This Pre-Code Film takes More Risks than just the Risqué Underwear Shots and Double Meaning Dialog. After the First Half Establishing the Medical Template and Barbara Stanwyck's Title Character with Scenes Among Horny Interns and Medical Procedures, the Movie Explodes into Lurid Exploitations of Alcohol Abuse, Drug Sniffing Doctors with Nose Twitches, and a Plot to Starve Children to Death to Collect Trust Funds.There is Crackling Dialog about Ethics, and Stanwyck Standing Up to a Brutish Villain, Played by Clark Gable, who Punches and Slaps Around Anyone Within Arm's Reach. The Drunks here are So Inebriated They can Barely Stand Up or Speak Clearly and Spend a lot of Time Weaving Around and Falling on the Floor.Especially the Mother of the Victimized Children Drowning Her Guilt and Blaming it on the Booze. "I'm a Dipsomaniac and proud of it". She Slurs. Stanwyck says..."You Mother..." and then Pauses. Even in the Pre-Code Films the F-Word was Forbidden in Hollywood.This Touching, Grim, and Stunning Look at the Dark Side of Humanity is a Must See for Fans of Pre-Code Movies, Stanwyck, Gable, and the Always Bubbly Joan Blondell. It is Typical Warner Bros. Social Concern, Director William Wellman Crafts an Example how Nastiness and Evil could be Shown Before the Code in an Entertaining and Enlightening way with Two-Dimensional Characters like the "Hero" Bootlegger, without Pussy Footing Around. It Deals with the Thug in this Story in a Realistic and Finalized Way, that would be Impossible in Postcode Cinema.

This is a Pre-Code movie where bootlegging gangster Mortie (Ben Lyon), is actually more ethical than anyone in the entire movie, except of course, Lora Hart (Barbara Stanwyck). Spoilers ahead: You see that when Lora is trying to save two little girls from being poisoned to death, the only one who really helps her is Mortie, who knows what she is about by taking a bullet out of him, and not reporting the shooting to the police (at risk of her job). However, this movie is a must see to see Clark Gable (Nick the chauffeur), playing the most evil role of his career. There are others where he is a bad guy ("Manhattan Melodrama", "A Free Soul" & "The Painted Desert" come to mind (he was not too nice in "San Francisco" or "Sporting Blood" either), but NOWHERE was he outright sinister, like in this movie, and I liked the fact that he got knocked off. Gable is the main reason to see this movie, but Stanwyck is not far behind. There is one scene, where Nick punches out Lora, and later on, you see a bandage on her chin. It makes you think that yes, it was Barbara not a stunt double that took the punch from Gable, that is how tough Stamwyck was. The ending is quite interesting because of why Lora & Mortie ended up together: They knew the other was strong enough to do so.

This seems to start out as a thin exploitation (tame now) flick with Stanwyck down to her undies twice in the first fifteen minutes. It then evolves into a decent little thriller that is worth a view for early crime-drama buffs, pre-code buffs and, of course, Stanwyck buffs.I don't want to get into the plot too much because at just over an hour there isn't that much plot to unravel. Let's just say it's a pretty ugly theme with children involved. As tame as this is nowadays, this one ain't for the kids.Stanwyck is good enough though not her usual, stellar presence; she comes off a little stiff and unconvincing in parts. Joan Blondel is very good as the roommate but fades into the background in the latter half. Clark Gable is kind of one-note as the creepy chauffeur. So there are no career defining, must see performances. But these are minor quibbles on my part; it's still a solid way to burn an hour-ten.

Another win for William Wellman! He keeps moving up the list of my favorite directors. In this one, Barbara Stanwyck stars as a nurse who is assigned to watch two young girls. She discovers that they're illness is being exacerbated by a crooked doctor. It seems that the doctor and the kids' mother's chauffeur (Clark Gable, looking delightfully evil in his black chauffeur's uniform) are conspiring to let them die. Unfortunately, Stanwyck is obliged to follow the doctor's rules, as per her profession's code of ethics (hopefully this has changed over the past 75 years!). It's a good story, and Stanwyck is fantastic in it. My major complaint is that Wellman goes for some strange comic scenes. The girls' mother is an alcoholic (the doctor and chauffeur are also trying to keep her inebriated, so she doesn't stop their murder plot), and she always has friends over for parties. The drunks are all played as comical, which grates against the more serious themes of the movie. Joan Blondell co-stars as the nurse who takes care of the kids during the day (and apparently she's nowhere near as concerned as Stanwyck about it, or at least she doesn't do anything about it!). This movie is found in Warner's Forbidden Hollywood Vol. 2, not in Vol. 3, which is nothing but Wellman films.