One of the fascinating aspects of movies from the 1930's, 40's and 50's (etc.) is to see how society has changed over the years, and in one way where it has greatly advanced is in the world of healthcare and the medical field. This pre-code drama is one of those jarring looks at the lives of mothers to be, all put in a ward which caters to problem cases. Among them are an aging woman with several children already at home (Clara Blandick, "The Wizard of Oz"), a jaded single mother with no desire to even see her twins (Glenda Farrell), and a very young woman (Loretta Young) who has been sentenced to go to prison for murder, facing health issues due to her situation and the cruel treatment she has gotten into the system. When a nasty prison matron drops her off in the maternity ward, nurse Aline MacMahon puts on the act of being as stern as the matron, but that is instantly dropped once the matron (the size of a wrestler MacMahon amusingly refers to her as) exits. As a maternity ward nurse, MacMahon is the type of woman who has definitely chosen the right profession, and I'm sure her character would be asked to be the godmother to several of the children she helped bring into the world.
This is one of those films where you see tragedy recurring throughout the short span of time in which it takes place. An Italian woman, whose baby died, only briefly mourns her loss, becoming a source of milk for the babies whom Farrell does not even want to see. It is only when she realizes that her babies are being threatened with separation by a potentially cruel adoptive mother (Elizabeth Patterson) that Farrell wakes up from her sense of denial to see what she is missing out on. Young's fragile character is obviously a victim of circumstance, having been accused of killing a powerful politician, one who obviously took advantage of her in some situation. Eric Linden, as Young's husband, somehow seems like a boy compared to Loretta's young lady, so their marriage is questionable. But strong, compassionate nurse MacMahon is a godsend, not only to her mothers to be, but to the fathers to be as well, getting nervous pop Frank McHugh to take a break from waiting by sending him out on an errand, as well as sitting calmly with Linden to support him over the impending birth and the dangers of his wife's situation.
The script is very realistic in looking at the morals of the times, with repeat mom to be Blandick first offering sympathy to Young for her legal plight, yet passive/aggressively revealing her judgments for Young being convicted of murder. Even then, she provides a voice of reason, and it is obvious that the other patients look up to her as a woman of experience who knows exactly what she is talking about. Farrell at first is an ill-defined character, only revealing that she is "Miss", not "Mrs.", and dropping wisecracks and annoyed reactions to the hopeful attitudes of the other mothers. It is obvious that she is building up to a breakdown, so when she does, that moment is extremely powerful. This might be considered old fashioned mother love drama when compared to the situations women face today, so some of the attitudes will be considered dated and even sexist. There's no talk about a mother's duty to her unborn child, so the "a" word is never even uttered. That doesn't mean that there aren't some interesting pre-code elements that two years later would be considered forbidden, and from that aspect, this makes the film very interesting, and perhaps even less dated than its 1941 remake, "A Child is Born".
This is one of those films where you see tragedy recurring throughout the short span of time in which it takes place. An Italian woman, whose baby died, only briefly mourns her loss, becoming a source of milk for the babies whom Farrell does not even want to see. It is only when she realizes that her babies are being threatened with separation by a potentially cruel adoptive mother (Elizabeth Patterson) that Farrell wakes up from her sense of denial to see what she is missing out on. Young's fragile character is obviously a victim of circumstance, having been accused of killing a powerful politician, one who obviously took advantage of her in some situation. Eric Linden, as Young's husband, somehow seems like a boy compared to Loretta's young lady, so their marriage is questionable. But strong, compassionate nurse MacMahon is a godsend, not only to her mothers to be, but to the fathers to be as well, getting nervous pop Frank McHugh to take a break from waiting by sending him out on an errand, as well as sitting calmly with Linden to support him over the impending birth and the dangers of his wife's situation.
The script is very realistic in looking at the morals of the times, with repeat mom to be Blandick first offering sympathy to Young for her legal plight, yet passive/aggressively revealing her judgments for Young being convicted of murder. Even then, she provides a voice of reason, and it is obvious that the other patients look up to her as a woman of experience who knows exactly what she is talking about. Farrell at first is an ill-defined character, only revealing that she is "Miss", not "Mrs.", and dropping wisecracks and annoyed reactions to the hopeful attitudes of the other mothers. It is obvious that she is building up to a breakdown, so when she does, that moment is extremely powerful. This might be considered old fashioned mother love drama when compared to the situations women face today, so some of the attitudes will be considered dated and even sexist. There's no talk about a mother's duty to her unborn child, so the "a" word is never even uttered. That doesn't mean that there aren't some interesting pre-code elements that two years later would be considered forbidden, and from that aspect, this makes the film very interesting, and perhaps even less dated than its 1941 remake, "A Child is Born".