Remember that a great part of America was rural when this film came out. When you watch it, try to put yourself in the place of one of those folks who has come in from the farm on a Saturday night to see a moving picture at the Bijou. Whoa, Nelly! Undergarments, sexual innuendo, moral ambiguity galore! An urban environment where only the toughest survive. What must those farmers have thought of faraway New York City? Until the Code kicked in, films like these did a lot to move small-town America out of the sexually repressed dark ages. How you gonna keep them down on the farm after they've seen Paree? A revolution parallel to the release of the first jazz recordings by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. It's all been downhill from there! Oh, and is Barbara Stanwyck not the perfect vehicle for this revolution? A hard-as-nails demeanor that only comes out when it needs to, otherwise she's just an innocent looking charmer.
Review of Night Nurse
