Joan Crawford and Spencer Tracy were paired in only one film, which they both graced with fine performances. The story combines the rags-to-riches prototypes of both stars; Crawford, under Frank Borzage's direction, injecting a rare tenderness into her portrayal of the proud woman who is married to a no-good guy and a go-nowhere existence. Tracy, the self-made millionaire who retains his homespun qualities, spots Crawford for a jewel and rescues her from her Hester Street milieu. Borzage pursues his familiar concern for an intensely romantic love that transcends circumstances--even the "gowns by Adrian" into which Crawford eventually slips with ease. His touch is particularly evident in the tenement scenes, which are recreated in realistic detail, yet lit with the same, other-worldly glow that made tin-pan alley in Borzage's 1933 A Man's Castle (also with Tracy) seem like honeymoon heaven.