Ann Vickers

Is anyone in the mood for a cross between Back Street and Night Court? Following those 1931 and 1932 dramas, and combining the stars, comes Ann Vickers, a drama about a strong woman who falls in love with a married man, a judge who doesn't let the law rule his personal life. If you liked both of those precursors, I know what you're renting tonight.

This is an extremely racy movie, and it's a miracle it received a seal of approval from the not-yet mandatory Production Code. The beginning of the film follows Irene Dunne as she has a romance with a soldier, Bruce Cabot. She gets pregnant, and while it's not explicitly spelled out, it's made extremely clear that she goes to Havana to have and recover from an abortion. She's seen resting, wincing, and crying, and no further mention is made of her impending pregnancy. If you don't know how much of a big deal that was to include in a 1933 movie, you're probably not ready to watch it yet.

Her best friend, Edna May Oliver, is another strong female figure from the silver screen, so it's no wonder Irene gets back up on her feet and takes another stab at life. This time, the strong feminist takes a job at a women's prison. This is one of those great silver screen flicks that show how terrible prison conditions were, as well as the interactions between female prisoners and the process of becoming a hardened criminal. Irene tries her hand at drastic prison reform, but since she's a woman and she's trying to improve conditions for women, she's ignored, belittled, and dismissed. This is Irene Dunne, so don't think for a second she'll take that treatment lying down.

Where does Walter Huston come in? you might be asking. I'm sorry to tell you, you're going to have a very long wait ahead of you until he shows up. Keep in mind the movie is called "Ann Vickers" not "Judge Dolphin". He has such talent, it's too bad he doesn't take up more screen time, but since he is so talented, he adds a lot to the scenes he's in. Among the supporting cast, you'll see Conrad Nagel, Mitchell Lewis, Rafaela Ottiano, and J. Carrol Naish. Check this forgotten drama out if you like Irene Dunne, racy pre-Code movies, or early feminist pioneers. This movie is screaming for a remake, so don't be surprised if one of the top modern actresses takes on his powerful role in the future.

"Ann Vickers" is an adaptation of Sinclair Lewis' book about an unwed social worker who becomes pregnant during World War I and is subsequently abandoned by her lover. It is a valuable social commentary on the mores and folkways of the time (1933) and explores the double standard then existent that condemned a woman for `loose living' while exonerating a man. The most interesting aspect of the film to me was the fact that it was almost a mirror's image of the sea change that took place in morals during 1920's in the aftermath of World War I.

RKO couldn't have picked a better actress to play the part of Ann Vickers. Irene Dunne was young, sensitive, brave, intelligent – everything the `modern woman' of the day was supposed to be. Her early professional career was marked by a series of skillfully done tearjerkers of which "Ann Vickers" is one of the better ones.

I highly recommend this movie. Walter Huston did a fine job as Ann's second love, and the man who restored her faith in a loving relationship. It's well directed and filmed and is a wonderful insight into life in the U.S. from just after World War I up until the middle of the Great Depression.

This is what a woman's film ought to be in this era, not just 70 years ago. The Ann Vickers character is a strong woman devoted to her career and to those who depend on her at the women's prison. She is not without her flaws as any hero or protagonist, but she overcomes so many obstacles and definitely has control over her life. What has happened to strong and complex female roles in modern motion pictures? This movie is well acted, well-written and has a tremendous message. I recommend it to anyone who can get their hands on it, as I believe it is still not available on video. It ranks up there with Norma Shearer's character Jerry in "The Divorcee" as far as a well-developed complex strong female characters. We need more movies depicting our gender this way not just as sex objects but as sexual subjects, with career goals and sex drives. Watch this movie!

ANN VICKERS is a bizarre tear-jerker from the early days of sound movies featuring IRENE DUNNE as a woman who is well-intentioned but makes all the wrong choices in life, including the men she thinks she loves.

BRUCE CABOT is her first mistake, a man proclaiming great love for her but abandoning her not long after she bears his child. In a weak supporting role, she treats CONRAD NAGEL as a man she cannot love but values as a friend. He's not too happy about that arrangement.

Then comes married man WALTER HUSTON, unhappily married who finds Dunne a refreshing bit of love interest. She has a career that keeps her busy and stands by him when he is accused of mismanaging funds. He's soon imprisoned but she finds a way to get his case some political attention and eventually he is free to marry her.

That's about it, all handled in dreary fashion with hardly a note of music on the soundtrack to lift it out of the doldrums when it gets too soggy to bear. As social commentary on conditions in the 1930s and women's issues, it's a failure. Miss Dunne plays a social worker who rises to play an important role in the penal system for females.

IRENE DUNNE suffers nobly, but it's a weak vehicle for a strong actress and she can do nothing to give the film a sense of real life struggles. Chalk this one up as a failure, even if it was based on a novel penned by no less than Sinclair Lewis. Evidently, not too much has been retained from his novel.

Summing up: Not worth your time. Any film that wastes the talents of EDNA MAY OLIVER as a Duchess has got to make you wonder what they were thinking. It's her dullest role ever.

Ann Vickers (1933)

** (out of 4)

Static version of Sinclair Lewis' play has Irene Dunne in the title role of a social worker who gets dumped by an American soldier (Bruce Cabot) and then puts all her attention on her work. She eventually falls for a controversial judge (Walter Huston) but this here might cost her everything she's worked for. This RKO film was produced by Merian C. Cooper the same year he made King Kong but that's the only thing the two films have in common. Dunne is good in her role but the film is all over the place and it's easy to see that the film is trying to cover several parts of the book but can't take everything in within the short running time. Huston stays under control and gives a winning performance as does Cabot and Conrad Nagel in his supporting role. Edna May Oliver and J. Carrol Naish also have small roles.