A Wicked Woman (1934)

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

After killing her brute of a husband, the long-suffering Mady Christians raises her children with a combination of discipline and love in order to set them on the path to a righteous life. She has vowed that she will return to their home town to turn herself in for the murder so she can atone for her "sin" when they are of age, but not allow them to be involved in her own day of reckoning. Going from the cold dingy cabin with her three older children and new born baby to the lights of the city and becoming a well loved clothing store designer and owner, Christians deals with the typical teenaged angst of the three growing children and the lame younger son who is the light of the family with his goodness. When one of the daughters is exploited by the town playboy (a young Robert Taylor), violence erupts which threatens to send the older son (William Henry) to prison for assault. The family, with the help of Christian's new companion (Charles Bickford), deals with both traumas with the dignity and loyalty that they learned through their mother, even when she had to be "wicked" to teach them right from wrong.Somewhat sappy but well acted (especially by Christians and an understated Bickford), this is a gripping mother love drama that has many plot holes but isn't wrenching to try to get through. Jean Parker and Betty Furness, as the two daughters, are completely unalike in every way, with Parker set on getting the rogue Taylor to marry her, even if it means losing her chastity, while the easier going Furness spends time with the comically nebbish Sterling Holloway, too much of a clod to be surly to her. The mixture of comedy and drama works here, and it's nice to see Bickford tone down his sometimes brutish manliness to be much more tender, although one sequence of him insisting on being the man of the family (to have the last say with "obey" a key word) goes against the gentility of his character. The trial scene at the end shows Christian's "Wicked Woman" to be quite not so, with Charles Lane as her defense attorney presenting a case that even has an impact on the D.A. In less capable hands and a less magnetic actress than Christians, this could have been extremely cloying, but her performance makes you root for her from the start.

While watching this film I kept trying to place Actress MADY CHRISTIANS. Then in a flash I remembered, ALL MY SONS (1948) with BURT LANCASTER, EDWARD G. ROBINSON, HOWARD DUFF, HARRY MORGAN, etc. Ms. CHRISTIANS spent most of her career making films in Europe or appearing on the Stage, so is not well remembered here (U.S.A.), but once she spoke I recognized her.A WICKED WOMEN (1934) is the struggle of a Woman raising her four (4) Children after killing her 'Criminal' Husband in self defense. Disposing of the body, she moves her family from the prying eyes of her former community. Raising them and herself too Middle-Class respectability and finding love again. Of course being a 'code' film she has to be called out too justify her crime. How they found his remains and any evidence that would hold up after all those years strains credibility. After all we are not talking about DNA and 21st Century technology. In those days though you had to tidy everything up before the happy ending, which this films does.This is a melodrama typical of the period. Most of the acting is credibly done and the 'middle-aged' romance between Naomi Trice/Stroud (CHRISTIANS) and Pat Naylor (CHARLE BICKFORD) is believable. The supporting Actors do their parts well also. A young ROBERT TAYLOR in only his fourth role is presented in a early romantic lead. Something he would do for practically his entire career. Like most 'production films' made by the 'factory system' it is well made and worth watching. M.G.M. had a knack for making these 'B' level melodrama's.

It would seem that the "woman sacrifices everything for her children" storyline was rather popular back in the 1930's. This is yet another one out of that pipeline and it's a competent effort with fluid direction from a veteran of silents, Charles Brabin (he puts together a couple of striking montages and seems to handle actors well). Interestingly, it was his last film. I had never EVER heard of Mady Christians going in but she certainly comes across as an especially passionate and forceful actress. She over-does it a bit at times but no one will ever accuse her of lacking conviction. Film is also noteworthy in featuring a relatively young Charles Bickford (he was in his early 40's) in a romantic role. He seems a tad uncomfortable when required to swoon, so he says his lines as quickly as possible in an effort to get it over with. Guess he was just born crusty.The real tragedy here is the pairing of beautiful young Betty Furness with that cartoon-voiced scarecrow Sterling Holloway. If Christians' plight doesn't put a lump in your throat, Holloway's charmless, bewilderingly successful pursuit of Furness definitely will.

Another good film performance by that GREAT actor, Charles Bickford, and also by Mady Christians. In fact, it is the performance of Miss Christians that this film hinges on, as without her, it would be a very dull film. It is too bad that Miss Christians never had a chance to become a big star in America as she had been in Europe, as she is a very good actress!! This film has one of the first performances of Robert Taylor and he does a very good job, as does all the supporting players in this film. I enjoyed this film and think you will too, if you get to see it on television.