Directed by Jack Conway, The Easiest Way (1931) is a Pre-Code melodrama starring Constance Bennett, Adolphe Menjou, and Robert Montgomery. The story centers on Laura Murdock (Bennett), a young woman living in a cramped, poverty-stricken tenement with her working-class family. Desperate to escape her difficult circumstances and support her struggling relatives, Laura leaves her job as a department store clerk to work as a commercial model. Her captivating looks quickly catch the eye of her wealthy employer, agency head William Brockton (Menjou).
Attracted to the promise of luxury and financial security,
Laura becomes Brockton’s kept mistress, moving into a lavish apartment fully
funded by his wealth. While this arrangement elevates her social standing, it
strains her relationship with her family, especially her sister Peg (Anita
Page) and hard-working brother-in-law Nick (Clark Gable), who reject Laura for
compromising her morals. Despite the lavish gifts, Laura remains unfulfilled by
her loveless, dependent setup with Brockton.
Everything shifts when Laura travels to Colorado and meets
Jack Madison (Montgomery), a charming young journalist. The two fall deeply in
love, prompting Laura to abandon Brockton, return his expensive presents, and
seek honest employment at Macy’s while Jack takes a months-long assignment in
South America. However, left on her own, Laura faces severe financial hardship
and is unable to pay her mounting rent bills. Out of sheer desperation, she
turns back to Brockton, who agrees to support her again on the condition that
she tell Jack the truth about her situation.
When Jack unexpectedly returns from his trip, Brockton
reveals the truth of Laura’s return before she can elope with Jack. Devastated
by her broken promise of fidelity, Jack abandons her, leaving Laura
heartbroken. Rather than remaining with Brockton as his mistress, Laura walks
away from his fortune. She eventually returns to her sister and brother-in-law’s
humble home, where Nick comforts her and offers a faint glimmer of hope for
reconciliation with Jack once tempers cool.
 |
| Robert Montgomery and Constance Bennett |
Jack Conway (1886 – 1952) was an American film
director, producer, and actor who spent much of his prolific career as a
dependable contract director for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Born Hugh Ryan Conway in
Graceville, Minnesota, he began his entertainment career on the stage before
moving to early film acting in 1909 and joining D.W. Griffith’s stock company. Transitioning
behind the camera in the 1910s, Conway proved adept at managing large-scale
productions, top-tier studio talent, and slick commercial entertainment. Over
his long tenure at MGM, he directed classic films such as Viva Villa! (1934),
A Tale of Two Cities (1935), Libeled Lady (1936), and Boom
Town (1940). Conway retired from filmmaking in 1948 and passed away in
Pacific Palisades, California, in 1952.
Constance Campbell Bennett (1904 -1965) was a
prominent American stage, film, radio, and television actress who rose to
become one of Hollywood's top box-office draws during the late 1920s and 1930s.
Born in New York City into a prominent acting dynasty—the daughter of stage
star Richard Bennett—she made her initial mark in silent films before taking a
temporary hiatus from acting. Upon returning to Hollywood, her sophisticated
charm, glamour, and dramatic versatility made her the highest-paid actress in
the industry during the early 1930s. Best known for her performances in
Pre-Code dramas like The Easiest Way (1931) and What Price Hollywood?
(1932), as well as the hit fantasy comedy Topper (1937), Bennett
continued acting across various mediums throughout her life until her death
from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1965.
Adolphe Jean Menjou (1890 – 1963) was an acclaimed
American actor recognized for his suave, debonair persona, impeccable wardrobe,
and signature mustache, which established him as a quintessential symbol of
Hollywood sophistication. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Menjou transitioned
successfully from a prominent silent film career—highlighted by Charlie Chaplin’s
A Woman of Paris (1923)—into talkies as a versatile character actor and
leading man. He earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his role
in The Front Page (1931). He delivered memorable performances in
classics like Little Miss Marker (1934), A Star Is Born (1937),
and Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory (1957). Menjou remained active in
film and television for four decades until his death from hepatitis in Beverly
Hills, California, in 1963.
