This is a wonderful example of Classic Hollywood soap opera with the elegant Kay Francis giving a truly heartfelt performance. Kay appears (not too convincingly at first, but she gets much better as the movie goes along) as a young, naive English girl who becomes impregnated by a titled gentleman (Patrick Knowles). He, being the callow character he is, already has an invalid wife (beautifully played by Freida Inescourt) who cannot bear a child. Kay allows his aristocratic family "adopt" her baby and she runs off to America to forget. Being a classic weeper, she of course does not forget, even though she is married to George Brent (who really is pretty good here). Eventually, a faithful friend (Roland Young who enlivens the proceedings with needed humor) conspire to bring closure to her heartache by bring the real mother and "adopted mother" together for a tearful, yet satisfying, ending.
It plays a lot better on film than it does in print and I'm sure I am not doing it justice. All I know is that it is joyously irresistible and very moving. Kay Francis received a lot of mixed reviews for her performance at that time, but I think that she is splendid- truly an underrated actress from that period and worthy of watching!
It plays a lot better on film than it does in print and I'm sure I am not doing it justice. All I know is that it is joyously irresistible and very moving. Kay Francis received a lot of mixed reviews for her performance at that time, but I think that she is splendid- truly an underrated actress from that period and worthy of watching!