Indiscreet (DVD)

Silent screen star Gloria Swanson "speaks" in ace director Leo McCarey's sharp and sophisticated pre-code romantic comedy, Indiscreet (also released as Careless Heart).

Swanson is Gerry Trent, an affluent dress-shop owner who specializes in designing very smart things for very smart ladies. Sick of her philandering boyfriend, wealthy playboy Jim Woodward (Monroe Owsley), she emancipates herself from his clutches on New Years Eve. Gerry's hiatus from romance is short-lived as she falls for writer Anthony Blake who's just penned the bestseller Obey Thy Impulse. The lovestruck couple do exactly that and soon find themselves engaged. Seeking retribution from being spurned, Jim secretly court's Gerry's little sister, Joan (Barbara Kent). When Jim and Joan announce their engagement, it comes as a complete and horrifying shock to Gerry and Joan's sweet but simple ex-boyfriend, Buster (Arthur Lake). Knowing Jim to be a complete cad, Gerry and Buster hilariously scheme to break up the match while attempting to keep her sordid past with Jim hidden from Anthony.

Co-photographed by Gregg Toland (Orson Welles' genius cinematographer of Citizen Kane), shot on opulent art deco sets and featuring beloved character actress Maude Eburne (The Bat Whispers, RKO's Dr. Christian films) as Gerry's nutty Aunt Kate, Indiscreet is an enchanting light comedy from the early 1930s.

• comedy