When you see this film, it soon becomes obvious that this is a so-called "Pre-Code" movie--one made before the strengthened Production Code was enforced later in 1934. This new code was enacted because of rampant sex, violence and crudities in films up until that time. The new code made films more boring in some ways, but they also made the films a lot more family-friendly--and this was needed. Examples of some of the excesses before this time were nudity in Biblical epics (such as in the original BEN HUR) and kids' films (one of the Tarzan films has a 2 minute long nude swimming scene).
So what is so Pre-Code about this film? Well, it begins with sweet Loretta Young playing a high-priced prostitute! She has an illegitimate child who is an amoral terror and Loretta lets him drink, skip school and run wild. On one of the kid's "adventures", he swings from the back of a truck into the path of a dairy truck. Mom convinces the kid to lie about the accident and claims he's badly injured. However, in court the dairy brings out film of the kid taken after the accident of him romping about with no evidence of the "serious injury". As a result of this obvious perjury, the court sends the case to family court and the little juvenile delinquent is taken from his mom's custody. This is NOT a case of the evil social workers or courts--Loretta is bad and the child was raised horribly by his trampy mother. Loretta Young, the bastion of purity playing this sort of woman?! Yep.
Once the kid is in custody of the child protective services, Cary Grant (who owns the dairy) agrees to intervene and takes the kid home to raise him right. However, Loretta sees the kid as a possession and tries to steal the kid back--thinking nothing of the kid's welfare. Interestingly, the boy now has decided that he doesn't want to go back--maybe his mom is unfit. So, when this fails, she insinuates herself into Grant's home and stays a while--while she connives how to win at any cost. She is just bad....real bad...antisocial personality bad.
Loretta's shyster lawyer helps her come up with a scheme. Although Grant is married, she will claim that he forced himself on her--thereby blackmailing him into giving her both the kid and a boatload of cash. And, because Grant is such a nice guy, he is a serious risk to succumb to her evil wicked yechy ways! Will she win and destroy sweet Grant or will he wake up and face that she is a soul-less she-devil? Tune in for yourself to find out what happens next. Just remember that it's a Pre-Code film and in such a movie ANYTHING can happen and good doesn't necessarily triumph over evil. And, mothers like Loretta are portrayed as being capable of eating their young!!
Overall, it's a very fast-paced and enjoyable film that will most likely shock most audiences today because of its odd moral compass and less than likable characters. For lovers of Pre-Code films, it has plenty to shock you and offers quite a few odd surprises. The only serious negative is Grant's wife. She's just too ridiculously good to be real--no woman is THAT understanding without having a brain injury!! Plus, the changes you see in Loretta late in the film just aren't consistent with the type of character she'd been through most of the film. Still, it's entertaining and fun and worth a look.
"You're an ill-bred little tramp....You are a common little beast and I intend to tell you..." They just don't make dialog like this any more!!
So what is so Pre-Code about this film? Well, it begins with sweet Loretta Young playing a high-priced prostitute! She has an illegitimate child who is an amoral terror and Loretta lets him drink, skip school and run wild. On one of the kid's "adventures", he swings from the back of a truck into the path of a dairy truck. Mom convinces the kid to lie about the accident and claims he's badly injured. However, in court the dairy brings out film of the kid taken after the accident of him romping about with no evidence of the "serious injury". As a result of this obvious perjury, the court sends the case to family court and the little juvenile delinquent is taken from his mom's custody. This is NOT a case of the evil social workers or courts--Loretta is bad and the child was raised horribly by his trampy mother. Loretta Young, the bastion of purity playing this sort of woman?! Yep.
Once the kid is in custody of the child protective services, Cary Grant (who owns the dairy) agrees to intervene and takes the kid home to raise him right. However, Loretta sees the kid as a possession and tries to steal the kid back--thinking nothing of the kid's welfare. Interestingly, the boy now has decided that he doesn't want to go back--maybe his mom is unfit. So, when this fails, she insinuates herself into Grant's home and stays a while--while she connives how to win at any cost. She is just bad....real bad...antisocial personality bad.
Loretta's shyster lawyer helps her come up with a scheme. Although Grant is married, she will claim that he forced himself on her--thereby blackmailing him into giving her both the kid and a boatload of cash. And, because Grant is such a nice guy, he is a serious risk to succumb to her evil wicked yechy ways! Will she win and destroy sweet Grant or will he wake up and face that she is a soul-less she-devil? Tune in for yourself to find out what happens next. Just remember that it's a Pre-Code film and in such a movie ANYTHING can happen and good doesn't necessarily triumph over evil. And, mothers like Loretta are portrayed as being capable of eating their young!!
Overall, it's a very fast-paced and enjoyable film that will most likely shock most audiences today because of its odd moral compass and less than likable characters. For lovers of Pre-Code films, it has plenty to shock you and offers quite a few odd surprises. The only serious negative is Grant's wife. She's just too ridiculously good to be real--no woman is THAT understanding without having a brain injury!! Plus, the changes you see in Loretta late in the film just aren't consistent with the type of character she'd been through most of the film. Still, it's entertaining and fun and worth a look.
"You're an ill-bred little tramp....You are a common little beast and I intend to tell you..." They just don't make dialog like this any more!!