"The Battle Hymn of the Republic" as someone shouts, "We'll build a new San Francisco!". Three years before Jeanette's high note set off the San Andreas fault, Ruth Chatterton suffered as an unwed mother who is a survivor of the 1906 earthquake that destroyed much of San Francisco. The special effects may not be as smashing as the more famous 1936 film but soap opera effects certainly outdo it. You see, Jenny Sandoval (Chatterton) isn't known for her decency but instead providing a certain kind of service to influential politicians. Clark Gable's Blackie Norton is nowhere to be found here, but Louis Calhern's Steve Dutton is, and he is even more ruthless.
This is a combination Madame X/Disaster film/Political Drama that goes all out to give drenching tears to the ladies who went to see it in 1933. Ms. Sandoval must give up her baby (she thinks) temporarily to prevent the legion of decency from taking it away from her after she is acquitted of various crimes. But the child refuses to be taken away from the only home he's ever known. Years go by, and the grownup child (Donald Cook) is now the D.A., prosecuting her for murdering the blackmailing Calhern. Sound familiar? What is interesting about this soapy is the fact it was directed by the rough and tough William Wellman ("Wings", "The High and the Mighty"), but it is definitely both a man's picture and a woman's picture. This is not only the obvious Madame X story but the saga of how a great American city was built. Because of all of these different plot lines, there is enough inside the movie to appeal to many different kinds of audiences. Chatterton, perhaps a bit too old to be believable in the earlier scenes, ages naturally in the film's 20+ year setting. Calhern isn't a typical hissable villain; He's got both good and bad points, the obvious later leading Chatterton to do him in. Helen Jerome Eddy is a strange presence as the almost Gale Sondergaard like Asian lady who looks over Chatterton for years and knows all her secrets.
Pre-Code Warner Brothers has always been one of my favorite genres to watch over and over, because the dialog is always a lot crisper and sardonic than what they were doing at the more lavish MGM and Paramount. Men may have ruled the gangs, but women ruled the fashions, and with actresses like Chatterton, Francis, Blondell, Stanwyck and Davis, Warners had a variety of stars that are more reachable than the Garbos, Shearers and Crawfords over at MGM. The film has enough glamor and class to make it rise above "B" status and it is short enough to watch without noticing the flaws.
This is a combination Madame X/Disaster film/Political Drama that goes all out to give drenching tears to the ladies who went to see it in 1933. Ms. Sandoval must give up her baby (she thinks) temporarily to prevent the legion of decency from taking it away from her after she is acquitted of various crimes. But the child refuses to be taken away from the only home he's ever known. Years go by, and the grownup child (Donald Cook) is now the D.A., prosecuting her for murdering the blackmailing Calhern. Sound familiar? What is interesting about this soapy is the fact it was directed by the rough and tough William Wellman ("Wings", "The High and the Mighty"), but it is definitely both a man's picture and a woman's picture. This is not only the obvious Madame X story but the saga of how a great American city was built. Because of all of these different plot lines, there is enough inside the movie to appeal to many different kinds of audiences. Chatterton, perhaps a bit too old to be believable in the earlier scenes, ages naturally in the film's 20+ year setting. Calhern isn't a typical hissable villain; He's got both good and bad points, the obvious later leading Chatterton to do him in. Helen Jerome Eddy is a strange presence as the almost Gale Sondergaard like Asian lady who looks over Chatterton for years and knows all her secrets.
Pre-Code Warner Brothers has always been one of my favorite genres to watch over and over, because the dialog is always a lot crisper and sardonic than what they were doing at the more lavish MGM and Paramount. Men may have ruled the gangs, but women ruled the fashions, and with actresses like Chatterton, Francis, Blondell, Stanwyck and Davis, Warners had a variety of stars that are more reachable than the Garbos, Shearers and Crawfords over at MGM. The film has enough glamor and class to make it rise above "B" status and it is short enough to watch without noticing the flaws.