Divorce 1930's Style

WHAT BECOMES OF THE CHILDREN?-1936-Fred (Glen Boles) and Marion (Joan Marsh) are close knit brother and sister, the children of a railroad magnate John Worthington (Robert Frazer) and his uncaring wife Edith (Natlie Moorhead). The Siblings are split up by the divorce of their parents. 15 years later Fred is a college dropout who gets a job as a saloon piano player. Marion marries hastily to Roy (Larry Kent), a diamond smuggler arrested on their wedding night! Almost thrown out of her apartment, she meets Elsie Ford (Barbara Pepper) who takes her to the saloon where her bro is working. Roy also shows up and taunts and manhandles Marion until Fred lays him out. Brother and sister are finally united but Roy is shot when he tussles with Fred again. Dad comes to the rescue and it's proven someone else did the shooting. Mom and dad get back together and everyone lives happily ever after in this low budget badly acted rumination on the pitfalls of divorce.

This is a remake of an 1918 silent film of the same name that starred the director of this sound version Walter Shumway (his only directorial effort) and his wife Corra Beach, who wrote the book it's based on.

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CHARLIE CHAN IN RENO-1939- In “the biggest little city in the world” Mrs. Russell (Kay Linaker) runs a hotel for couples getting divorce. “This 1939. We're modern.”, says one character. The obnoxious Mrs. Bentley (Louise Henry) insults everyone and is asked by the owner to leave. She's killed instead and Mary Whitman (Pauline Moore; in CC IN HONOLULU the year before) is found over the body with blood on her hands. It just so happened Bentley was going to marry Mary's almost ex-husband Curtis (Kane Richmond; later in CC IN PANAMA). When Mary is arrested for the murder Curtis asks Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) for help. Rather dumbly, especially for him Chan wires son Jimmy (Sen Yung) in LA that he will visit him on his return trip. Naturally Jimmy sees this as an opportunity to help “Pop”. He borrows a friend's car and drives there. However on the way he falls victim to two phony hitchhikers who steal the car and Jimmy's clothes! He winds up in a police line up that Chan, the police chief (Charles Brown) and a dopey sheriff (Slim Summerville) are looking at. Chan investigates all the suspects including the owner Mrs. Russell, her hostess (Phyllis Brooks), an oily doctor (Ricardo Cortez; also in MR. MOTO'S LAST WARNING the same year), Birk (Robert Lowery; also in MR. MOTO IN DANGER ISLAND the same year)), a broke young man and Mr. Bentley (Morgan Conway; future Dick Tracy). An Asian maid (Iris Wong) (and Jimmy's love interest) helps out too. This was one of four Chan mysteries directed by Norman Foster who also found time to direct 6 “Mr. Moto” entries.

Next in the series: CHARLIE CHAN ON TREASURE ISLAND.

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