IMDb RATING
6.2/10
1.3K
YOUR RATING
An immoral mother blackmails a wealthy businessman after he accidentally hits her delinquent son with his truck.An immoral mother blackmails a wealthy businessman after he accidentally hits her delinquent son with his truck.An immoral mother blackmails a wealthy businessman after he accidentally hits her delinquent son with his truck.
Franklyn Ardell
- Apartment House Clerk
- (uncredited)
Wade Boteler
- Guard at Trevor Estate
- (uncredited)
Matt Briggs
- Truant Officer
- (uncredited)
Charles Coleman
- Trevor's Butler
- (uncredited)
Mary Forbes
- Admirer at Nightclub
- (uncredited)
Etienne Girardot
- J. K. Brown - Claim Adjustor
- (uncredited)
Dean Hall
- Man in Courtroom
- (uncredited)
Harry Holman
- Man at Bar with Letty
- (uncredited)
George Irving
- Admirer at Nightclub
- (uncredited)
Eddie Kane
- Waiter
- (uncredited)
- Directors
- Lowell Sherman
- Jack Conway(uncredited)
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAndrew Tombes is on an early cast list playing the part of "Max Lieber." A character called "Max" is mentioned in the film, but Tombes never appeared.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Biography: Darryl F. Zanuck: 20th Century Filmmaker (1995)
Featured review
No matter how beautiful, scum is scum!
Letty (Loretta Young) is a tramp. Early in the film she is established as a classy, attractive girl who appreciates fine things. The viewer is then given a shock when she suddenly changes in demeanor. I was impressed with the way Loretta Young was able to go from "nice" to "naughty" in one scene, giving away her character's true nature beyond a doubt. For nearly the full length of the movie we see Letty trying to cheat her way through life, convinced it is the only way to survive.
Audiences of 1934 may have been looking for escapism in motion pictures, but I do not believe they could have found Loretta Young's character appealing. Pregnant at 15, she was taken in by a kind book store owner, but as she reached her early 20's she had taught herself and her son to win at any cost. In doing so, she becomes an escort to prominent men while her son, Mickey (Jackie Kelk), learns to be "street-wise" at a very early age. You could easily imagine Mickey ending up in prison. Having a lawyer offer advice on how to commit a new scam was a nice touch. Surely no one could feel sorry for Letty losing her son as an unfit mother. Loretta played that "unfit" part perfectly.
Cary Grant really blended into the background in Born To Be Bad. His star was rising, but virtually any lead actor could have played Mal Trevor. Jackie Kelk was slightly older than his character, Mickey, at the time the movie was made. I found Mickey's change of heart to be a bit too easy, but as others have commented the movie is a bit short. Maybe with more time to show the supporting characters develop the movie would have made more sense. The only characters that really had any depth were Letty and Mickey.
Audiences of 1934 may have been looking for escapism in motion pictures, but I do not believe they could have found Loretta Young's character appealing. Pregnant at 15, she was taken in by a kind book store owner, but as she reached her early 20's she had taught herself and her son to win at any cost. In doing so, she becomes an escort to prominent men while her son, Mickey (Jackie Kelk), learns to be "street-wise" at a very early age. You could easily imagine Mickey ending up in prison. Having a lawyer offer advice on how to commit a new scam was a nice touch. Surely no one could feel sorry for Letty losing her son as an unfit mother. Loretta played that "unfit" part perfectly.
Cary Grant really blended into the background in Born To Be Bad. His star was rising, but virtually any lead actor could have played Mal Trevor. Jackie Kelk was slightly older than his character, Mickey, at the time the movie was made. I found Mickey's change of heart to be a bit too easy, but as others have commented the movie is a bit short. Maybe with more time to show the supporting characters develop the movie would have made more sense. The only characters that really had any depth were Letty and Mickey.
helpful•166
- stevehaynie
- Feb 6, 2006
- How long is Born to Be Bad?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Nacida para ser mala
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $252,238 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 2 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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