Forbidden

(Frank Capra, US 1932, 87 min., 35mm)

Capra. Lulu (Barbara Stanwyck) is a young librarian who takes a romantic cruise to Cuba and meets a rising politician (Adolphe Menjou) with whom she begins an affair. Soon, a newspaper editor (Ralph Bellamy) in pursuit of the scoop on this salacious story falls for Lulu, too. Forbidden was billed as Stanwyck’s “greatest dramatic role,” and represents a wonderful example of young Frank Capra still shaping his storytelling talents before they fully exploded two years later with the immortal It Happened One Night.