L'angelo della vita

I'm not one for weepers, but this film fascinated me. Not so much for the story or the acting, but for the frankness. If it wasn't for precode films, we would never have an honest glimpse of the issues of that era, which actually aren't too terribly different from our concerns in the present. This film tackles a C-Section, pregnancy/giving birth while incarcerated, adoption, losing a baby during childbirth, drinking during pregnancy, maternal bonding, and even hints at the kidnapping of an infant by a woman with mental heath issues who desperately longs for one of her own. Some issues are commonplace in this era, and some of the health concerns have been addressed due to scientific advancements and public awareness, but unfortunately, some issues are still being battled. We see some of the worst cases on the nightly news. It's strange to think we went from this open and honest format on women's heath issues to showing adults sleeping in single, separate beds. I sincerely wonder how censoring these realities set us all back? I recommend this to anyone fascinated by precode Hollywood films, who doesn't mind a little bit of melodrama.

Glenda Farrell steals the picture as a reluctant (to put it mildly)and hard-drinking mother-to-be. Glenda appeared in numerous Warner Brothers pictures during the 1930s and she is always a delight. Eric Linden gives a nice performance as the distraught husband of convict Loretta Young. Preston Foster has very little to do as one of the doctors. Aline MacMahon is effective as the motherly nurse. Clara Blandick (she achieved cinematic immortality as Auntie Em in THE WIZARD OF OZ) is a rather mature mother-to-be. Familiar faces such as Elizabeth Patterson, Esther Howard and Paul Fix appear in unbilled roles. Also unbilled, surprisingly, is Gilbert Roland as a non-English speaking father whose child does not survive. In 1932 he was a big enough name to warrant billing, so it was a surprise to see him in an unbilled bit.

I saw this movie yesterday on Turner, and I was unable to stop watching until it was over, even though I sort of could guess what would happen. Farrell was great in her role, and everyone else did a super job. Some of it seemed to stretch the limits, but all in all, I loved it!! If you get the chance to see it, please do! I actually cried at a few scenes, but then I guess if you are a mom you would. Loretta is beautiful, and I was just in astonishment at the very idea of their being unwed moms there, it seemed ahead of its' time. I say, WATCH IT if you can, and don't listen to criticisms. As they say, I laughed, I cried! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Sort of like a very primitive episode of "General Hospital" set in a natal ward (and one for tough cases at that), this fast-moving programmer has a satisfying emotional impact -- mainly because Eric Linden, as the distraught young husband in the main plot, is so palpably a wreck, and with such good reason. His expectant wife, Loretta Young, is brought to the ward at the beginning of a 20-year prison sentence for offing a lecher who probably had it coming to him; Ms. Young, as always, doesn't do anything to disinvite audience sympathy, and she's a little too good to be true, though sympathetic and lovely to look at, of course. Her difficult pregnancy and relationships with the other girls of the ward form the heart of the movie, and the outcome -- not an entirely happy one -- feels right. Aline MacMahon, "one of the cinema's few perfect actresses," in the apt words of film historian David Thomson, exudes warmth and authority as the head nurse, and Glenda Farrell, as a none-too-willing new mom of twins, gets to croon "Frankie and Johnny" as a drunken lullaby. Frank McHugh figures in another subplot, and he gets to show more range than Warners usually permitted him. It's scaled and paced modestly, and Linden's expectant-dad panic stays with you for days -- this sort of part was often played for laughs, but he's a terrified young kid in trouble, and very persuasive.

A maternity ward for difficult mothers-to-be is the primary setting for this unusual drama. The main story focuses on boyish expectant father Eric Linden (as Jed Sutton), who arrives at the "Waiting Womans Ward" (sic) ahead of his wife, lovely Loretta Young (as Grace). Sounding desperate, Mr. Sutton begs doctors to take care of the fragile Ms. Young, a imprisoned murderer. Young is only in the hospital to have the baby, and Sutton fears she has lost the will to live. Sutton wants to fight for an appeal or pardon.

Young and Linden are a very appealing couple, with the lesser-known Linden surprisingly endearing. The story takes an atypical, and thought-provoking turn when doctors ask Linden to make a decision about his wife's pregnancy - then ignore his request. Sweet older mother Clara Blandick (as Mrs. West) offers sage advice. But, also watch for boozing baby-hating mother Glenda Farrell (as Florette Darien), the always underrated Aline MacMahon (as Miss Bowers), and the First National/Warner Bros. team.

****** Life Begins (9/4/32) James Flood ~ Eric Linden, Loretta Young, Aline MacMahon, Glenda Farrell