Before she was Mildred Pierce, Joan Crawford played the role of Sadie Thompson based on Somerset Maugham's story entitled Rain. She is a prostitute or too loose with the men especially the sailors. When she and others are stranded on Pago Pago in the Samoa, they have to stay there before they can go anywhere else. Walter Huston plays a devout religious hypocritical merciless minister who tries to steer Sadie in the right direction. Anybody else could have made Sadie either laughable or one-dimensional, Crawford shows her talent in keeping us to like and dislike her character. Crawford's first and final appearance is simply impressive. You can't take your eyes off her. She wants to be the star of the film and she is because she has the talent in order to succeed and she does to legendary status. Crawford's knack for being comical, cruel, vulnerable all at once in this role. Beulah Bondi has a supporting role. For one of the first films in the early thirties, it's an entertaining film.