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This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Despite the dreadful title, I found myself watching this movie. Joan Crawford is okay. I don't find her that beautiful and the movie never really spells out what all the "hussy" business is about - she has friendships with a number of different men - big deal. However, the costumes and sets are well done and the cast includes many big stars who really know how to act.What I truly enjoyed was the extensive dialog concerning states' rights vs. federal government, preserving the union, etc. There was a surprising amount of serious discussion about serious issues - relevant then and relevant now.I much prefer Charlton Heston as Andrew Jackson in The Buccaneer. He seems much closer to the real Jackson than Lionel Barrymore (who makes a much better Ebenezer Scrooge in the A Christmas Carol audio recording than he does our 7th president).

Fictionalized historic soaper about Andrew Jackson's friendship and protection of a young woman named Peggy O'Neal. Lionel Barrymore plays Jackson and Joan Crawford plays Peggy. The rest of the cast is pretty impressive. Melvyn Douglas, James Stewart, Robert Taylor, Franchot Tone, Beulah Bondi, and Louis Calhern....not a bad lineup. Too bad the movie is boring. Andrew Jackson's wife dies and asks Peggy to look out for him. Thus she becomes the unofficial First Lady, despite not being married to or even romantically involved with the President. Peggy has a somewhat scandalous reputation of her own, which reminds Jackson of his wife, who suffered at the hands of Washington gossips. Worth seeing for Lionel Barrymore alone. But the rest of the cast being what it is warrants you check it out.

It's a story about Washington D.C. It's about dirty tricks, sleazy operatives, scurrilous personal attacks and lies. The 2012 presidential campaign? No, "The Gorgeous Hussy." Many people have noted that "The Gorgeous Hussy" is not historically accurate. This is true and at the beginning of the picture they call it "fiction"-drawn from real characters, but definitely fiction. What did you expect? It's MGM in 1936. There is a huge budget, lavish production values, beautiful costumes (male and female), top-notch acting and, of course, romance.The story centers around Peggy O'Neill, Joan Crawford, an innkeeper's daughter called "Pothouse Peg," for her politics and her men. The men are a list of Metro's best—Robert Taylor, Jimmy Stewart, Franchot Tone, Melvyn Douglas and Lionel Barrymore. Robert Taylor dominates the first quarter of the picture with his enormous energy, his playfulness, his rapport with Crawford and his skin-tight costume. Taylor even sings and dances.After Bow Timberlake's (Taylor's) heroic off screen death, things settle down. Andrew Jackson (Barrymore) dominates every scene he's in. Beulah Bondi, as Rachel Jackson, is equally good. She won an Oscar nomination for her role.Joan Crawford is usually criticized for appearing in an historical picture because she was too "modern." Here she handles her costumes beautifully, using her skirts to express a range of emotions. While her acting is fine, she is overwhelmed by the male contingent.Franchot Tone, Crawford's husband at the time, is quietly effective as her second husband John Eaton. Melvyn Douglas brings strength and intelligence to his role as Virginian John Randolph. Jimmy Stewart is wasted as Peg's failed suitor."The Gorgeous Hussy" is fun, sometimes moving and a reminder that political behavior wasn't all that different in the 1820s.

Fanciful, but silly biography of Peggy Eaton (Crawford), a controversial figure during the Andrew Jackson administration in the late 1820s, and her relationships with influential men of that era. Semi-fiction story is "gorgeous" to look at thanks to elegant period settings and costumes, not so much the performances or script.