Laughing Sinners
| Laughing Sinners | |
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Original film poster
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| Directed by | Harry Beaumont |
| Written by |
Play: Kenyon Nicholson Continuity: Bess Meredyth Dialogue: Martin Flavin Edith Fitzgerald |
| Based on | Torch Song |
| Starring |
Joan Crawford Neil Hamilton Clark Gable |
| Music by |
Charles H. Gabriel Martin Broones Ina D. Ogden |
| Cinematography | Charles Rosher |
| Edited by | George Hively |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
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Release date
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Running time
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72 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $338,000 |
| Box office | $765,000 |
Laughing Sinners is a 1931 American Pre-Code Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer feature film starring Joan Crawford and Clark Gable in a story about a cafe entertainer who experiences spiritual redemption. The dialogue by Martin Flavin was based upon the play, Torch Song by Kenyon Nicholson. The film was directed by Harry Beaumont. Laughing Sinners was the second of eight cinematic collaborations between Crawford and Gable.
Ivy Stevens (Joan Crawford) is a cafe entertainer in love with a shifty salesman (Neil Hamilton) who deserts her. In attempting to commit suicide, she is saved by Carl (Clark Gable), a Salvation Army officer. Encouraged by Carl, Ivy joins the Salvation Army. When her old flame re-enters her life, Ivy finds she is still attracted and begins another affair with him. Carl steps in and urges Ivy to resume her life with the Salvation Army. Ivy realizes that if she continues the affair, her life will only spiral downward. She drops the affair and resumes her commitment to the Salvation Army.
John Mack Brown was originally playing Gable's role when the studio decided to scrap his footage and reshoot the part with Gable taking Brown's place. At that point, Brown's distinguished career in mainstream feature films ended and he wound up demoted to cowboy B pictures, with his name changed to "Johnny Mack Brown."
Crawford and Rambeau, who both play chorus girls in Laughing Sinners, would go on to play mother and daughter in the film Torch Song in 1953. "Torch Song" is the name of the play on which Laughing Sinners is based.
A.D.S. commented in The New York Times, "Miss Crawford...has tempered the intense and not a little self-conscious quality of her acting without hurting her vibrant and breath-catching spirit."
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