''She Made Her Bed'' is a 1934 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

romantic drama Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

film directed by

Ralph Murphy Ralph Murphy (May 1, 1895 – February 10, 1967) was an American film and television director. Born in Rockville, Connecticut, Murphy was active in films from 1931 through 1962, with some work in television. From 1941 to 1944 he was married to G ...

and written by James M. Cain,

Casey Robinson Kenneth Casey Robinson (October 17, 1903 – December 6, 1979) was an American producer and director of mostly B movies and a screenwriter responsible for some of Bette Davis' most revered films. Film critic Richard Corliss once described him as ...

and Frank R. Adams. The film stars

Richard Arlen Richard Arlen (born Sylvanus Richard Mattimore, September 1, 1899 – March 28, 1976) was an American actor of film and television. Early days Arlen served in Canada as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I. He later taught as ...

Sally Eilers Dorothea Sally Eilers (December 11, 1908 – January 5, 1978) was an American actress. Early life Eilers was born in New York City to a Jewish-American mother, Paula (or Pauline) Schoenberger, and a German-American father, Hio Peter Eilers (a ...

Robert Armstrong Robert Armstrong may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Robert Armstrong (actor) (1890–1973), film actor *Robert Armstrong (cartoonist) (born 1950), American underground comics artist and musician, coined the term "couch potato" Fictional charac ...

Grace Bradley Grace Bradley (September 21, 1913 – September 21, 2010) was an American film actress who was active in Hollywood during the 1930s. Early life Bradley was born in Brooklyn and was an only child. As a child she took piano lessons and at the age ...

Roscoe Ates Roscoe Blevel Ates (January 20, 1895 – March 1, 1962) was an American vaudeville performer, actor of stage and screen, comedian and musician who primarily featured in western films and television. He was best known as western character So ...

and

Charley Grapewin Charles Ellsworth Grapewin (December 20, 1869 – February 2, 1956) was an American vaudeville and circus performer, writer, and stage and film actor. He worked in over 100 motion pictures during the silent and sound eras, most notably portrayin ...

. It was released on March 9, 1934, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

and was described at the time as a "social drama" film in which Arlen plays a "heroic villain."

Plot

Philandering Duke Gordon and his wife Lura run a roadside coffee shop and auto park in rural Southern California. Frustrated over her husband's most recent affair, Lura strikes up a romantically-tinged friendship with snake-oil salesman Wild Bill Smith, but this sours after Bill and Duke decide to purchase a Sumatran tiger as a special attraction for the Gordons' roadside establishment. Lura discovers she is pregnant—with Duke's baby—and attempts to repair things with her husband while asking Bill to leave. A year later, both Bill and Eve (one of Duke's old flames) have come back to town, causing renewed friction. Meanwhile, the tiger escapes its enclosure. After coming face to face with the great cat in her kitchen, Lura hides her baby in the ice-box. Duke is attacked and killed by the tiger and a fire breaks out in the house. Lura is able to rescue her child, and the two of them join Bill on the road.

Cast

as Wild Bill Smith *

as Laura Gordon *

as 'Duke' Gordon *

as Eve Richards *

as Santa Fe *

as Joe Olesen

Release

Photoplay Magazine called ''She Made Her Bed'' "(a) gay merry-go-'round that makes for good entertainment." The film played on a double bill with ''

Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen ''Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen'' is a 1934 pre-Code American comedy-drama film, starring Dorothea Wieck, Alice Brady, and Baby LeRoy, written by Adela Rogers St. Johns and Jane Storm from a novel and story by Rupert Hughes, and directed by Ale ...

'' in some theaters during its initial release."Pictures Current In Family Houses." The Indianapolis Star Vol 31, No 363, p35. 3 June 1934. Accessed 10 August 2023.

References

External links

* * 1934 films 1930s romantic comedy-drama films Films about adultery in the United States American black-and-white films American romantic comedy-drama films Circus films Films based on short fiction Films based on works by James M. Cain Films directed by Ralph Murphy Paramount Pictures films 1934 comedy films 1934 drama films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films English-language romantic comedy-drama films {{1930s-comedy-film-stub