Oh the suffering Sylvia Sidney goes through in this film version of the Theodore Dreisser novel, a followup for Sidney after the success of "An American Tragedy". A poor girl who has the illegitimate daughter of Edward Arnold (sleeping with him would be suffering enough), she becomes the mistress to wealthy Donald Cook, causing him to be disowned by his family. Sylvia, former maid to his family, is snubbed by society, although his old flame, Mary Astor, goes out of her way to be polite, simply to worm her way in and push Sidney out, aided by Cook's evil sister (Dorothy Libaire). H.B. Warner, as Sidney's domineering father, and Louise Carter, as her understanding mother, are among the supporting cast, with Cora Sue Collins as her young daughter and Gilda Storm taking over that part as she ages.
Sidney's dignified performance makes this one acceptable soap opera, not quite the same gem as any of the three versions of "Back Street" or as mesmerizing as "An American Tragedy", although Sidney does get to wear some lovely period costumes. It's the episodic, not really strong plot that fills this with holes, although it's the perfect example of a depression era pre-code women's film. The movie structure has it moving by as sort of a time-warp calendar, but the story only hits bits and pieces of the many details surrounding her story. Cook really doesn't provide any spark, and the gorgeous Astor is completely wasted in a part that could easily have been filled by any minor actress. Another bizarre aspect had the film taking place over 20 years and Sidney not aging a day until the last reel.
Sidney's dignified performance makes this one acceptable soap opera, not quite the same gem as any of the three versions of "Back Street" or as mesmerizing as "An American Tragedy", although Sidney does get to wear some lovely period costumes. It's the episodic, not really strong plot that fills this with holes, although it's the perfect example of a depression era pre-code women's film. The movie structure has it moving by as sort of a time-warp calendar, but the story only hits bits and pieces of the many details surrounding her story. Cook really doesn't provide any spark, and the gorgeous Astor is completely wasted in a part that could easily have been filled by any minor actress. Another bizarre aspect had the film taking place over 20 years and Sidney not aging a day until the last reel.