Bette Davis

DANGEROUS

Warner Bros., 1935.  Directed by Alfred E. Green.  Camera:  Ernest Haller.  With Bette Davis, Franchot Tone, Margaret Lindsay, Alison Skipworth, John Eldredge, Dick Foran, Paulline Garon.

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Don Bellows, a prominent New York architect, is engaged to the beautiful and wealthy Gail Armitage, when he meets down-and-out Joyce Heath, who was once the most promising young actress on Broadway.  Don feels deeply indebted to Joyce because her performance as Juliet inspired him to become an architect.

While rehabilitating her, Don falls in love with the tempestuous actress.  Joyce warns him that she is a jinx, convinced that she destroys anything and anyone she touches.  Compelled to save her, Don breaks his engagement to Gail and risks his fortune to back the actress in a Broadway show.

Before opening night, he insists that they marry, but Joyce resists his proposal, hiding the fact that she is still married to Gordon Heath, an ineffectual but devoted man who was financially ruined by their marriage.

Joyce goes to Gordon and begs him for a divorce. When he refuses, she causes an automobile accident that cripples him for life.  Her own injuries keep her from opening the show, which fails. Don is ruined and, when he learns that Joyce has deceived him, he accuses her of being a completely selfish woman, her only true jinx.  Joyce briefly considers suicide, but eventually sees the truth in Don's accusation.

She re-opens the show and, although she truly loves Don, sends him away to marry Gail.  The show is a success and Joyce, now dedicated to a responsible life, goes to visit Gordon and salvage her marriage.

American Film Institute Catalog