This Is My Affair *** (1937, Robert Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck, Victor McLaglen, Brian Donlevy, Sidney Blackmer, John Carradine, Sig Ruman) – Classic Movie Review 10,908

This Is My Affair (1937) is a complicated, turn-of-the-last-century (early 20th century) costume crime caper with Robert Taylor as a Navy man called Lieutenant Richard L Perry going undercover to catch some crooks, the leaders of a group of well-connected men who pull off bank robberies during the McKinley administration.

But then he gets accused of being a robbery mastermind and looks set to hang until singing sweetheart Lil Duryea (Barbara Stanwyck) goes to US President William McKinley (Frank Conroy) to plead for mercy.

This Is My Affair (1937) is a polished and extremely well made real-life thriller with smooth performances and an atmosphere of tension and impending tragedy.

Taylor and Stanwyck turned film romance into the real thing and were married on 14 May 1939 (but divorced on 25 February 1952).

In the press book the studio prepared for the exhibitors, there were constant references to Stanwyck and Taylor as ‘real-life sweethearts’. But on May 26, 1937 a curious IMPORTANT NOTICE read: ‘In utilizing any of the press book materials you will please correct the copy, eliminating the words “real-life sweethearts.” (signed) Charles E McCarthy, Advertising Manager.

Stanwyck [Ruby Stevens] was nominated for four Academy Awards but never won.

The ultra-conservative Taylor [Spangler Arlington Brugh] became involved in 1947 as a friendly witness for the House Un-American Activities Committee investigating ‘Communist subversion’ in the film industry. He fnamed Howard Da Silva as a ‘disruptive force’ in the Screen Actors Guild, and the veteran actor was blacklisted by the studios for many years.

The opening credits list the names in picture frames with tree silhouettes in the background.

Also in the cast are Victor McLaglen, Brian Donlevy, Sidney Blackmer, John Carradine, Sig Ruman, Alan Dinehart, Douglas Fowley, Robert McWade, Frank Conroy, Marjorie Weaver, J C Nugent, Willard Robertson, and Tyler Brooke.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 10,908

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