Alice Adams 1935

In the mid-1930s, Alice Adams is the daughter of the Adams family. Her father Virgil Adams is an invalid who works as a clerk in a factory owned by Mr. Lamb, a man who has kept Adams on salary for years despite his illness. Her mother, Mrs. Adams, is embittered by her husband’s lack of ambition and by the snubs their poverty invites. Walter Adams is her older brother, a gambler who cannot hold a steady job.

Alice attends a dance given by the wealthy Mildred ‘Georgette’ Palmer. She has no date and is escorted to the event by Walter. A social climber like her mother, she engages in socially inappropriate behavior and conversations in an attempt to impress others. At the dance, Arthur Russell is charmed by her despite their poverty.

Alice’s father, [Mr. Adams], is pressured by his wife to quit his job and invest their savings in a glue factory. Mr. Lamb ostracizes Adams from society, convinced that Adams stole the glue formula from him. The town’s cruel gossip about Alice continues, though Russell ignores it.

Alice invites Russell to the Adams home for a fancy dinner. The pair, along with the entire family, put on airs while dressed in formal wear despite the hot summer night, pretending they regularly eat caviar and other luxurious foods. The dinner falls apart as Alice cannot sustain the lie, and she blames the supposed slovenliness of Malena Burns, the maid hired by the family, for the mishap. [Mr. Adams] unintentionally exposes the many lies she has told to Russell, leaving Alice humiliated.

When Walter Adams arrives with bad financial news, Alice gently asks Russell to leave, effectively ending the illusion and declaring that everything is ruined.

[Mr. Lamb] appears at the Adams house, accusing Adams of stealing the glue formula and vowing to ruin him by building a glue factory across the street. The argument grows heated, but the crisis is defused when Alice confesses that her parents took the formula so she could attain a better life and social standing. Lamb and Adams reconcile, and Lamb indicates he will not prosecute Walter.

Alice steps onto the porch, where Russell has waited, and he confesses his love for her despite the family’s troubles and poverty.