J'ai épousé un docteur

For some inexplicable reason, Warner Bros. took Sinclair Lewis's acclaimed novel Main Street and gave it one of the most inane titles in screen history. The film is nonetheless a fine adaptation of the novel, telling the story of a sophisticated woman from the city at odds with the conventional values in a small American town.

Class act Josephine Hutchinson is perfectly cast as the discontented wife, and Ross Alexander is outstanding as the malcontent with artistic sensibilities who falls for the married Hutchinson. (Alexander's career was tragically cut short when he committed suicide in 1937. Ronald Reagan was allegedly chosen by Warner Bros. to replace Alexander, but in terms of talent, there's no comparison.) Pat O'Brian underplays the role of the doctor admirably, but he is still somewhat miscast, as he comes across as more sensitive than the at-times obtuse character depicted in the novel.

Well photographed, the film only disappoints with its cop-out ending, which tends to negate the quality of the rest of the film. However, if you think of the film's title as Main Street rather than I Married a Doctor, you should appreciate this unjustly neglected gem from the '30s.