Private Worlds

I suppose in 1935 this was considered a fairly daring movie; a 'serious' look at psychiatry and the goings-on in a mental hospital, clearly designed to educate as much as entertain. Times have changed, however and today "Private Worlds", directed by the redoubtable Gregory LaCava from Phyllis Bottome's novel appears both ridiculously outdated and patronizing as progressive doctor Claudette Colbert, (miscast), and new superintendent psychiatrist Charles Boyer learn not only to work together but to fall in love at the same time.

At least both these actors are sufficiently talented to spark off each other when together though the rest of the cast are very much a mixed bag. As the doctor passed over for promotion in favour of Boyer and his mousy wife Joel McCrea and Joan Bennett are frankly terrible but Helen Vinson as Boyer's pushy sister who seems to be suffering from more than a little dose of nymphomania and the great Esther Dale as the old-fashioned matron are fun to watch. It may not be much of a movie but in its sensationalism, (some scenes could be lifted from Samuel Fuller's "Shock Corridor"), at least it's entertaining.

"Private Worlds" is a good 1935 film concerning mental health issues. The film stars Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Charles Boyer, Helen Vinson, and Joan Bennett. I confess I didn't recognize Joan Bennett.

The story concerns hard-working, dedicated psychiatrists McCrea and Colbert who have to deal with a new head of the hospital, a man who believes women have no place in psychiatry. The title comes from a quote by McCrea, that there is no difference between sanity and insanity - everyone lives in their own private world.

There is a subplot - the philandering McCrea, fooling around with Boyer's sister (Vinson), and a growing attraction between Colbert and Boyer.

I don't think I have ever seen Boyer so young, and he reminded me of Alain Delon.

Good movie, recommending a humane approach to the mentally ill.

I'm a huge Claudette Colbert fan, but even I couldn't get behind the idea of her being a highly respected and successful psychiatrist. She's much more believable to me as a housewife in Since You Went Away, a socialite in It Happened One Night, or a reluctant businesswoman in Imitation of Life. But imagining the beauty with her Harlequin eyebrows suffering through medical school, and becoming so renowned that she becomes head of the ward at a famous psychiatric institute, stretched the suspension of disbelief too far.

Charles Boyer's character agrees with me. He plays the new supervisor at the institute, and he wants Claudette to leave. He thinks women should be kept barefoot and pregnant, or at least contented to remain secretaries. A female doctor just isn't competent - and especially one who specializes in psychology. She has too many emotions and she's far too easily duped by a patient's "normal" façade. She doesn't have the objectivity to be an effective psychiatrist.

I appreciated the progressive message of the story; not because I'm a modern-day feminist, but because I knew how much guts it took to make the picture in 1935. It's not something I would really watch again, but if you like to see women-empowerment movies before they were popular, check it out. In the supporting cast are Joel McCrea, Joan Bennett, Helen Vinson, Samuel Hinds, and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams.

Until The Snake Pit and later One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest are superior films, the film about mental illness up to when these two came out was Paramount's Private Worlds. It came out in 1935 and gave Claudette Colbert an Oscar nominated performance as the dedicated psychiatrist who has no time for romance.

Unlike those other two classics Private Worlds deals more with the staff than with the patients. Colbert and colleague Joel McCrea have to swallow disappointment about McCrea not getting a promotion as head of the institution. Instead an outsider and a foreigner played by Charles Boyer gets the job. Boyer has some old fashioned notions about women in medicine, there are doctors and there are nurses, male and female because that's how God intended it. In the end Colbert does far more than just convince Boyer she's competent.

Boyer also has a sister who lives with him and if he doesn't have enough crazies to deal with on the job, Helen Vinson gives him an opportunity for research at home. She's flighty and irresponsible and she was responsible for someone's death and Boyer keeps her on a tight leash. Living with that at home, no wonder he's such a pill at the office. For the life of me I'm still wondering how the French named accented Dr. Manet, Boyer's character, has an American sounding sister. Vinson gives her usual good performance so I guess people overlooked that back in the day.

She sets her sights on McCrea and that causes an emotional breakdown in McCrea's wife Joan Bennett who was already jealous of all the time McCrea spent with Colbert.

Down in the cast giving a really great performance as the grandmother of Nurse Ratched is Esther Dale whose answer to all problems with the patients is lock them in the rubber room in solitary. Seeing how Colbert deals with Guinn Williams as opposed to Dale really shows Colbert's worth to the institution.

Claudette lost the Oscar in 1935 to Bette Davis for Dangerous and probably would not have won it again as she was the winner the year before for It Happened One Night. And Davis was not thrilled with her performance in Dangerous either.

Though I believe The Snake Pit and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest are superior films, Private Worlds still has its merits with some fine performances covering over a somewhat flawed story.

"Private Worlds" is a very good film, so when I call it 'soapy psychiatry' it's not really an insult...more an idea what to expect when you watch. It is set at a psychiatric hospital AND there are a lot of soap opera-like elements to the story. And, it's also very well worth seeing.

The story begins with Dr. MacGregor (Joel McCrea) interviewing to be the new administrator at the sanitarium in which he's worked. However, he's passed over for an outsider, Dr. Monet (Charles Boyer)....a man who appears much more old fashioned in his notions about psychiatry. As for Dr. Everest (Claudette Colbert), while she isn't thrilled at the rather sexist notions by Dr. Monet (who believes women do not make good psychiatrists), she is willing to reserve judgment and work with him.

An odd thing happens that I did not expect. Dr. Monet's vicious sister (who would today most likely be diagnosed with a Borderline Personality) begins flirting with Dr. MacGregor and does much to harm his marriage. It ultimately results in his wife nearly dying...and forces Dr. Monet to face up to how evil and manipulative his sister is. What's next? See the film.

While the film is not without problems, overall it's very well acted and presents a compassionate form of mental health treatment...a bit ahead of its time. Occasionally, it seems a bit unrealistic (such as how easily Dr. Everest is able to 'cure' patients with just a few words) and the casting of Helen Vison as Charles Boyer's sister is just dumb, as she has no French accent and his is very thick! Still, I could overlook these things and the film is quite good...so much so that I am surprised it's rarely seen on TV and should be.