Women in Hiding

MGM's Crime Does Not Pay series of shorts was pretty good. This one stars a young and very pretty Marsha Hunt. Marsha plays Jane Taylor, a single woman who enters a clinic to give birth. The clinic preys on women who want to give birth discreetly. They trick them into signing away their rights, then sell the babies to couples looking to adopt. Hunt is terrific and is a prime example of why these MGM short films were so good. Quality actors played in these shorts. The two evil doctors were played by veteran actors C. Henry Gordon and Granville Bates. Both are excellent in their slimy parts. This is pretty realistic and gritty subject matter to see in a short from 1940. Especially from a studio known more for glamour than grit.

Marsha Hunt and Jane Drummond are law-breakers as well as victims in this episode of MGM's long-running CRIME DOES NOT PAY series. They are women having their babies without husbands, or anyone to help them in their times of need.

they're certainly not made up to be glamorous in this short subject from Hollywood's most glamorous movie factory. Miss Hunt is skinny and gawky. Miss Drummond looks like a fresh-faced farm girl. However, the doctors who help them out -- in return for all the money the girls can raise, plus working at the facilities -- are also in the business of selling those babies to couples who want to adopt for $500. It's a "contribution to our baby fund" they are told. Miss Hunt emotes up a storm when she finds out that her baby has been adopted from under her nose.

The characters fall into easily recognized types. There's C,. Henry Gordon as the slick-looking but larcenous senior doctor -- never trust a man with a scar. Charles Middleton is certainly cast against his recognized type. He's no Emperor Ming of Mongo in this one, but a homely and loving father.

I'm uncertain of how widespread a problem baby-farming was, but this movie will certainly pull the heartstrings of every parent in the audience.

Women in Hiding (1940)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

29th film in MGM's "Crime Does Not Pay" series takes a look at illegal hospitals offering cheap service to expecting mothers who are afraid to go to a real hospital because of shame. These hospitals can lead to the death of the mother, death of the baby and often offer illegal adoptions. This is the third or four film I've seen in the series and all of them have been highly entertaining. The documentary style storyline gets the message across without being overly preachy and the direction is above average for this type of film.

This MGM short subject is from their 'Crime Does Not Pay series and it has C.Henry Gordon as the administrator and Granville Bates as the doctor at a home for unwed mothers. The story is told through the eyes of three young pregnant women who came to this home. One thing they were not told is that the contracts they signed gave the home the right to the infant. Gordon and Bates make a pretty penny off these girls.

Note that the option of abortion is not mentioned The Code would not permit it. Bates however is at the bottom rung of his profession and I have no doubt that he'd do it for the right fee.

Marsha Hunt, Mary Bovard, and Jane Drummond are the three women protagonists. Charles Middleton has a good role as Drummond's dad.

Good dramatic, but dated short subject.

MGM's "Crime Does Not Pay" shorts are all good. Some are superb. This is one of the very best.

It's directed by Joseph H. Newman, who went on to become one of the most prolific and consistent directors of film noir. Unlike most of the entries, it has a star: Marsha Hunt.

She was a fine actress. Here she is excellent.

She is pregnant and we see her looking in the newspaper for a place for unwed mothers. We see a classified ad being circled. Without giving too much away, the doctors are shady. And the other patients are touching.

Maybe it's just me but I had the sense that one of the girls might have been a victim of incest. The whole thing is very racy for 1940. And it's not at all dated.