Without ever directly saying so, 1932's The Purchase Price sets itself up as a class-A movie about the status of women in society. The oddly structured script begins in New York. Nightclub singer Joan Gordon (Barbara Stanwyck) is sick of being the kept woman of the slick bootlegger Eddie Fields (Lyle Talbot), and skips to Chicago. When the mob tracks her down again, Joan journeys to the far west as a mail-order bride for the proud farmer Jim Gilson (George Brent). Jim misreads her signals and is too forceful on their painfully plain wedding night. Convinced that he's been had, Jim avoids his bride for weeks. Depressed wheat markets are pushing Jim into insolvency. A neighbor offers to help keep Gilson in the farming business -- if Joan comes over to the neighbor's ranch to cook meals and "take care of him". Adding to the confusion, Eddie shows up in this muddy backwater and expects Joan to forget her marriage and leave with him for the big city. Rarely has the "woman as chattel" theme been this clearly stated.

The Purchase Price is adapted from Arthur Stringer's play The Mud Lark, which may or may not share the same concerns. Joan sees many women hooking up with men for protection and security; she prefers to hope for a soul partner. The somewhat exaggerated hick conditions on the prairie don't shake Joan's resolve, but she has difficulty convincing Jim of her sincerity. The Great Land provides the winning connection, when Joan proves to Jim that she's willing to work the fields at his side. Despite an atypical performance from Barbara Stanwyk -- she's honest and uncomplicated -- this is probably the weakest picture in the bunch. Try picturing George Brent as a noble man of the plow, and you'll understand the problem.