The Strange Love of Molly Louvain

1932· 73 min★ 6.4· Crime, Drama

Abandoned by her mother at a young age, Molly Louvain is seen as no good, but she dreams of living respectably with her sweetheart Jimmy, who has promised to marry her. When Molly arrives at Jimmy's house to finally meet his mother she is informed that both Jimmy and his mother have been called out-of-town suddenly and that the dinner has been canceled. Heartbroken and carrying Jimmy's unborn child, Molly takes to the road with Nicky Grant, a small-time crook from her past. A couple years pass and she leaves her daughter in the care of another woman. One night Jimmy and his college pals visit the dance hall where Molly works as a hostess. Jimmy and Molly are happy to see one another and catch up on old times. Drunk and jealous, Nicky orders Molly and Jimmy into a car he has stolen. When the police spot the car, Nicky fires some shots and runs into an alley, hitting an officer before being wounded himself. Molly drives off in the car with Jimmy. With a cop dead, the entire city is on the lookout for the brunette mystery girl who drove the getaway car. Molly dyes her hair blonde and moves with Jimmy into an inconspicuous apartment to lay low. Their neighbor is Scotty Cornell, a streetwise newspaperman. Soon the police learn Molly's name and suspect her of being the brains behind Nicky's whole gang. Jimmy wants Molly to go away with him and get married, but Scotty counters with an offer to take her to Paris for some laughs. Molly is torn between her desire to at last be respectable with Jimmy and her attraction to Scotty, who may be more "her type". Meanwhile Scotty hatches a plan to catch the fugitive Ms. Louvain by broadcasting that her daughter is gravely ill. Molly turns herself in to the police in order to help her child, but finds it is only a ruse. Scotty is shocked to learn that the mystery woman he set the trap for is his own Molly. Touched by her maternal devotion, he recognizes that she is not the tramp he took her for and promises to drum up enough support in the press to keep her out of jail.

Cast: Ann Dvorak, Lee Tracy, Richard Cromwell, Guy Kibbee

Director: Michael Curtiz