Life Begins Reviews

A nice slice-of-life film dealing with the different characters found in a hospital's maternity ward. The central story revolves around Young, a convicted murderess who is about to give birth. Other mothers-to-be include Peterson as a non-pregnant psychopath who is always sneaking into the ward, convinced she is about to give birth, and Farrell, a hardened nightclub singer who wants nothing to do with her children once her twins are born. (But when she sees them she cannot help but sing "Frankie and Johnny," the closest she can come to a lullaby.) The ensemble cast works well together and the directors handle the various threads of the plot with sympathy and understanding, rarely letting the different stories get confused with one another. Young's death scene in childbirth is especially well handled. Originally, this was a student play created at Columbia University, later moving to Broadway, though closing after only a week. The studio was impressed enough to buy the rights, however, for the paltry sum of $6,000. This was remade in 1939 as A CHILD IS BORN.