hardly a waste of time

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It's historical and educational as well as entertaining--I love the cat attracted to the goose grease on the shoes! Movies made in and about their own time include elements that nobody would later think to show. I get irritated by people who call anything dated that isn't the world they know now. I guess by that standard the Bible is dated. :)

While the culture has changed, we can still see these types of behaviors around us, including the older generation decrying the lack of manners, sense, and good taste of the youngsters. There are many people today with a "liberal arts education" who are living on much less money than those who learned a trade. There are conflicts in expectations and values between the different types of labor and how much they should be paid--should all earn a living wage because all are important to a society? There are issues with immigrants and the challenges Of Americanized children. There are people with more money than brains. There are snobs and gossips, the jealous and the petty-minded, the fashionable risktakers with their legal and illegal drugs of choice and self-centered consumerism. There is good natured thoughtlessness that can mature into character as people cross social boundary lines over shared interests and empathy with others.

If the professor's wife weren't so depressed over the way her life has turned out, and who among us wouldn't be depressed if we were that poverty stricken, she would have a garden and some chickens in the back of her home like most families in that era who had a bit of land. The immigrant woman wants to gain social acceptance and the professor's wife envies her neighbor's ability to have a good standard of living, and both feel humiliated by the situation. It's all very human.

The theme of this movie could be the seven deadly sins! :) Or it might be about how we are all brothers and sisters under the skin.

Good movie, and a rare opportunity to see the great Louis Calhern as a very young romantic leading man.