Sorry, this movie sucks

Sadly Over-hyped

Powerful

The acting in this movie is really good.

"Skyscraper Souls" is a precode film, from 1932, starring Warren William, Maureen O'Sullivan, Verree Teesdale, Anita Page, Norman Foster, Gregory Ratoff, and Jean Hersholt.This is the "Grand Hotel" of an office building, centering on Warren William, who plays ruthless businessman David Dwight. Dwight owns a large Manhattan skyscraper, the Seacoast National Bank Building, possibly based on the Empire State Building - it's a deco building and the lobby looks very similar. The Empire State Building opened a year before this film went into production.Maureen O'Sullivan plays an attractive young woman who works in the building. Norman Foster is Tom, the fresh bank teller after her, but she's a little more ambitious than his income can provide at the moment. Dwight is married but fools around. O'Sullivan is Lynn Harding, who is a protégé of Dwight's secretary Sarah, who has worked for Dwight for years. She really is a mother figure to Lynn.Dwight becomes interested in Lynn, which turns Tom against her, though nothing has happened. She becomes angry that he doesn't trust her.Dwight, who will stop at nothing to get what he wants, destroys a lot of people in a stock manipulation so he can gain full control of the skyscraper. Due to Tom and Lynn fighting, Lynn now returns Dwight's interest in her. Sarah tries to stop it. Lots of sexual innuendo in this movie, and it leaves open the question of whether Lynn and Dwight got together. It seems that they did. She is ready to travel with him by ship. That's all I'll say about the ending.Good performances, with William just as cold as he could be, telling Verree Teasdale she had outlived her usefulness as his mistress because of her advanced age. She was 29. Quite dramatic and a good watch.

A number of Characters Ride the Elevators and Walk the Art-Deco Corridors and Inhabit various Offices in this deep Pre-Code Soaper from MGM before the Studio got Haughty and Prissy. It is Adultery and Greed at the Forefront of this one where the Emphasis is Divided between Making Money and Making Whoopee. It has Some Striking Moments from both angles. But the Film almost Collapses Under the Strain of a Grating and Irritating Love Affair between Maureen O' Sullivan and Norman Foster.Warren William typical Womanizer and general Cad is once again the Center of this Whirlwind of Womanizing, Drinking, Greed, and Generally it is a look at Humanity doing its Worst. O'Sullivan is so Giddy and Immature, She Changes Allegiances so Many Times and Ends Up with Little Sympathy Warranted. It must also be mentioned that the Skyscraper itself is a Character. Those Towering Monuments to Man's Ego and Virility were Truly a Marvel of Modern Times. In Fact William is in Love With His Building and that Fact is Given Many Words in a Number of Scenes.Overall, an Above Average Pre-Code Movie with distinctly Adult Themes, some Lingerie Shots, some Racy Dialog, Depression Era Behavior among the Upper and Middle Class, and is an Attractive Picture with the Buildings Interiors a Highlight.

This Depression-era melodrama from MGM in the '30s contains several strong performances and interesting plot elements that place it among the better "big business" stories that Hollywood loves to make about ethics and morality. It's a forerunner of other such films, such as "Executive Suite" but has even more bite despite some of the dated elements of the story.WARREN WILLIAM is convincing as the owner of the world's tallest building who will stoop to anything to keep control of his luxurious hi-rise, which includes a swanky bachelor pad for his affair with his personal assistant (VERREE TEASDALE).A subplot involves the affair between MAUREEN O'SULLIVAN and a man in hot pursuit (NORMAN FOSTER), a bank teller who has trouble keeping her to himself once she is noticed by the wealthy William. It's one of O'Sullivan's best early roles (before she became Tarzan's Jane), and she does extremely well in it except for the way she jabs away at the keyboard as an office typist, which is almost laughable.Several strands of plot are smoothly entwined and lead toward a very melodramatic ending involving Warren William and his mistress. HEDDA HOPPER pops in once in awhile as William's wife who is always looking for a handout so she can keep a villa in Italy.After a shocking conclusion, there's a bittersweet ending for O'Sullivan and Foster. His extroverted character is a bit annoying at times but he certainly is a lively presence during the proceedings.This is an undiscovered gem worth seeking out if you're a fan of stories about big business. It's a sort of "Grand Hotel" in its own way.

Story about a 100 story skyscraper in New York--David Dwight (Warren William) helped finance the building but is running out of money. He needs more and will do anything to get it. Other characters in the movie are Jenny (Anita Page) a model who openly sleeps with guys for money; sweet virginal Lynn (Maureen O'Sullivan); Tom (Norman Foster) who loves Lynn--but Dwight wants her too; Sarah Dennis (Verree Teasdale) who is Dwight's mistress and Myra (Helen Coburn) who loves her husband but he can't find work..and Slim (Wallace Ford) wants her.As you can see there are multiple story lines crisscrossing each other. The movie moves quick and is pre-Code meaning it was pretty open about adultery, sex, suicide and murder. Nothing TOO racy by today's standards (the TV rating is G) but pretty strong for 1932. The acting is good--William, O'Sullivan, Page and Teasdale come off best. No masterpiece of cinema but quick, fun and well worth searching out--TCM shows it occasionally. An 8.