Faithless

Faithless is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic drama film about a spoiled socialite who learns a sharp lesson when she loses all her money during the Great Depression. The film stars Tallulah Bankhead and Robert Montgomery and is based on Mildred Cram's novel Tinfoil, which was the film's working title. Plot Spoiled New York socialite Carol Morgan (Bankhead), romping through the Depression with her lavish lifestyle, breaks off her engagement with Bill Wade (Montgomery) over her refusal to live on his comparatively modest salary rather than her own wealth. To make matters worse, she expresses scorn for his career as an advertising executive. An unplanned sexual encounter seems to resolve their differences until Carol refuses Bill's offer for an expedited wedding at city hall, and again they are unable to come to terms. The impasse ends with Bill leaving her at her opulent home. Later, when Carol's lawyer and financial manager inform her that she has lost everything, she tentatively reconciles with Bill only to learn from him that he has lost his job the same day. He then informs her that he is going to Chicago with hopes of finding another position there. Further arguments about living together on whatever "meager" income Bill can earn dashes their wedding hopes once again. Disgusted by Carol's pampered personality and lifestyle needs, Bill's younger brother Tony tells her she is a "useless good-for-nothing". To his brother, Tony denounces her as a "courtesan" and predicts, “She’ll end up in the street.” The forgiving and tolerant Bill responds that she is a good person who just does not know it yet. Carol now finds herself reduced to living off wealthy social climbers she visits and borrowing money from them, but soon the prestige formerly associated with her name dissipates. She then becomes the mistress of Peter Blainey (Hugh Herbert), whose wife had tried to evict her as a disgraced house guest, thus fulfilling part of Tony's cynical prediction. Bill eventually traces Carol to an elegant apartment, one paid for by Blainey. There he finds her with her rich but brutish benefactor. Feeling disgusted with herself after Bill departs, she ends her relationship with Blainey and leaves the apartment, telling him that if she cannot win Bill's forgiveness, she hopes to at least "square it with myself".