Directed: Edgar Selwyn

Year: 1931

Nominated: Best Actress – Helen Hayes

Won: Best Actress – Helen Hayes

Plot in 25 Words: A bitter depressing tale of the result of having an illegitimate child, serving time in prison, and becoming a prostitute. Fairly bleak ending. Not cheerful.

In My Opinion: I’m sure that at the time this was a  very gritty drama, with a very edgy subject matter but I’m struggling to remember a single thing about it. It just seems to blur into any of the dozen or so (at least!) other possible dramas of the era.

I understand that the act of prostitution was frightfully taboo, and the filmmakers of the times were groundbreaking but they have definitely emptied that well!

Nothing about this stood out aside from some minor plot insanity.

Star Performer: Helen Hayes as Madelon Claudet. The absolute star of the film, although that’s not saying much. After watching I’m more than certain Marie Dressler was robbed.

Overall: I’m sure if this was the first or maybe even second prostitute drama I’d watched, then it might have stood out, but as it was, it was just another in a prostitute production line.