Robert Montgomery

A 1930 American pre-Code romantic drama directed by Harry Beaumont, starring Joan Crawford, Robert Montgomery, Anita Page, and Dorothy Sebastian. Three small-town girls — Gerry (Crawford), Connie (Page), and Franky (Sebastian) — share an apartment in New York City while working at Jardine's Department Store, each seeking a wealthy husband. While Connie and Franky are reckless with their affections, Gerry is determined to remain practical, resisting the advances of the store owner's son Tony Jardine (Montgomery) even as she falls for him. The film was Crawford's first "shopgirl Cinderella" role, marking a transition from her flapper persona of the silent era to the more sophisticated image MGM would develop for her throughout the 1930s.

Drama · Romance

One of the first and most influential prison films. Kent Marlowe (Robert Montgomery), a young man convicted of manslaughter after a drunk-driving accident, is sent to an overcrowded prison and shares a cell with two hardened men: the violent career criminal Butch (Wallace Beery) and the more measured Morgan (Chester Morris), who tries to show the new man how to survive. George Hill directed from Frances Marion's screenplay, which was inspired by a spate of 1929 prison riots. The film's attention to the routines and terrors of prison life set the template for the genre, and its mess-hall riot sequence was widely imitated. Marion won the Academy Award for her screenplay and Douglas Shearer won the first Oscar for Sound. Published in 1930, the film entered the public domain in the United States on January 1, 2026.

Crime · Drama

A landmark pre-Code drama about marriage and infidelity, based on Ursula Parrott's 1929 novel Ex-Wife. Norma Shearer plays Jerry, a Manhattan advertising writer who, after learning of her husband Ted's (Chester Morris) affair, decides to even the score with a one-night stand of her own. When Ted cannot forgive her for what he himself committed, the marriage breaks apart and Jerry embarks on a series of affairs, taking what the film calls "a man's point of view." The film's frank treatment of the sexual double standard was controversial at the time, and Shearer won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the role. Published in 1930, the film entered the public domain in the United States on January 1, 2026.

Drama · Romance

A 1929 American pre-Code romantic drama directed by E. Mason Hopper, starring Norma Shearer, Belle Bennett, Lewis Stone, and Robert Montgomery. Lally Marlett (Shearer) is devastated when her father divorces her mother to marry another woman. While on vacation, she falls in love with Jack Cheever (Montgomery) — only to discover he is the son of her father's new wife. The film was adapted by Frances Marion from the novel by Sarita Fuller. Norma Shearer was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for this performance, but lost to herself for The Divorcee. It was the last MGM film released in the 1920s.

Drama · Romance

A 1929 American pre-Code romantic drama directed by Jack Conway, starring Joan Crawford, Robert Montgomery, and Ernest Torrence. Joan Crawford's first "talkie" follows Bingo Dowling (Crawford), a wild girl raised in the jungle tropics by her father. Upon his death, she inherits his oil fortune and is taken to New York by his friend Ben Murchison. En route, she falls for Andy McAllister (Montgomery), but Andy refuses to live on her fortune. Bingo schemes to ensure their future together. The film was released in both silent and sound versions during the transition to talkies.

Drama · Romance