seeing...but ultimately just a time-passer that could have been better.