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I would've considered this fantastic if it hadn't been for the last 10 seconds, really.
Let US be gay? Mrs. Bouccicault’s sway in local society makes her opposed to the match, yet she has a plan that could tilt the balance of control in the lives involved. Unbeknownst to him, she is the same ex-wife he'd neglected, now transformed into a fashionable socialite.
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The film begins with a dowdy housewife (Norma Shearer) finding out that her husband (Rod La Rocque) had been cheating on her.
Oddly, during this time, La Rocque did not see Shearer or his two kids as Shearer took them to Paris.
Marie Dressler is a rich society lady and she has invited a new and improved Norma to come to her house for the weekend--ostensibly to help Marie break up a budding romance between her daughter and La Rocque! Shearer and Dressler shine the most.
Unbeknownst to him, she is the same ex-wife he'd neglected, now transformed into a fashionable socialite.
Let Us be Gay is adapted from a stage play that was in production at the same time the film was in theaters. You won't believe your eyes.
Kitty Brown, Norma Shearer, is a devoted housewife who spends little time on her own appearance, prioritizing her husband’s comfort over any personal vanity.
For its time . Years later, she attends a party where her ex is pursuing another woman. Its production quality shows the strains of the first couple of years of the studios, even the big ones like MGM, in adapting to sound and other technical improvements in movies. She wears frumpy, self-made clothing and is sweet natured and jolly so naturally hubby Bob (Rod La Rocque) is stepping out with a flappish woman dripping in fur and jewels.
I watched this for Sally Eilers, who was good in her supporting role.
Rare, obnoxious form from Norma Shearer keeps this pre-code film, based on a Broadway play, from being the lighthearted parlor comedy that it wants to be. Years later, she attends a party where her ex is pursuing another woman. Bouccicault, "Towney, this is Mrs.
Cortland-Brown. This quiet dynamic sets the tone for a marriage built on care but strained by appearances, with Kitty’s warmth contrasting against Bob’s craving for a more polished image and a more traditional show of regard.
When Bob’s latest girlfriend enters their life, Kitty greets the situation with grace, choosing politeness over anger and pretending she has long known about the affair.
This isn't the one." Kitty Brown, "Oh! The film closes on the uncertain note of whether their renewed bond can withstand the tests of time, pride, and the moral weight of the past, while leaving the door open to a possible second chance built on a shared history and a tentative, fragile hope.
Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 11:28
Release Date - Aug 9, 1930 | Run Time - 79 min. | Countries - United States of America | MPAA Rating - TV-G
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Let Us Be Gay is a 1930 American pre-Code romantic comedy-drama film produced and distributed by MGM.
It was directed by Robert Z. Leonard and stars Norma Shearer. Kitty admits she does not want him either, bidding him farewell. You make the rest of us sound so good."
Towney Townley, "Kitty, you have the prettiest ears I ever saw. She reinvents herself as a freewheeling man-trap, but she takes on such affectation that she's more obnoxious than alluring.
She plays a dowdy housewife who leaves her husband after learning, in the most ruthless way, that he has been unfaithful. The plot is unique and good, and it has a different but nice ending for a Hollywood production even then. Several others are there for the weekend and immediately Norma is a hit with her gay, carefree sexy ways--and almost all the men (including La Rocque) are captivated by her.
The moment crystallizes the doubleness of their relationship: a man who longs to reclaim what he once had, and a woman who has learned to protect herself, even as old feelings threaten to overturn the fragile balance.
The mood shifts when Wallace arrives bearing a poem for Kitty, another reminder of the gulf between outward charm and inner truth.