Bette goes down Kay Francis territory in this 30's women's film, not getting a break from the men in her life (which are many), yet finding sympathy in the oddest places-her men's wives.
She is the widow of a gangster and is being followed around by a reporter out for a scoop on "Where are yesterday's gangsters?". Now working for a highly respectable lawyer (Ian Hunter), she runs into an old beau (Henry Fonda) whose tyrant father (Donald Crisp) dominates his life and instantly sets out to keep Fonda and Davis apart. When they elope, Crisp confronts the two on their honeymoon, and Davis decides to leave behind the man she loves, apparently realizing she's married to a wimp. Guess what happens nine months later. Yep, Davis is now a single mother, and has managed to keep Fonda from finding out about their son. Hunter, who is a loveless marriage with Katharine Alexander, makes Davis his mistress, something his wife doesn't seem to mind. But when tragedy strikes and the two women are snapped together in a photo, the scandal sheet makes it appear like a slugfest. Fonda turns up, having married a sweet society lady (Margaret Lindsay), but she was crippled in a car accident while on their honeymoon, so he is desperate to get Davis back. Papa Crisp makes another threat against Davis, so she must take drastic steps to ensure that he does not destroy her life again.
It is ironic that Davis's married name from her first husband is Mary Haines, the same name as the cheated on wife in the then hit Broadway play "The Women", filmed two years later by MGM. Like MGM's Norma Shearer (Mary in the movie version of "The Women"), Davis was queen of her studio (Warner Brothers), having just taken over that title from the reigning queen of mother love sob stories (Kay Francis). The problem in the movie is that it is so unbelievable that a seemingly tough mob widow would not stand up to the threats of the nasty father, played by the normally likable Donald Crisp. I found his dialogue to be so inane that I cringed every time he came on screen. All of the men are one dimensional-Crisp is totally nasty, Fonda is a wimp, and Hunter is so extremely noble he appears to be the male Ann Harding. There are nice scenes between Davis and the two women in her lover's lives, and Dwane Day gives a cute performance as Davis's four year old son. Mary Philips is also memorable as Davis's devoted companion.
Warner Brothers had their share of mother love stories, most notably several with Kay Francis, including one of my all time favorites, the same year's "Confession". Those ones are better recommended than this one. Davis would fare better two years later as an unwed mother in the excellent "The Old Maid".
She is the widow of a gangster and is being followed around by a reporter out for a scoop on "Where are yesterday's gangsters?". Now working for a highly respectable lawyer (Ian Hunter), she runs into an old beau (Henry Fonda) whose tyrant father (Donald Crisp) dominates his life and instantly sets out to keep Fonda and Davis apart. When they elope, Crisp confronts the two on their honeymoon, and Davis decides to leave behind the man she loves, apparently realizing she's married to a wimp. Guess what happens nine months later. Yep, Davis is now a single mother, and has managed to keep Fonda from finding out about their son. Hunter, who is a loveless marriage with Katharine Alexander, makes Davis his mistress, something his wife doesn't seem to mind. But when tragedy strikes and the two women are snapped together in a photo, the scandal sheet makes it appear like a slugfest. Fonda turns up, having married a sweet society lady (Margaret Lindsay), but she was crippled in a car accident while on their honeymoon, so he is desperate to get Davis back. Papa Crisp makes another threat against Davis, so she must take drastic steps to ensure that he does not destroy her life again.
It is ironic that Davis's married name from her first husband is Mary Haines, the same name as the cheated on wife in the then hit Broadway play "The Women", filmed two years later by MGM. Like MGM's Norma Shearer (Mary in the movie version of "The Women"), Davis was queen of her studio (Warner Brothers), having just taken over that title from the reigning queen of mother love sob stories (Kay Francis). The problem in the movie is that it is so unbelievable that a seemingly tough mob widow would not stand up to the threats of the nasty father, played by the normally likable Donald Crisp. I found his dialogue to be so inane that I cringed every time he came on screen. All of the men are one dimensional-Crisp is totally nasty, Fonda is a wimp, and Hunter is so extremely noble he appears to be the male Ann Harding. There are nice scenes between Davis and the two women in her lover's lives, and Dwane Day gives a cute performance as Davis's four year old son. Mary Philips is also memorable as Davis's devoted companion.
Warner Brothers had their share of mother love stories, most notably several with Kay Francis, including one of my all time favorites, the same year's "Confession". Those ones are better recommended than this one. Davis would fare better two years later as an unwed mother in the excellent "The Old Maid".