Movie Review: Behind Office Doors (1931)

Synopsis: Mary Linden, a receptionist at a paper milling company, is secretly in love with salesman James Duneen. When her boss, John Ritter, is forced to retire for health reasons, she uses her influence to help Duneen earn a promotion to company president and stays by his side as his indispensable private secretary. However, despite everything she does for him, Duneen doesn't share her romantic feelings and even forces her to hire one of his lovers as her assistant. Things come to a head when Duneen becomes engaged to Ritter's daughter and his jealous fiancée forces Mary to quit.

Who's in it? The movie stars Mary Astor, Robert Ames, Ricardo Cortez, Catherine Dale Owen and Kitty Kelly.

Review: I added Behind Office Doors to my library after reading a Mary Astor biography and deciding I should try to watch more of her films. Based on the description, I wasn't sure if it was a movie I would enjoy and, after watching the first few minutes this morning, was still uncertain. However, it turned out to be an interesting movie.

Mary (Astor) is an intriguing character. She is hard working, has a strong business acumen that arguably is the reason the company is so successful and attractive to boot. Her obsession with Duneen (Ames) honestly seems out of character for her, especially since he's kind of a jerk throughout the movie. 

In fact, I'd argue one of the most unbelievable things about this film is the fact her only other suitor is a still married (and living off his wife's money) playboy, Ronnie (Cortez). You'd think she'd had guys lined up outside her door, even if she wasn't as promiscuous as the other women.

She is the reason this movie turned out to be more interesting than expected. I wasn't sure if it was going to be one of those films where she would realize Duneen is not a good guy, leave him and find someone better or if it would be a film where he finally realizes he can't survive without her and change his ways for her (and, frankly, I'm still not convinced the latter was even possible).

Of course, I think the biggest tragedy with this film is she was never once considered for a promotion to vice president or even president considering everything she did for the company. Had this movie been made in a different era, I think that would have been a much more interesting story to pursue. You could still have the love story angle but with her being in love with a guy who, based solely on his gender, got a job she should have gotten.

Final Opinion: I wish Mary would have been a bit more ambitious and not just work so hard in an attempt to get the attention of a guy who didn't deserve her. However, it is still an interesting movie that wasn't as predictable as I thought it would be and one I would recommend.

My Grade: B+

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Here are some reviews of other movies with Ricardo Cortez:

Movie Review: The Walking Dead (1936)

Movie Review: The Case of the Black Cat (1936)

Movie Review: The Phantom in the House (1929)

Movie Review: The Phantom of Crestwood (1932)