Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #80788 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-02-28
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 85 minutes

Customer Reviews

Disappointing
Millie (Helen Twelvetrees) is a young girl jumping into marriage with a man named John (James Hall). Despite her inhibitions, she puts all she has into their relationship and bears a child, but finds that John has been cheating on her. She drops him and soon moves on to Tommy (Robert Ames), a reporter who appears to be very devoted to her. Not the case, as pointed out by Millie's two best friends, lovers Helen (Lilyan Tashman) and Angie (Joan Blondell). Time goes on, and Millie's daughter Connie (Anita Louise) becomes a beautiful young teenager, who unsuspectingly draws glances from men old enough to be her father.

For a pre-code, this film is surprisingly dull. Yes Millie is a woman who has "loved" multiple men who have jilted her, and yes she knows men that try to take advantage of both jaded and naive women, but these things are staples of melodrama, a genre that transcended the production code. The most shocking thing here is the lesbian relationship between Blondell and Tashman, which is only mildly important to the story.

The Alpha version of Millie is exceptional.
The Alpha version of Millie is exceptional. The print quality is outstanding and far better than I expected. This is the old Pre-Code story about Mother Love with exceptional performances by Helen Twelvetrees, Joan Blondell, Lilyan Tashman, and John Halliday.

exceptional Pre-Code gem
MILLIE, produced by Radio Pictures Corp. in 1931, is a fascinating Pre-Code marvel starring lovely Helen Twelvetrees in the title role. Another reviewer has already outlined the plot, so there's no need for me to elaborate on that. Suffice to say, if you have a fondness for the movies of Pre-Code Hollywood, MILLIE will deliver a fun evening of entertainment.

Fans of Joan Blondell will love her early supporting role as one of Millie's wisecracking friends; she plays a woman involved in a thinly-veiled lesbian relationship with Lilyan Tashman (a real-life lesbian actress whose few movies are sadly lacking on DVD); she passed away six years after this film was released. MILLIE was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to depict a lesbian relationship.

Helen Twelvetrees is fascinating to watch in the title role. In lots of ways the story is incredibly predictable (and the final reel drags the plot into sickly sweet territory); but it all adds to the charm of the movie. MILLIE will be a great addition to any classic movie collection.

Alpha's DVD is one of the best I've seen from this budget company. The image is a little jittery but it's sharp and stable for the entire duration of the film. The soundtrack is clear and strong, too. Another incentive for checking out this fascinating example of Pre-Code cinema.