The Purchase Price (1932)

A jaded nightclub singer (Barbara Stanwyck) is tired of the New York wild life and responds to an ad from a farmer (George Brent) in the wilds of Northwest Canada for a mail order bride. Based on the novel THE MUD LARK by Arthur Stringer and directed by William Wellman (TRACK OF THE CAT). This pre code vehicle is a showcase for the young Stanwyck. The unlikely scenario strains credibility but Stanwyck’s likable performance goes a long way in suspending disbelief. George Brent, normally the sophisticated leading man opposite Bette Davis, is surprisingly good as the awkward, unsophisticated backwoods yokel who sent away for the mail order bride. The contrast between their personalities and uncomfortableness of their relationship comprises the bulk of the film. With Lyle Talbot as Stanwyck’s racketeer lover, Hardie Albright as the society playboy who jilts her and Anne Shirley.