LIVING ON VELVET

LIVING ON VELVET (1935). Director: Frank Borzage.

Terry Parker (George Brent) has never been the same since his parents and young sister were killed when a plane he was piloting ran out of gas and crashed, leaving him with barely a scratch and a lot of guilt. His friend Walter (Warren William) introduces him to Amy (Kay Francis), the woman he's in love with, and of course the two of them fall in love while Walter keeps a stiff upper lip and continues to befriend them. But Amy finds that Terry is still sort of living life alone and can't get through to him, endangering their marriage. Living on Velvet deals with some provocative and extremely painful situations but never with any depth or especial realism. Francis is excellent, William gives his usual professional performance, and Brent isn't bad, even though he's incapable of getting across his character's haunted nature. The script remains on a superficial soap opera level throughout.

Verdict: Not quite a waste of 90 minutes but almost. **.