Norma Shearer stars in 'A Free Soul,' a 1931 breakthrough film about women's sexuality
Shearer, Norma (A Free Soul - 1931). Lionel Barrymore and Norma Shearer. Actors Lionel Barrymore & Norma Shearer star in "A Free Soul."
This might be hard to appreciate from a 21st century perspective, but as late as the 1990s, a woman in a movie was rarely allowed to have sex with a guy for purely carnal reasons, unless she was evil or crazy. So this 90-year-old film, made before censorship, in which Norma Shearer sees Clark Gable and decides, "Oh, yes, I like him," was not only ahead of its own time. It was ahead of its time for almost the next 70 years.
Shearer stars as a San Francisco socialite who falls in love with a gangster, in a film that was regarded as a breakthrough in its depiction of a woman's sexuality, and it was. (The almost see-through dress she wears in one scene incited particular comment.)
All these years later, some parts creak, but it remains, in its own way, modern, and aspects will resonate even today.
"A Free Soul": Rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video.