Dr. Monica

"Doctor Monica" (1934) was one of the very last precode movies, released by Warner Brothers just ten days before the chopper fell down on Hollywood.

Based on a Polish play it stars the very sophisticated Kay Francis as the successful surgeon, Dr Monica Braden.

She is unable to have children but alas, her philandering but suave husband, John (Warren William) is most definitely not shooting blanks as we find out when Monica's close friend, Mary Hathaway (Jean Muir) faints at a party. Tests prove that the unmarried young woman has "one in the oven" so to speak and never one to pry or judge, Monica helps to secure her a place in a country clinic to see out her pregnancy away from the frowning eyes of her townsfolk.

The two share a mutual friend in Anna Littlefield (Verree Teasdale) who is the first to find out that the elusive father of the unborn child is none other than the husband of the blissfully unaware Dr Monica!

John is away on business and also has no clue as to the results of his adultery when Mary goes into labour.

Already finding her imminent baby delivering duties painful in light of a recent very negative phone call from a fertility specialist, Monica is suddenly plunged into personal, emotional and moral turmoil when she overhears a phone call revealing that her husband is the sire of the soon to be born illegitimate child.

Decisions decisions decisions!!

A very well acted drama by all involved. Kay Francis is the picture of class and elegance and the brilliant Warren William manages once again to be very likeable despite playing a scoundrel. It's also interesting to see him in one of only two films (the other being as Julius Caesar in his previous film, "Cleopatra") in which he doesn't sport his trademark moustache.

This women's movie about a selfless doctor (Kay Francis) who can't have children and her philandering husband (Warren William) was originally a brisk 65 minutes. After the censors were through with it, it was trimmed to 53 minutes.

The problem was that the husband fathers a child with an unmarried woman (Jean Muir) but remains blissfully unaware of it. Muir goes off to a country clinic to have the kid, so no one is the wiser except for Francis and her icy friend (Verree Teasdale).

Muir doesn't want the baby if she can't have the husband, but he's through with her and doesn't know about the baby anyway. He keeps going to and coming from Europe while all this plays out. Francis is about to have an operation so she can have children but is told it's futile.

Ultimately, Muir takes matters into her own hands to resolve the problem.

Francis, Muir, and Teasdale are all quite good but Warren doesn't have much to do since he's not involved in the main plot. Emma Dunn is the nurse, Phillip Reed shows up for a second, and Ann Shoemaker has one scene at a party.

It would be interesting to see what ended up on the cutting room floor.

Kay Francis, (Dr. Monica Braden) is madly in love with her husband, John Braden, (Warren William) who is a writer and very seldom sees his wife because she is a very successful physician and travels a great deal. Monica finds out the sad fact that she cannot have any children of her own and she decides to adopt a child. Monica has a girlfriend named Mary Hathaway, (Jean Muir) who is very much attracted to Monica's husband John which she finds out about by listening to his conversation on a phone. Monica keeps the secret to herself and the story gets quite interesting after this event. If you like soap operas from 1934, this is a good Kay Francis special with her giving a great performance.

Dr. Monica (1934)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Decent but somewhat dimwitted melodrama from Warner about a good hearted doctor (Kay Francis) who can't have children of her own but soon learns that her husband (Warren William) has been sleeping with her best friend (Jean Muir) and has also gotten her pregnant. Quite a story for a film from 1934 but sadly this thing only runs 53-minutes and apparently it had around fifteen-minutes cut out of it either before or during its original release. I'm not certain if the uncut version will ever show up but I was surprised to see how much was left intact from the cheating husband, a non-married pregnant woman and there's even a quick mention about an abortion. I have a hard time really judging this film since so much of it was cut out and perhaps some of the issues I had with it were better served in the uncut version. With that said, the biggest problem I had was how stupid the characters were. I'm not going to give away any of the major plot points but I will say that I found the two female characters to be incredibly silly. This is especially true of the "friend" as I found her so annoying that I couldn't connect with her story. The wife/doctor was so forgiving that I had a hard time caring for her either. The film does feature three good performances from the leads as all of them fit their roles nicely. The performances certainly help the weak material overcome some of its issues but DR. MONICA doesn't quite reach the level it should. Still, fans of pre-code films should want to check this one out even in its cut form.

Don't faint, but I actually liked Kay Francis in Dr. Monica. Usually I'm her biggest critic, but she did a good job in this entertaining drama. I found her much more believable as a career woman than as a mother, her usual role. She always seemed very self-absorbed to me, a quality that lends itself much more to a high rung on the ladder than a seat in the nursery. In this movie, she's a dedicated obstetrician with a supportive husband, Warren William, who also has his own career. They seem to have a perfect marriage and all their friends envy them.

All except one, Jean Muir. Jean is having an affair with Warren behind Kay's back. If you look the movie up online, you'll get major spoiler alerts as to the rest of the plot. I wouldn't recommend it; just watch the movie and let it unfold naturally. It's a very interesting story with a timeless struggle between the characters. And don't be surprised if you get a lump in your throat at the end. You'll also see Ann Shoemaker and Verree Teasdale in the supporting cast, and Louise Beavers in a small role as Jean's maid.