Dr. Monica
1934 film
- William Keighley
- William Dieterle (uncredited)[citation needed]
- A Polish play
by Maria Morozowicz-Szczepkowska - Dr. Monica (1933 English adaptation)
by Laura Walker Mayer
- Kay Francis
- Warren William
- Jean Muir
Production
company
company
Warner Bros.
- Warner Bros.
- Vitaphone Corp.
Release dates
- June 21, 1934 (1934-06-21) (NYC)
- June 23, 1934 (1934-06-23) (US)
Running time
Dr. Monica is a 1934 American pre-Code melodrama film produced by Warner Bros. starring Kay Francis, Warren William, and Jean Muir. An obstetrician, who is unable to have children, discovers that the baby she is about to deliver was fathered by her husband.
Plot
Mary Hathaway gives birth to a baby girl delivered by Dr. Monica Braden. Monica discovers her husband, John, is the child's father. John is unaware his affair with Mary resulted in her pregnancy. Monica prepares to leave John by telling him she is going abroad. Mary learns that Monica knows the truth and decides to leave the child in Monica's care. Mary, a pilot, flies her plane over the ocean, which is later reported to have vanished. When John asks Monica about the baby, Monica lies making John believe the baby was abandoned by both parents. In contemplating their new role, Monica looks at John and says "She's yours," while John unknowingly smiles.
Cast
- Kay Francis as Dr. Monica Braden
- Warren William as John Braden
- Jean Muir as Mary Hathaway
- Verree Teasdale as Anna Littlefield
- Emma Dunn as Mrs. Monahan
- Phillip Reed as "Bunny" Burton
- Herbert Bunston as Mr. Pettinghill
- Ann Shoemaker as Mrs. Hazlitt
- Virginia Hammond as Mrs. Chandor
- Hale Hamilton as Dr. Brent
Censorship
The censors at the Hays Office requested a large number of changes to the script before they would approve it for production. One of the major issues they had with the script was that it explicitly included dialogue about the potential dangers of childbirth.[2]
Reception
Mordaunt Hall, critic for The New York Times, wrote that Dr. Monica is "not especially suspenseful", but it "moves apace and the acting is excellent."[3]
References
- ^ a b Dr. Monica at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- ^ Kirby, David A. (September 2017). "Regulating cinematic stories about reproduction: pregnancy, childbirth, abortion and movie censorship in the US, 1930–1958". The British Journal for the History of Science. 50 (3): 451–472. doi:10.1017/S0007087417000814. ISSN 0007-0874. PMID 28923130.
- ^ Hall, Mordaunt (June 21, 1934). "Doctor Monica (1934): The Screen; Kay Francis, Warren William and Jean Muir in the Picturization of a Polish Stage Work". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.
External links
- Dr. Monica at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- Dr. Monica at IMDb
- Dr. Monica at the TCM Movie Database
- Dr. Monica at AllMovie
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Films directed by William Keighley
- The Match King (1932)
- Ladies They Talk About (1933)
- Easy to Love (1934)
- Journal of a Crime (1934)
- Big Hearted Herbert (1934)
- Kansas City Princess (1934)
- Dr. Monica (1934)
- Babbitt (1934)
- The Right to Live (1935)
- G Men (1935)
- Mary Jane's Pa (1935)
- Special Agent (1935)
- Stars Over Broadway (1935)
- The Singing Kid (1936)
- Bullets or Ballots (1936)
- The Green Pastures (1936)
- God's Country and the Woman (1937)
- The Prince and the Pauper (1937)
- Varsity Show (1937)
- The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
- Valley of the Giants (1938)
- Secrets of an Actress (1938)
- Brother Rat (1938)
- Yes, My Darling Daughter (1939)
- Each Dawn I Die (1939)
- The Fighting 69th (1940)
- Torrid Zone (1940)
- No Time for Comedy (1940)
- Four Mothers (1941)
- The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941)
- The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)
- George Washington Slept Here (1942)
- Target for Today (1944)
- Honeymoon (1947)
- The Street with No Name (1948)
- Rocky Mountain (1950)
- Close to My Heart (1951)
- The Master of Ballantrae (1953)
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