Dr. Monica

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.

Dr. Monica
Directed by
Written byCharles Kenyon
Based on
  • A Polish play
    by Maria Morozowicz-Szczepkowska
  • Dr. Monica (1933 English adaptation)
    by Laura Walker Mayer
Produced byHenry Blanke (uncredited)[1]
Starring
CinematographySol Polito
Edited byWilliam Clemens
Music byHeinz Roemheld (uncredited)
Production
company
Distributed by
Release dates
  • June 21, 1934 (1934-06-21) (NYC)
  • June 23, 1934 (1934-06-23) (US)
Running time
65 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

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

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
  1. Dr. Monica at the American Film Institute Catalog
  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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