Housewife (1934)

Nan Reynolds encourages her copywriter husband Bill to open his own agency. Nearly out of business, he finally gets a client. Former girlfriend Patricia Berkeley writes a very successful ... See full summary »

Director:

Alfred E. Green

Writers:

Manuel Seff (screenplay), Lillie Hayward (screenplay),

Stars:

George Brent, Bette Davis, Ann Dvorak

Cast

Complete credited cast:
George Brent	...	William Reynolds
Bette Davis	...	Patricia Berkeley
Ann Dvorak	...	Nan Reynolds
John Halliday	...	Paul Duprey
Ruth Donnelly	...	Dora Wilson
Hobart Cavanaugh	...	George Wilson
Robert Barrat	...	Sam Blake
Joseph Cawthorn	...	Krueger (as Joe Cawthorne)
Phil Regan	...	Radio Singer
Willard Robertson	...	Judge
Ronnie Cosby	...	Buddy Reynolds
Leila Bennett	...	Jenny
Harry Tyler	...	Mr. Simmons
Charles Coleman	...	Bolton

Storyline

Nan Reynolds encourages her copywriter husband Bill to open his own agency. Nearly out of business, he finally gets a client. Former girlfriend Patricia Berkeley writes a very successful commercial for the client and neats up their old romance. Wife and girlfriend struggle over Bill.

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Plot Keywords:

marriage | car accident | minstrel show | salesman | lawyer | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 August 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dona de Casa

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

69 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Both Lee Phelps (Court Clerk) and Lester Dorr (Chauffeur) are in studio records/casting call lists for their roles, but they did not appear or were not identifiable in the movie.

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Quotes

Patricia 'Pat' Berkeley: Well, I've done alright. I suddenly found out I had some brains and decided to use them.

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Connections

Referenced in Bette Davis: A Basically Benevolent Volcano (1983)

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Soundtracks

"Without That Certain Thing"
(uncredited)
Written by Max Nesbitt and Harry Nesbitt
Second tune played on the radio

User Reviews

A Happy Ending from Nowhere

WARNING: These comments may reveal portions of this film's plot.

This film takes you on a variety of "up's and down's" as you watch a young couple that is struggling during the depression make it big when the wife encourages her husband to strike out on his own in advertising. This portion of the film runs slow, and the entire film seems very melancholy, until the plan works and suddenly the couple is rich, pulling you up.

Then you are pulled back down when the now successful husband hires an old high-school flame onto his staff and starts an affair. The wife won't grant the husband a divorce, however, pulling the mood back down again. To throw a curve into the mix, (as if there weren't enough already), the couple's son is struck by a car. This changes both their minds about the divorce -- now she wants one, and the husband doesn't!

The film ends on another high note, with a happy ending that appears from no where. Up to this point, many portions of the film have run rather slow, just as the beginning of the film. This happy ending appears from no where -- the couple reconciles in the courtroom at their divorce.

Overall, the film surprised me. For a 1934 film to focus on the depression, adultery, and a child struck by a car doesn't seem to be much of the "happy-go-lucky" films of that era when people didn't want to be reminded of their problems -- or so I understood.

Parents, the kids won't like this one since it is a drama. They probably shouldn't see it anyway, considering the philandering of the husband and the car hitting the child. The big draw here is the "other woman," played by Bette Davis. If you can catch it on cable, you might want to check this one out.