Young Bride

This is a fascinating film for all kinds of reasons, not the least of which is showcasing one of the best performances given by Helen Twelvetrees, an actress with a fairly limited range of roles; once her studio discovered she played victimized women with great conviction, poor Helen was stuck in roles usually subservient to insensitive or brutal men.

All the more reason to watch this film, in which her one-note braggart husband, loud and crass Eric Linden, makes continued promises about future riches, about fidelity and business, but ultimately comes to terms of a kind with his now-pregnant wife.

Hundreds of films like this were churned out in the 1930's for women's matinées, and many stars were handed similar roles of beaten-down women--most, like Loretta Young, Barbara Stanwyck, Ruth Chatterson and Kay Francis were able to cope and now and then rise about the situation, but Young Bride is one of the few where Helen learned a thing or two.

This film is pre-code--one can actually see and man and wife in a twin bed together under the covers; two years later and such a scene could no longer be shown in any Hollywood film for over 25 years! There's also a good deal of salty language in some nifty set pieces depicting a dance hall, a chop suey joint, and a dusty library. Add to this several subtle performances by secondary players (Cliff Edwards, later the voice of Jiminy Cricket!) and you have a "weeper" worth your time.