I really can respect this film. In a Post-Code world where films rarely dealt with topics like this, it's an amazingly frank and effective film that must have ruffled some feathers when it debuted. After all, suicide and adultery were topics that were not supposed to be allowed by the very conservative years following the adoption of the strengthened Production Code in 1934.
The film begins with a couple falling in love and getting married (Josephine Hutchinson and Colin Clive). Sadly, shortly after their honeymoon, the husband is involved in an airplane accident a is paralyzed--permanently. However, his new wife is devoted to him and refuses to have a life of her own--and it pains the husband to see her doing this. He maintains a happy and hopeful demeanor but he realizes it can't go on like this. So, the husband manipulates the situation--inviting his brother (George Brent) to stay with them and deliberately puts his brother and his wife together on many opportunities. Not surprisingly, eventually Brent and Hutchinson begin having feelings for each other--but both are too decent to act upon this.
Then, not too surprisingly, Clive dies. It's ruled a death by natural causes, but his nurse insists that he was murdered--as some of his medicine is missing. And, sadly, the nurse is very vindictive towards the wife and makes a lot of trouble. It's obvious, then, that the nurse is doing this because she has strong feelings towards Clive. What happened and why did Clive die? Well, I don't think it's a huge leap to guess what happened, I love how this film brings up many moral dilemmas--ones without clear answers--ones religious and non-religious people might struggle with as well. Assisted or voluntary suicide, quality of life issues and the like are all important--and topics films are usually just too scared to deal with or address seriously. My advice is to watch this one--and have some Kleenex handy. It has excellent acting, wonderfully writing and couldn't have been improved upon in any significant way. A very sad but thought-provoking little sleeper--I know it sure got me thinking.
By the way, Josephine Hutchinson was very good and it's sad that she didn't make more a name for herself in films. As for Clive, even sadder is that within two years he was dead--from a combination of the effects of tuberculosis, pneumonia and alcoholism.
Also, that final scene between Clive and his mother (Henrietta Crosman) is one of the saddest yet wonderfully handled I've sen in years. Wow.....I'm all choked up as I sit here watching.
