Those We Love (1932) On DVD

Martial mistrust is at the heart of this pre-Code drama based on a play by Pulitzer Prize winner and seven-time Tony Award recipient George Abbott (Damn Yankees, The Pajama Game) and S.K. Lauren, and directed by Robert Florey (Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Beast With Five Fingers). Armistice Day 1918 will always be memorable for author Freddie Williston: that's the day his first novel was published and that he met May Ballard, the first person to buy it. What is literally a storybook romance turns into a warm and happy marriage, complete with son Rickie. But their union is compromised when predatory Valerie Parker lays eyes on Freddie during a weekend in which he's alone. Suspicion and doubt come to the fore as May and Freddie attempt to save their marriage, but the damage may already have been done.

Leading lady Mary Astor (1906-1987) surmounted considerable personal troubles to become one of Hollywood's most popular and durable actresses. Still a teenager, she starred in the silent classics Beau Brummel (1924) and Don Juan (1926), then found even greater success in the sound era with strong performances in Red Dust (1932), Dodsworth (1936), The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), Midnight (1939), The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Little Women (1949). She won the Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress for The Great Lie (1941). She retired from acting following her role in the star-studded Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), then embarked on a successful literary career that included two autobiographies and two novels.

A remarkably ambitious endeavor from low-budget World Wide Studios, THOSE WE LOVE was adapted by F. Hugh Herbert from a play by S.K. Lauren and George Abbott. Mary Astor stars as May, the doggedly devoted wife of struggling writer Fred (Kenneth McKenna). When Fred strays from his wedding vows to dally with temptress Valerie (Lilyan Tashman), May insists upon remaining loyal to her husband, if only for the sake of their son Ricky (Tommy Conlon). As it happens, it is young Ricky who confronts his dad with evidence of his indiscretion, forcing Fred to make a clean breast of things and beg May's forgiveness. Critics were warmly responsive to THOSE WE LOVE and were especially impressed by pinchpenny World Wide's willingness to spend a bit more than usual for the sake of a good picture.