Montana Moon (1930)

Joan Crawford plays Joan Prescott, a flirtatious, spoiled and privileged New Yorker, with a habit of turning men’s heads.

Her sister ‘Lizzie’ pleads with her not to steal Jeff Pelham, the man she’s fallen for. Problem is, Jeff’s fallen for Joan.

So Joan hops off a train bound for her rich father’s Montana ranch and lands in the middle of no where.

She winds up at the campsite of Larry Kerrigan, a cowpoke who happens to work for her dad, and starts flirting as usual.

Only this time, she winds up married to the lad.

But it’s a turbulent relationship from the start. She can’t understand why he still wants to work after marrying into a rich family.

He can’t understand why she still wants to party the night away with her friends now that she’s married.

And while he’ll dress in a tux to make his new bride happy, he won’t stand by and continue to watch her dance and flirt with other men, though she seems to think nothing’s unusual about such behavior.

Joan Crawford as Joan ‘Montana’ Prescott, turning on the charm to snare Larry Kerrigan in Montana Moon (1930)

Johnny Mack Brown as Larry Kerrigan, admitting his infatuation with Joan Prescott in Montana Moon (1930)

Review:

Crawford is at her eye-batting best in this early talkie, that’s surprisingly risque at times. Ricardo Cortez plays the playboy who’d like to seduce her, married or not. Dorothy Sebastian plays “Lizzie,” Joan’s sister.

Cliff Edwards provides comic relief as Froggy, a cowpoke who finds his horse, Sam, easier to understand than the blond socialite he has his eyes on.

Crawford had become a star in silent films and survived the transition to talkies. Brown would star in “Billy the Kid” later the same year and remain a top Western star for about two decades.

Dorothy Sebastian as ‘Lizzie’ Prescott, introducing new boyfriend Jeff Pelham (Ricardo Cortez) to sister Joan in Montana Moon (1930)

Cliff Edwards as Froggy and Benny Rubin as his new friend Doc Bloom, hoping to meet some of Joan’s pretty socialite friends in Montana Moon (1930)z

Directed by:
Malcolm St. Clair

Cast:
Joan Crawford … Joan “Montana” Prescott
Johnny Mack Brown … Larry Kerrigan
Dorothy Sebastian … “Lizzie” Prescott
Ricardo Cortez … Jeff Pelham
Lloyd Ingraham … Mr. Prescott
Karl Dane … Hank
Cliff Edwards … Froggy
Benny Rubin … Bloom, the doctor

Runtime: 89 min.

Lloyd Ingraham as John Prescott, reacting to the news of his daughter’s impetuous marriage in Montana Moon (1930)

Johnny Mack Brown as Larry Kerrigan, upset that his new bride has stayed out all night and returned home drunk in Montana Moon (1930)

Memorable lines:

Larry Kerrigan, about his boss, Mr. Prescott, not realizing he’s talking to his daughter: “He’s got a pair of high-falutin’ daughters who ought to be hog-tied.”
Montana: “Oh, yeah, what’s wrong with them?”
Larry: “Well, I haven’t met them personally, but from all reports, they’re a pair of ornery little brats. I wish they belonged to me.”
Montana: “What would you do to them?”
Larry: “Why I’d turn them ends up across my knee and I’d play ‘Home, Sweet, Home’ on their southern exposures.”

Larry: “We’re different, Montana, me and you. As different as velvet and cactus.”
Montana: “Not so different. Just a boy and a girl.”

Larry: “I’m a’ saying I shouldn’t have gone an’ put a Western saddle on a New York thoroughbred.”

Lizzie: “Joan, it’s happened. It’s happened.”
Joan: “Calm yourself.”
Lizzie: “He did it. He did it.”
Joan: “Elizabeth Prescott, I’m ashamed of you. You naughty girl.”
Lizzie: “He kissed me. Jeff kissed me.”
Joan: “Is that all? Whew. I thought something worthwhile had happened to you.”

Joan Crawford as Joan ‘Montana’ Prescott, vowing not to steal another boyfriend from sister ‘Lizzie’ in Montana Moon (1930)

Joan Crawford as Joan ‘Montana’ Prescott, throwing herself into the arms of Larry Kerrigan (Johnny Mack Brown) after being frightened by a frog in Montana Moon (1930)