Tonight's Movie: Mary Stevens, M.D. (1933) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

The great Kay Francis stars as MARY STEVENS, M.D. (1933), just released on a beautiful Blu-ray by the Warner Archive.

The Warner Archive Blu-ray print of this classic pre-Code melodrama is sensational, with top-drawer video and audio. I was quite impressed.

I first saw the movie in 2009, and I liked it even more on this second viewing. It's a perfect exemplar of what Kay Francis movies are all about, with Kay suffering nobly while wearing fabulous Orry-Kelly gowns...at least when she's not in doctor's scrubs!

Mary and her best friend Don Andrews (Lyle Talbot) graduate medical school and open a practice together. They struggle at first, working to make ends meet while serving a poor clientele, but things begin to look up when Don meets a rich politician's daughter, Lois (Thelma Todd).

Don marries Lois and gets a better job while also securing one for Mary. He's oblivious to the fact that Mary loves him until his marriage quickly runs aground. Don and Mary then make plans to wed as soon as Lois goes to Reno...only to have Lois abruptly announce she's not ready to get a divorce because she's pregnant.

Little does Don know he's about to be a father twice over...or is he?

It might sound strange given the amount of tragedy Mary faces in this film, but it's a great deal of fun to watch. It's the quintessential Francis melodrama, moving at a very quick 72 minutes and peppered with some great comic relief thanks to the wisecracking Glenda Farrell as Mary's nurse and best friend.

Given Mary's intelligence in most areas, it's frankly hard to understand what she sees in dithering Don, whose irresponsibility nearly leads to both legal and medical tragedies. He seems to turn his life around once he commits to Mary, but he's made such a hash of his life to that point that he and Mary must both keep paying the price a year or more longer.

Francis is marvelous, making Mary a fully developed character, including that inexplicable hang-up over Don. One minute she's a no-nonsense doctor skillfully handling a knife-wielding, hysterical expectant father and a laboring mother...another minute she's on the floor cooing at a baby...and in yet another scene she's glowing with love, wearing one of those fabulous gowns. The grief Francis conveyes in the movie's final scenes is heart-breaking.

One of the things I also frankly appreciate about the film is that, perhaps contrary to what one might expect from a pre-Code film, it's enthusiastically pro-life. Mary discusses encouraging an unwed patient to have her baby and then lives up to that advice herself.

MARY STEVENS, M.D., was briskly directed by Lloyd Bacon, with "dialogue direction" by William Keighley. The cinematography was by Sid Hickox. The screenplay by Rian James and Robert Lord was based on a story by Virginia Kellogg.

The Warner Archive Blu-ray includes the trailer.

As I wrote a dozen years ago, MARY STEVENS, M.D., is essential viewing for anyone interested in pre-Codes or Kay Francis. Recommended.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from the Warner Archive Collection Amazon Store or from any online retailers where Blu-rays are sold.

Tweet