Child of Divorce

I didn't know of the "Hays Code" re divorce until coming here today after viewing this movie. TCM ran several divorce theme films last week & I couldn't help but notice that this movie is a remake of the 1934 movie "Wednesday's Child". "Child of Divorce" has a 7 year-old girl as the main character, while Wednesday's Child's is a 10 year-old boy. Interesting twist. having seen the movies back-to-back! One gaffe that stood out was when "Bobby" tells the judge that's she's "7, almost 8" and in grade "4A". Unless I heard it wrong, a 7 year-old would be in 2nd grade, not 4th! No big deal, but I wonder how that got by the editors. (I think Bobby added that she "skipped a grade", but even so, that would put her in 3rd, not 4th grade)! Poignant film.

An 8 year old girl (Sharyn Moffett) has to deal with her parents divorcing and finding other partners. A great little B picture. It's well-acted (Moffett was incredible) and realistic without getting too sentimental. Things are presented in a very matter of fact way. What's refreshing is that none of the parents are demonized. They both love their little girl completely and try to get her to accept their new partners. One scene where her mother tries to get the girl to accept that she loves her is almost too painful to watch. It all leads to a painful but realistic ending. Highly recommended.

Sharyn Moffet does a fine job with her role as a child torn emotionally apart when her parents divorce. This young lady was a good child actress, who did not exude a sickening sweet persona in her roles. One of the best natural female child performers of her day. Her role in this movie shows it. She also did nice jobs in the films Banjo and My Pal Wolf. Miss Moffet can also be seen in The Judge Steps Out. This film also features a nice cameo of sorts at the end of the film by Ann Carter-another RKO child performer who did a nice job with the lead child role in The Curse of the Cat People. Hats off to RKO to do subjects like divorce in a time period when such topics were avoided by most studios.

No traditional happy ending here, in this clear-eyed and very unsentimental look at the effects of a divorce on a sensitive young girl. The very bleak ending took me by surprise, and the performance of Sharyn Moffett in the title role is terrific. This was Richard Fleischer's first film as a director. Well worth your time!