I watched many of the Stanwyck precode movies this week on TCM, and I think this one deserves more attention. The ending is unexpected and thoughtprovoking. I don't want to spoil the ending, but suffice it to say - I don't think it would have been allowed under the production code a couple years later.
sharebut once the premise is set up - what are her choices?
Whether she turns him in or not, she couldn't live with herself.
I wonder if the production code would have found her actions noble.
But of course by the time the Production Code was in place there was more anti-German sentiment again. Perhaps they would have censored the way that it showed anti-German prejudice.
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Spoilers ahoy, but her poisoning him wouldn't have been a problem in the Hayes Code days as he was an agent for The Bad Guys but showing them putting on their clothes after they obviously had sex, before he poisons him might not have been acceptable.
Good movie, well done in 68 minutes.
I have to agree. Even though they had been married, under the code any suggestion they had spent the night together likely could not have been left in the movie. At that point, they were divorced; though I'm not sure Hugo knew it, so sex would not have been allowed.
On the other hand, the poisoning probably would have been okay. She did it to save a lot of lives and in support of her country. That would make it morally acceptable.
Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]
I saw the movie for the first time yesterday. I also agree with the sentiments that is was very good. I missed the last part where the exes killed themselves. The morning after scene was a little surprising to me too, but it was a Pre-Code movie. I have read about the anti-German sentiment during the WWI era, but never saw a film that showcased it. Their son and pet's deaths were heart breaking. What did the kid die from anyway, was it asthma or TB? Maybe even scarlet fever or the flu.
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