The Wiser Sex 1932

After prosecutor David Rolfe has arrested racketeer Benny Morgan, mobster Harry Evans orders his chauffeur Douglass Dumbrille to kill him, but the hit fails.

The next day, Margaret Hughes, David’s fiancée, leaves on a cruise with Jimmy O’Neill, her friendly suitor, warning David she will not marry a man who values work more than her.

David cannot give Margaret a proper bon voyage because he is trying to save his naïve young cousin, Phil Long, from the clutches of gold-digging moll Claire Foster, with whom David once had involvement.

When David warns Phil that Claire belongs to Evans, Phil takes David’s revolver with him to Claire’s hotel to confront her; Evans enters in his housecoat and Phil shoots him in the arm. They struggle and Phil is killed. When David arrives, Claire, acting on Evans’s orders, says Phil killed himself, then calls the police and frames David as the killer.

In court, David’s defense is greatly weakened by Claire’s acting ability, and she successfully seduces the all-male jury. Margaret returns for the trial and remarks that a jury of the “wiser sex” would see right through Claire’s histrionics. In order to gather evidence, Margaret goes undercover as blonde gold digger Ruby Kennedy and takes a room adjacent to Claire’s.

Through diamonds and liquor, Margaret befriends Claire and wheedles her into revealing more about the case. Jimmy and Margaret throw a party for Claire and Evans, and Evans makes several passes at Margaret. During the party, Evans’ cook, Robert Fischer, who helped him with his wound the morning of the murder, accidentally bumps Evans’ arm and Evans scolds him for calling attention to it.

The next day, Fritz is found dead, and Margaret now knows the missing bullet from David’s gun is lodged in Evans. Margaret then meets Evans for a rendezvous, while Jimmy tells Claire he has lost her to Evans. As Evans’ chauffeur identifies Margaret, Claire enters in a jealous rage and reveals Evans as Phil’s murderer.

Thanks to the sleuthing abilities of the “wiser sex,” David is released and marries Margaret.