Millie (1931)

Helen Twelvetrees is pretty good in this story of the eponymous young girl who falls passionately in love. When her husband "John" (James Hall) proves to be a bit of a rake, she loses the plot somewhat and gets herself a bit of a reputation. It's only many years later when she discovers that one of her less than scrupulous ex-beaux has his eye on her daughter "Connie" (Anita Louise) that she takes matters into her own hands - and that puts her before a court. The story is nothing new, and the production is still anchored in the silent movie style, but there is one scene - short, but potent, that illustrates how an elderly man - in this case "Damier" (John Halliday) engages in a kind of grooming that even now, makes my flesh creep. He tries to seduce the 17 year old girl with a Chinese silk coat as the "prize". I always reckon with films like this this that the "Code" really did the throttle the ability of American cinema to deal with subjects like this later on - the narratives lost their cutting edge and ability to handle gritty objects so effectively. This is a powerful story, well put together, and is well worth a watch.