Dr. Monica

Dr. Monica
Dr. Monica
Directed by	William Keighley; William Dieterle (uncredited)[citation needed];
Written by	Charles Kenyon
Based on	A Polish play; by Maria Morozowicz-Szczepkowska; Dr. Monica (1933 English adaptation); by Laura Walker Mayer;
Produced by	Henry Blanke (uncredited)
Starring	Kay Francis; Warren William; Jean Muir;
Cinematography	Sol Polito
Edited by	William Clemens
Music by	Heinz Roemheld (uncredited)
Production; company	Warner Bros.
Distributed by	Warner Bros.; Vitaphone Corp.;
Release dates	June 21, 1934 (NYC); June 23, 1934 (US);
Running time	65 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Dr. Monica is a 1934 American pre-Code melodrama film produced by Warner Bros. starring Kay Francis, Warren William, and Jean Muir. An obstetrician, who is unable to have children, discovers that the baby she is about to deliver was fathered by her husband.

Plot

Mary Hathaway gives birth to a baby girl delivered by Dr. Monica Braden. Monica discovers her husband, John, is the child's father. John is unaware his affair with Mary resulted in her pregnancy. Monica prepares to leave John by telling him she is going abroad. Mary learns that Monica knows the truth and decides to leave the child in Monica's care. Mary, a pilot, flies her plane over the ocean, which is later reported to have vanished. When John asks Monica about the baby, Monica lies making John believe the baby was abandoned by both parents. In contemplating their new role, Monica looks at John and says "She's yours," while John unknowingly smiles.

Cast

Kay Francis as Dr. Monica Braden
Warren William as John Braden
Jean Muir as Mary Hathaway
Verree Teasdale as Anna Littlefield
Emma Dunn as Mrs. Monahan
Phillip Reed as "Bunny" Burton
Herbert Bunston as Mr. Pettinghill
Ann Shoemaker as Mrs. Hazlitt
Virginia Hammond as Mrs. Chandor
Hale Hamilton as Dr. Brent

Censorship

The censors at the Hays Office requested a large number of changes to the script before they would approve it for production. One of the major issues they had with the script was that it explicitly included dialogue about the potential dangers of childbirth.^[2]

Reception

Mordaunt Hall, critic for The New York Times, wrote that Dr. Monica is "not especially suspenseful", but it "moves apace and the acting is excellent."^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b Dr. Monica at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
^ Kirby, David A. (September 2017). "Regulating cinematic stories about reproduction: pregnancy, childbirth, abortion and movie censorship in the US, 1930–1958". The British Journal for the History of Science. 50 (3): 451–472. doi:10.1017/S0007087417000814. ISSN 0007-0874. PMID 28923130.
^ Hall, Mordaunt (June 21, 1934). "Doctor Monica (1934): The Screen; Kay Francis, Warren William and Jean Muir in the Picturization of a Polish Stage Work". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.

External links

Dr. Monica at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
Dr. Monica at IMDb
Dr. Monica at the TCM Movie Database
‹The template AllMovie title is being considered for deletion.› Dr. Monica at AllMovie

This article about a 1930s romantic drama film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[afi-1] Dr. Monica at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films

[2] Kirby, David A. (September 2017). "Regulating cinematic stories about reproduction: pregnancy, childbirth, abortion and movie censorship in the US, 1930–1958". The British Journal for the History of Science. 50 (3): 451–472. doi:10.1017/S0007087417000814. ISSN 0007-0874. PMID 28923130.

[3] Hall, Mordaunt (June 21, 1934). "Doctor Monica (1934): The Screen; Kay Francis, Warren William and Jean Muir in the Picturization of a Polish Stage Work". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.

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