What Every Woman Knows

The moral of this story originally from J.M. Barrie is supposed to be that what every woman knows is that a man only thinks he makes it to the top on his own, whereas she's always helping behind the scenes, which sounds sweet enough. However, the message that came across all these years later is pretty odious; it's that what every woman knows is her place, subordinate to a man in literally every respect.

God love Helen Hayes, she's so adorable and does everything she can here, but it's crazy just how much her character idolizes her husband (Brian Aherne) and stands by him even when he strays. He's only married her as part of a deal, you see, despite her clearly being beneath him and lacking in looks and charm (she herself says this several times, argh...!). What every woman knows, the film tells us, is that men are the driven ones in life, and if their passion also leads them to other women, well, you need to simply accept this and keep on loving them for the gods they are. Even the other woman (Madge Evans) acts ridiculously. Aside from everything else, I almost lost it when Aherne's character had the gall to pluck a cigarette out of Hayes's mouth after they were separated, without a peep from her or any real awareness on the part of the film.

It's really too bad too, because the pair made a cute couple, with him towering over her (6'2" and 5') and she in her little curls. The character of a common guy rising to be a Member of Parliament debating issues of class and things like the gold standard along with his plucky and intelligent wife could have been far more interesting and endearing. The film is not helped by the comic relief of her family either, including a clod of a brother, though the wise middle-aged woman (Lucile Watson) provides moments of relief. A star each for Hayes and Watson, and that's about it.