''Private Worlds'' is a 1935 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

which tells the story of the staff and patients at a mental hospital and the chief of the hospital, who has problems dealing with a female psychiatrist. The film stars

Claudette Colbert Claudette Colbert (koʊlˈbɛər/ kohl-BAIR, born Émilie "Lily" Claudette Chauchoin (ʃoʃwɛ̃/ show-shwan); September 13, 1903 – July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway theater, Broadway productions dur ...

Charles Boyer Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American fi ...

Joel McCrea Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he bec ...

, Joan Bennett, and Helen Vinson. The movie was written by

Phyllis Bottome Phyllis Forbes Dennis ( ; 31 May 1884 – 22 August 1963) was a British novelist and short story writer. Life and career Bottome was born in 1884, in Rochester, Kent, the daughter of an American clergyman, Rev. William MacDonald Bottome, and a ...

Gregory La Cava Gregory La Cava (March 10, 1892 – March 1, 1952) was an American film director of Italian descent best known for his films of the 1930s, including ''My Man Godfrey'' and ''Stage Door'', which earned him nominations for Academy Award for Best ...

, and Lynn Starling and was directed by La Cava. Cinematographer

Leon Shamroy Leon Shamroy, A.S.C. (July 16, 1901 – July 7, 1974) was an American film cinematographer known for his work in 20th Century Fox motion pictures shot in Technicolor. He and Charles Lang share the record for most Oscar nominations for Cinematog ...

used early

zoom lens A zoom lens is a system of camera lens elements for which the focal length (and thus angle of view) can be varied, as opposed to a fixed-focal-length (FFL) lens (''prime lens''). A true zoom lens or optical zoom lens is a type of '' parfocal ...

es to create special effects for the film. Claudette Colbert was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a lead ...

for the film. The film is based on the 1934 novel of the same title by British writer

, who has had several of her works transferred to film, such as '' The Mortal Storm'' (MGM, 1940).

Plot

The film tells of problems in the lives of doctors and patients. A female doctor (Colbert) probes the twisted minds of her patients in a mental institution. The very caring psychiatrist and her colleague face discrimination by a conservative new supervisor.

Cast

as Dr. Jane Everest *

as Dr. Charles Monet * Joan Bennett as Sally MacGregor * Helen Vinson as Claire Monet *

as Dr. Alex MacGregor * Jean Rouverol as Carrie Flint *

Esther Dale Esther Dale (November 10, 1885 – July 23, 1961) was an American actress of the stage and screen. Esther Dale died in the summer of 1961 following surgery in Queen of Angels Hospital in Hollywood. Her husband, writer-director Arthur J. Beckha ...

as Matron *

Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams Guinn is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname: *Bill Guinn or Lew Meehan (1890–1951), American film actor *Colin Guinn, contestant in ''The Amazing Race'', a U.S. TV series *Dominick Guinn, (born 1975), A ...

as Jerry *Dora Clement as Bertha Hirst *Sam Godfrey as Tom Hirst * Samuel S. Hinds as Dr. Arnold *

Theodore von Eltz Julius Theodore von Eltz (November 5, 1893 – October 6, 1964) was an American film actor, appearing in more than 200 films between 1915 and 1957. He was the father of actress Lori March. Early life Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Von Eltz ...

as Dr. Harding *

Stanley Andrews Stanley Martin Andrews (born Andrzejewski; August 28, 1891 – June 23, 1969) was an American actor perhaps best known as the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program ''Little Orphan Annie'' and later as "The Old Ranger", the first host of ...

as Dr. Barnes

Reception

The film had a loss of $10,458.

References

External links

* * 1935 films American black-and-white films Paramount Pictures films Films directed by Gregory La Cava Films about psychiatry 1935 drama films Films produced by Walter Wanger American drama films Films based on British novels 1930s American films 1930s English-language films {{1930s-drama-film-stub