dir. Edgar Selwyn
writ. Faith Baldwin (novel "Skyscraper"), C. Gardner Sullivan (adaptation), Elmer Harris (dialogue continuity)
feat. Warren William, Maureeen O'Sullivan, Gregory Ratoff, Anita Page, Verree Teasdale, Norman Foster, Jean Hersholt, Wallace Ford, Hedda Hopper
Warren William turns out another wonderfully venomous performance as David Dwight, captain of industry and lord of the manor at the Seacoast Building, towering over the nearby Empire State Building (in lovely matte shot). Naturally, the business suffers and his control is threatened, arousing the dominant worst aspects of his character, conniving to friends and partners alike to maintain his post at the top. Skyscraper is darker and more mean-spirited than the quite similar Employees' Entrance, the manipulative pursuit of success common to more of the characters than just William's.
Dwight's wife (Hopper) strolls in looking for her routine check, traveling money that keeps her well furnished while living on another continent, a setup that Dwight believe to be the best possible marriage, leaving him free to enjoy the added benefits of his private secretary while steering away form serious commitment to her. But above all, greed drives Dwight, wanting more at every turn whether power, money or women. Yet while his immorality may be simple enough, his techniques aren't always as such. When he first protects Lynn (O'Sullivan) from his amorous business associate (Foster), it appears that he's angling for her attentions when in fact he simply has bigger ideas, a seduce and conquer plan for his associate that involves another, better skilled woman.
Dwight is always two moves ahead, slickly defeating his opponents with nimble grace and twisted relish, arrogant and imperious in his tower in the sky. So it takes something beyond his calculations to challenge him, an insider uprising wrought by moral fire, his hubris ultimately his downfall.
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