Robert Montgomery (1904–1981) was a versatile
American actor, director, and producer. After launching his career on the
Broadway stage, he was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he quickly
established himself as one of the studio's premier and most charismatic leading
men. Possessing exceptional artistic range, Montgomery transitioned
effortlessly between sophisticated romantic comedies and intense psychological
dramas. His acting prowess earned him two Academy Award nominations for Best
Actor: first for his chilling portrayal of a psychopathic Irish handyman in Night
Must Fall (1937), and later for his whimsical performance as a resurrected
boxer in the fantasy-comedy Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941). During his
banner years at MGM, he shared the screen with Hollywood’s most prestigious
female stars, including Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Ann Harding, and Greta
Garbo. Driven by strong civic duty prior to America's official entry into World
War II, Montgomery traveled to Europe to join the American Field Service,
driving ambulances during the Battle of France. Once the United States formally
entered the conflict, he enlisted in the United States Navy, serving with
distinction as a lieutenant commander. Following his wartime service, he
starred alongside Carole Lombard in Alfred Hitchcock's screwball comedy Mr.
& Mrs. Smith (1941), joined John Wayne in John Ford’s naval drama They
Were Expendable (1945), and directed as well as starred in two celebrated
film noir classics: Lady in the Lake (1947)—famous for its subjective
point-of-view camera style—and Ride the Pink Horse (1947). In the 1950s,
he successfully transitioned to television, hosting and producing the acclaimed
live anthology series Robert Montgomery Presents from 1950 to 1957. His
creative talents extended back to the theater as well; in 1955, he won a Tony
Award for Best Direction of a Play for staging the original Broadway production
of The Desperate Hours. He was also the father of acclaimed television
actress Elizabeth Montgomery.
Click HERE to watch the movie online.
Click HERE to join the online discussion on Monday, July 27,
2026, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation
with a link to join the discussion on Zoom.
The Easiest Way trivia
- Although Clark Gable played a minor supporting role as Nick, the laundry delivery man, his raw screen presence at test screenings stole the spotlight, sparking widespread studio and audience interest that helped propel him to major stardom at MGM.
- The movie was adapted from Eugene Walter’s controversial 1909 Broadway play of the same name, which had previously been filmed during the silent era in 1917 starring Clara Kimball Young.
- The story was initially considered for production at Columbia Pictures a few years earlier, but Hays Office censorship restrictions blocked the studio from making it before MGM ultimately secured the film's production.
- Constance Bennett made this picture under a test arrangement with MGM executive Louis B. Mayer, who wanted to gauge audience reaction to her before offering her another long-term studio contract.
 |
| Montgomery, Bennett, and Adolphe Monjou |
Discussion questions
- Does the film portray Laura’s choice to become a “kept woman” primarily as a moral failing or as a systemic necessity forced by financial desperation?
- How does the character of Nick reflect early 1931 Depression-era attitudes toward working-class pride and traditional moral boundaries compared to Laura’s pragmatic choices?
- In what ways does The Easiest Way showcase Pre-Code Hollywood themes through its direct depiction of non-marital relationships and financial dependency?
- Does the film’s open-ended conclusion offer a genuine sense of redemption for Laura, or does it serve as an inescapable punishment for violating social standards?
or 
, but in its day, audiences voted it one of the best films of the year, along with Hitchcock's classics 
and 
!
on January 20, 1941, it played to sold-old
audiences. In fact the first nine days were booked solid and the film was held over (it was something of a big deal to be held over at the Music Hall, back in the day). The reviews were almost unanamously good with Look magazine saying that "Hitchcock has employed the same strategy that marks his blood-chilling melodramas," utilizing the "same casual approach, the same pell-mell finish, the same corner-of-the eye viewpoint.... The net effect is the same, too: another Alfred Hitchcock hit." The New York World-Telegram said that "Portly Alfred Hitchcock abandons melodrama, but not entertainment, in the frisky, scampish, gleeful comedy called Mr. and Mrs. Smith." Other reviews positively noted that for an Englishman, Hitchcock seems to know exactly how American couples think (New York Herald Tribune). The New York Post compared Hitchcock's first comedy to those of Ernst Lubitsch!