The greatest love on earth grows between a long ago missing father and his longing daughter. Jean Arthur made me persuade myself of this, by her strongly convincing Sandy embodiment in RKO’s Whirlpool. A melancholically heartfelt drama, with a rather delicate role for the leading actress. It might have turned out too mushy, but Miss Arthur plays her difficult role earthy and convincing, totally overshadowing her leading man Jack Holt. Yes, she has been underrated for many years.
Holt plays a common crook, who ends up in jail, just after his young wife got pregnant. Since she’s ready to wait twenty long years for him, he fakes his suicide, by sending to her a death note as assistant in the jail’s office. After his release he is able to make a lot of money as important man of the underworld. One day he even attracts attention of the press, so reporter Sandy (Jean Arthur) shows up in his club. Sandy instantly recognizes her father by old photography. From now on they meet daily, to live a touchingly deep father-and-daughter relationship.
Sandy’s stepfather, a well-known judge, and her fiancé, begin to mistrust her. But Sandy and her father want to keep secretly, that her mother is actually married to two men, in order to avoid a scandal. Moreover the selflessly loving father and (ex-)husband offends a gang of killers, by not appearing as their fake alibi, to stay out of press. Thus slowly the sling is tightening around a wonderfully platonic love story — naturally love between father and daughter. Love, free of all vanity, egoism and greed — just pure love, true and unselfish.
I had seen this marvelous picture countless times, since its release in May, but couldn’t win my editor. Now his boss has seen Whirlpool somewhere outside New York and suddenly we all adore Jean Arthur!
Did I ever say anything about quitting? …. I can’t remember.
Clarissa Smith — September 12, 1934
Link: Read more about “Whirlpool” ….
