I'm a huge Claudette Colbert fan, but even I couldn't get behind the idea of her being a highly respected and successful psychiatrist. She's much more believable to me as a housewife in Since You Went Away, a socialite in It Happened One Night, or a reluctant businesswoman in Imitation of Life. But imagining the beauty with her Harlequin eyebrows suffering through medical school, and becoming so renowned that she becomes head of the ward at a famous psychiatric institute, stretched the suspension of disbelief too far.
Charles Boyer's character agrees with me. He plays the new supervisor at the institute, and he wants Claudette to leave. He thinks women should be kept barefoot and pregnant, or at least contented to remain secretaries. A female doctor just isn't competent - and especially one who specializes in psychology. She has too many emotions and she's far too easily duped by a patient's "normal" façade. She doesn't have the objectivity to be an effective psychiatrist.
I appreciated the progressive message of the story; not because I'm a modern-day feminist, but because I knew how much guts it took to make the picture in 1935. It's not something I would really watch again, but if you like to see women-empowerment movies before they were popular, check it out. In the supporting cast are Joel McCrea, Joan Bennett, Helen Vinson, Samuel Hinds, and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams.
Charles Boyer's character agrees with me. He plays the new supervisor at the institute, and he wants Claudette to leave. He thinks women should be kept barefoot and pregnant, or at least contented to remain secretaries. A female doctor just isn't competent - and especially one who specializes in psychology. She has too many emotions and she's far too easily duped by a patient's "normal" façade. She doesn't have the objectivity to be an effective psychiatrist.
I appreciated the progressive message of the story; not because I'm a modern-day feminist, but because I knew how much guts it took to make the picture in 1935. It's not something I would really watch again, but if you like to see women-empowerment movies before they were popular, check it out. In the supporting cast are Joel McCrea, Joan Bennett, Helen Vinson, Samuel Hinds, and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams.