Frank Capra is today best remembered for his comedies, often ones with a message celebrating optimism or American patriotism, such as "Mr Smith Goes to Washington" or "It's a Wonderful Life". "Forbidden", however, which dates from rather earlier in his career, is a rather different type of film, although it starts off like a conventional romantic comedy. Lulu Smith, a young librarian, cashes in her life savings and buys a ticket for a cruise to Havana. On board ship, in a classic "meet- cute", she meets a lawyer named Bob Grover after he mistakes her room 66 for his room 99, and a romance soon grows up between them, which continues after they return home. And then, suddenly, the film takes an unexpected turn; Bob confesses to Lulu that he is already married, and unwilling to divorce his invalid wife. This first bombshell is soon followed by another; Lulu is pregnant with their child.
This film is a good example of how the Hollywood of the early thirties was able to deal with subjects which would have been taboo after the introduction of the Production Code in 1934, in this case adultery and unmarried motherhood. When the studio tried to re-release the film in 1935, only three years after it was made, it was refused a certificate by the Hays Office. The film is essentially a melodrama of the sort which became known as a "woman's picture", partly because women were the main target audience for them, but also because the central character was generally a woman, with the male characters being defined in terms of their relationship to her. Besides Bob, the principal male character is Al Holland, a young journalist who is also romantically interested in Lulu.
In common with normal "woman's picture" conventions, the woman is not only the central character but also the most sympathetic one. Despite her moral lapses, Lulu is the self-sacrificing heroine who will do anything to avoid hurting Bob or their daughter Roberta, even allowing Bob and his wife Helen to adopt Roberta. (Helen has no idea about her husband's affair or about the little girl's true parentage). Bob himself is weak and hypocritical, whereas Al is really the villain of the piece. In many films from this period campaigning journalists were often portrayed as heroic crusaders for democracy, but Al is a mean-spirited individual with a powerful dislike of Bob, who has political ambitions. This dislike is not rooted in sexual jealousy- for most of the picture Al does not know about Bob's relationship with Lulu- nor is it based upon political differences. (We never learn exactly what Bob's politics are, whether he is left-wing or right-wing, a Republican or a Democrat). It seems to be based upon nothing more than a long-standing grudge. At first Al's campaign has no effect on Bob's fortunes- he rises to become District Attorney, City Mayor, a Senator and eventually State Governor, but eventually Al, by now an influential editor, discovers the secret which he believes will destroy Bob's career.
The story takes place over a timeline of more than twenty years- by the end Roberta is a young woman about to get married- so the early scenes are presumably supposed to take place around 1910. There is, however, no attempt to create an authentic period look- the costumes, interiors and technology remain those of the early 1930s throughout. This lack of attention to period detail was quite common in films of this era, probably for financial reasons; "The Shopworn Angel" is another example of a film ostensibly set in the 1910s but looking more like the thirties. (That film too starts off like a romantic comedy and then turns into a serious drama).
The story does not always flow smoothly, proceeding jerkily rather than smoothly, with the plot advancing more through a series of sudden revelations than through logical development. We are, for example, led to believe that Lulu and Bob's relationship is non-sexual and then suddenly learn that she is pregnant by him. This, however, is probably due to the moral constraints imposed on the scriptwriter by the conventions of the day; although the Production Code was not yet in force in 1932 there was still a limit to what the censors would allow.
In common with most films of the early thirties, "Forbidden" was made in the "filmed theatre" style, with most of the scenes taking place indoors and being shot on a studio set, and with a greater emphasis on dialogue than on physical action except in one key scene. This style was forced on the studios by factors both financial (money was tight during the Great Depression) and technical (shooting on location was difficult during the early days of sound), but it was a style well-suited to romantic melodramas like this one. If one makes allowances for the fact that the cinema at this period often used a rather mannered, non- naturalistic style of acting, the cast all play their roles well, especially Barbara Stanwyck as Lulu. This is not in the same class as some of Capra's later comedies, but it is still a film which retains some interest today. 7/10
This film is a good example of how the Hollywood of the early thirties was able to deal with subjects which would have been taboo after the introduction of the Production Code in 1934, in this case adultery and unmarried motherhood. When the studio tried to re-release the film in 1935, only three years after it was made, it was refused a certificate by the Hays Office. The film is essentially a melodrama of the sort which became known as a "woman's picture", partly because women were the main target audience for them, but also because the central character was generally a woman, with the male characters being defined in terms of their relationship to her. Besides Bob, the principal male character is Al Holland, a young journalist who is also romantically interested in Lulu.
In common with normal "woman's picture" conventions, the woman is not only the central character but also the most sympathetic one. Despite her moral lapses, Lulu is the self-sacrificing heroine who will do anything to avoid hurting Bob or their daughter Roberta, even allowing Bob and his wife Helen to adopt Roberta. (Helen has no idea about her husband's affair or about the little girl's true parentage). Bob himself is weak and hypocritical, whereas Al is really the villain of the piece. In many films from this period campaigning journalists were often portrayed as heroic crusaders for democracy, but Al is a mean-spirited individual with a powerful dislike of Bob, who has political ambitions. This dislike is not rooted in sexual jealousy- for most of the picture Al does not know about Bob's relationship with Lulu- nor is it based upon political differences. (We never learn exactly what Bob's politics are, whether he is left-wing or right-wing, a Republican or a Democrat). It seems to be based upon nothing more than a long-standing grudge. At first Al's campaign has no effect on Bob's fortunes- he rises to become District Attorney, City Mayor, a Senator and eventually State Governor, but eventually Al, by now an influential editor, discovers the secret which he believes will destroy Bob's career.
The story takes place over a timeline of more than twenty years- by the end Roberta is a young woman about to get married- so the early scenes are presumably supposed to take place around 1910. There is, however, no attempt to create an authentic period look- the costumes, interiors and technology remain those of the early 1930s throughout. This lack of attention to period detail was quite common in films of this era, probably for financial reasons; "The Shopworn Angel" is another example of a film ostensibly set in the 1910s but looking more like the thirties. (That film too starts off like a romantic comedy and then turns into a serious drama).
The story does not always flow smoothly, proceeding jerkily rather than smoothly, with the plot advancing more through a series of sudden revelations than through logical development. We are, for example, led to believe that Lulu and Bob's relationship is non-sexual and then suddenly learn that she is pregnant by him. This, however, is probably due to the moral constraints imposed on the scriptwriter by the conventions of the day; although the Production Code was not yet in force in 1932 there was still a limit to what the censors would allow.
In common with most films of the early thirties, "Forbidden" was made in the "filmed theatre" style, with most of the scenes taking place indoors and being shot on a studio set, and with a greater emphasis on dialogue than on physical action except in one key scene. This style was forced on the studios by factors both financial (money was tight during the Great Depression) and technical (shooting on location was difficult during the early days of sound), but it was a style well-suited to romantic melodramas like this one. If one makes allowances for the fact that the cinema at this period often used a rather mannered, non- naturalistic style of acting, the cast all play their roles well, especially Barbara Stanwyck as Lulu. This is not in the same class as some of Capra's later comedies, but it is still a film which retains some interest today. 7/10