I have read quite a few reviews by bkoganbing and have been pretty impressed by their insights. Before seeing "Between Two Women", I read their review and it seemed to really well sum up the picture...though I think I liked the picture a bit more.
The film is from MGM, the studio that began their Dr. Kildare series that same year and I saw quite a bit of similarities between this film and the Kildare ones. Both are about a very decent and competent surgeon and both have some soap opera elements as well. So, in other words, I'm saying that if you like one, you'll likely like the other!
Franchot Tone plays Dr. Allan Meighan...a dedicated and extremely competent surgeon at the General Hospital. One of his patients is a society girl, Patricia Sloan (Virginia Bruce), and she is simply gaga over him. Eventually, she proposes to him and he agrees provided she accept that he is still a surgeon and his job comes first. Well, despite this agreement, she proves herself to be a spoiled brat...and makes balancing his life very difficult.
The marital problems all comes to a head when Meighan is pulled into a particular case. It seems Dr. Walcott has a god complex and is planning on amputating the leg of a patient...the husband of a nurse who also happens to be infatuated with Meighan. Now the nurse is NOT inappropriate and keeps her feelings to herself...but she is beside herself. She insists to Walcott that he wait to operate in order to get a second opinion. Well, he refuses and starts hacking away...and in the midst of the surgery, Meighan enters the operating room and slugs Walcott...which he was more than justified in doing, as the butcher refused to give way and let Meighan examine the patient. It turns out that due to Walcott's incompetence, the patient dies! And, as a result, Walcott loses his license...something he amply earned. However, Meighan's wife inexplicably sides with Walcott...showing just how vicious she really is...and insists that the Doc essentially put his work aside to play with her. Dr. Meighan realizes his marriage was a sad mistake. Since this is a soapy film, there is far more to it....and it's all very exciting and what you might expect from such a film!
Overall, I really liked this one. The story, though soapy, was really enjoyable and kept my interest. Plus, the acting was really nice--especially Tone, Bruce and Maureen O'Sullivan as the nurse. Very well made...and well worth seeing.
