D: George Cukor. Constance Bennett, Joel McCrea, Paul Lukas, Jobyna Howland, Walter Pidgeon, Sterling Holloway. Other than offering a memorable shot of Bennett immersed in balloons, soaper about a morally ambiguous actress's love for her toddler is painful going. A curio for film buffs, but a minor credit for both star and director.

D: William Wyler. Miriam Hopkins, Merle Oberon, Joel McCrea, Catherine Doucet, Alma Kruger, Bonita Granville, Marcia Mae Jones, Margaret Hamilton, Walter Brennan. Penetrating drama of two young women (Oberon, Hopkins) running school, ruined by lies of malicious student Granville; loosely based on Lillian Hellman's The Children's Hour. Superb acting by all, with Granville chillingly impressive; scripted by the playwright. Remade in 1961 by same director as THE CHILDREN'S HOUR.

D: Howard Hawks, William Wyler. Edward Arnold, Joel McCrea, Frances Farmer, Walter Brennan, Andrea Leeds, Frank Shields, Mady Christians, Mary Nash. Arnold plays a self-made empire-builder who fights his way to the top in Wisconsin lumber business, sacrificing the one love of his life. Farmer has best screen showcase of her career, in dual role, as a saloon entertainer and (years later) her own daughter; Brennan won his first Best Supporting Actor Oscar playing Arnold's simple Swedish pal. Typically plotty, two-generation Edna Ferber saga. Reissued as ROARING TIMBER.