A CHILD IS BORN (1939)

A B-movie remake of LIFE BEGINS (1932, reviewed 1/02/04). The plot is identical to the original, so I can essentially just paste in my review of the original movie and change the names of the actors: Gale Page presides over a ward of "problem" maternity cases. First and foremost is convicted killer Geraldine Fitzgerald, brought to the ward in handcuffs; her boyish husband, Jeffrey Lynn, is nervous (and not quite as hysterical as Eric Linden was in the original) and though the cops don't want him staying with her, he manages to sneak in a couple of times. Other expectant mothers in the ward include Spring Byington, an old pro at childbirth with six previous kids, and Gladys George as a crusty vaudeville performer who is expecting twins and doesn't want to keep them. Before she gives birth, she finds out she's been dumped by her partner. She puts gin in her "candy" box, gets drunk, and behaves callously toward Fitzgerald, but by the end of the movie, she gets all nurturing and decide to keep the kids. Fay Helm is a psycho case who wanders through the wards, stealing babies. Johnnie Davis is a nervous father sent off on a fool's errand (to buy a can of "Twilight Sleep") to keep him out of the nurses' hair. Others in the large supporting cast include Eve Arden as a nurse, Henry O'Neill and John Litel as doctors, Gloria Holden as a woman with a problem delivery, and Nanette Fabray & Johnny Downs as a young couple whose families disapprove of their marriage. As in the original, none of the mothers look at all pregnant (an onscreen taboo of the era, I guess). Fitzgerald and Lynn are a letdown as the leads, but George, Davis, Byington, and Arden are all fun to watch. Overall, I'd have to recommend the 1932 version over this one, though this is certainly tolerable. [TCM]