Norma Shearer

STRANGERS MAY KISS

MGM, 1931.  Directed by George Fitzmaurice.  Camera:  William Daniels.  With Norma Shearer, Robert Montgomery, Neil Hamilton, Marjorie Rambeau, Irene Rich, Hale Hamilton, Conchita Montenegro, Jed Prouty, Henry Armetta, Ray Milland.

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	Sepia version

Lisbeth Corbin, a secretary at Geneva Sterling's beauty shop, is in love with foreign correspondent Alan Harlow.  When Geneva suggests that Lisbeth marry her sweetheart, the young girl tells her that she does not believe in marriage and that she and Alan have agreed that they can be perfectly content as lovers.  Steve, Lisbeth's childhood sweetheart and an occasional tippler, vies for her attention and frequently asks her to marry him.

One evening, Lisbeth, Alan, her aunt Celia and others attend a nightclub, where Celia extolls the virtues of marriage and swears that after ten years of marriage to Andrew Corbin, she is still very much in love.  No sooner does she attest to her happiness, however, than her husband is spotted stepping out with another woman.  After the humiliated Celia confronts Andrew and his paramour, she is escorted home by Lisbeth and Alan.  Once they arrive at Celia's apartment, the distraught aunt asks to be left alone.  Lisbeth and Alan take the elevator down to the ground floor and arrive only moments after Celia has committed suicide by jumping out of her window.

Following the tragedy, Alan leaves Lisbeth.  When he returns to her, he explains that he left because Celia's suicide reminded him that women are prone to hysteria and that he did not ever want to hurt Lisbeth the way Celia's husband did.  Lisbeth dismisses Alan's reasoning and asserts that "nowadays girls can kiss and go on."

She then accompanies him to a remote village in Mexico for a romantic interlude.  The excursion ends abruptly, however, when Alan tells Lisbeth that he is married to another woman and will be leaving her behind to take an assignment in Rio de Janeiro.  Lisbeth begs to go with him, but Alan spurns her and calls their relationship a "bad mistake."  Heartbroken, Lisbeth goes to Europe, where she is soon courted by some of the continent's most eligible men.

One evening, Lisbeth happens upon Steve, who admits that he has been searching for her and that he still wants to marry her.  Lisbeth shows little interest in Steve and, that night, two years after their separation, she receives a telegram from Alan, who informs her that he has divorced his wife and now wants to see her again.  Lisbeth goes to Alan's hotel room, only to be spurned once again when Alan hears of her European affairs.  Though Steve promises to stop drinking if Lisbeth marries him, she rejects his kind offer and returns to New York.

Sometime later, Lisbeth and Alan meet again and, after Alan forgives her for dating other men in his absence, they resume their romance.

American Film Institute Catalog