Child of Divorce

No traditional happy ending here, in this clear-eyed and very unsentimental look at the effects of a divorce on a sensitive young girl. The very bleak ending took me by surprise, and the performance of Sharyn Moffett in the title role is terrific. This was Richard Fleischer's first film as a director. Well worth your time!

"Child of Divorce" is an incredibly depressing film. Yet, I also enjoyed it because it didn't sugar-coat the story and shows the effects divorce can have on a child. In fact, I think this film should be a must-see for anyone contemplating having a divorce, as too often I have heard folks talk about how kids 'get over things' rather easily--and in this film, it certainly isn't true.

The story begins with a man (Regis Toomey) going off on a business trip. While he's gone, his daughter, Bobby (Sharyn Moffett), catches her mother (Madge Meredith) with another man. Later, the woman asks her husband for a divorce--and the child is sucked into the middle of this custody battle. In fact, throughout the film, these selfish and thoroughly despicable parents never seem to care about the effect all this has on the child. And, unlike most Hollywood films of the day, this one does NOT end on a happy note. The child is traumatized, cast aside and left to fend for herself in a boarding school.

As I said, this one is awfully depressing. But it's also well made and quite compelling. I especially like that there is no magical happy ending--it adds to the realism and impact of the film. Well worth seeing and an amazingly well made B-movie.

An 8 year old girl (Sharyn Moffett) has to deal with her parents divorcing and finding other partners.

A great little B picture. It's well-acted (Moffett was incredible) and realistic without getting too sentimental. Things are presented in a very matter of fact way. What's refreshing is that none of the parents are demonized. They both love their little girl completely and try to get her to accept their new partners. One scene where her mother tries to get the girl to accept that she loves her is almost too painful to watch. It all leads to a painful but realistic ending. Highly recommended.

Sharyn Moffet does a fine job with her role as a child torn emotionally apart when her parents divorce. This young lady was a good child actress, who did not exude a sickening sweet persona in her roles. One of the best natural female child performers of her day. Her role in this movie shows it. She also did nice jobs in the films Banjo and My Pal Wolf. Miss Moffet can also be seen in The Judge Steps Out. This film also features a nice cameo of sorts at the end of the film by Ann Carter-another RKO child performer who did a nice job with the lead child role in The Curse of the Cat People. Hats off to RKO to do subjects like divorce in a time period when such topics were avoided by most studios.

When watching this film, I was appalled at the lack of emotional maturity and sense of responsibility on the part of the parents. They behaved as if their relationships were on the level of junior high school romances and intrigues, and they did not hesitate to bail out of a marriage when they "didn't love each other any more." Any marriage has its ups and downs, but emotionally mature people have enough sense to know they have a responsibility to their children and to "ride out the storm" for the sake of the children and the home or family unit.

Throughout the film the parents brought the little girl luxurious gifts as if something material was all the child needed. This practice showed how shallow and uncaring they were, and perhaps they were, in fact, incapable of love. When the parents realized how the child took a toll on their lives, they resorted to sending her to boarding school, as if she were a toy they could place on a shelf and forget.

In the end, the child was shown to be much more in touch with reality and responsibility than the parents when she resolved someday to be a better parent than her parents had been. The child's own goal of responsible, loving motherhood was the one glimmer of hope at the conclusion of the plot.

Another reviewer called lynnlav wondered about the child's age and grade in school as mentioned in the film. As a baby-boomer, I can remember children who started first grade at age five after they had passed an entrance exam. As a result, the child in the film very well could be eight years old and in fourth grade, having skipped a grade.