Woman Chases Man 1937

B.J. Nolan, Charles Winninger is a veteran promoter with a habit of backing outlandish schemes, a pattern so well known that his wife left all her money to her son in her will. He tries to coax his millionaire son, Kenneth Nolan, into funding a flashy housing project called Nolan Heights. Kenneth declines, sensing the same reckless impulse behind the pitches he’s seen before.

Architect Virginia Travis, Miriam Hopkins, arrives at the sprawling mansion hoping to persuade B.J. to hire her, only to discover he’s broke and harried by process servers. After B.J. breaks the news, she faints from hunger, having gone without food for almost two days, and he takes her in to his mansion.

Seeing an opportunity, Virginia decides to use her charm to squeeze money from Kenneth, aided by B.J. and her married friends Judy and Hunk. Judy, Ella Logan, and Hunk, Broderick Crawford, pose as B.J.’s servants because he’s had to let the old staff go for lack of funds. Meanwhile, Kenneth returns from a cruise with his girlfriend Nina, Leona Maricle, and her secret lover Henri, Erik Rhodes.

Virginia’s initial scheme backfires at the bank when a proposed five-check bundle is rejected—any check over $1,000 requires Kenneth’s authorization, and he ends up signing the large sum unknowingly. Defeated, they retreat to regroup.

While all this unfolds, Nina plots to get Kenneth drunk so he’ll propose, and Virginia pursues a similar aim from a different angle. After a few drinks, Kenneth and Virginia discover they like the same things and begin kissing, prompting Virginia to rethink the plan. She collapses from drinking and is carried to her bed by Kenneth, with a furious Nina watching from the wings.

Back at home, B.J. presses ahead; Virginia regains her resolve and makes another push for the funds before Kenneth fully sobers up. Even as Virginia confesses much of the truth, Kenneth remains drawn to her, and the pair share a cautious moment of connection. In the end, Kenneth’s lingering feelings and the tangled scheme culminate in a surprising decision: he chooses to finance the project, and he embraces Virginia, leaving the future of Nolan Heights hanging on a fragile, if hopeful, thread.