Sally, Irene and Mary on AllMovie

Based on a musical comedy by Edward Dowling, this picture was Joan Crawford's breakthrough film. Her Charleston in this and other films would be defining moments for the 1920s. The worldly Sally (Constance Bennett), dreamy Irene (Crawford), and naïve Mary (Sally O'Neill) are friends who have risen up from New York's Lower East Side to become Broadway chorus girls. Sally's wealthy lover, Marcus Morton (Henry Kolker), falls for innocent Mary, and Irene, even though a decent man expresses his love for her, falls prey to one of Broadway's wolves. The man, however, has a change of heart, and sends Irene back home. She marries the right guy, but they are killed in an auto accident. Mary is shocked by Irene's death, and realizes that Morton symbolizes a world that does not really suit her. As a result, she settles down with Jimmy Dugan (William Haines), her childhood sweetheart, who has become a plumber.