''Private Worlds'' is a 1935 dramatic film which tells the story of the staff and patients at a

mental hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

and the chief of the hospital, who has problems dealing with a female psychiatrist. The film stars

Claudette Colbert Claudette Colbert ( ; born Émilie Claudette Chauchoin; September 13, 1903July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the late 1920s and progressed to films with the advent of talking pictures ...

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 Joan Geraldine Bennett (February 27, 1910 – December 7, 1990) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She came from a show-business family, one of three acting sisters. Beginning her career on the stage, Bennett appeared in more t ...

, and Helen Vinson. The movie was written by Phyllis Bottome,

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 Lynn Starling (September 13, 1888 – February 25, 1955) was an American screenwriter and playwright.Solomon p.329 Starling wrote the 1923 play '' Meet the Wife'', subsequently adapted into a 1931 film of the same title. Selected filmography ...

and was directed by La Cava. Cinematographer Leon Shamroy used early zoom lenses 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 is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year ...

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

as Sally MacGregor * Helen Vinson as Claire Monet *

as Dr. Alex MacGregor *

Jean Rouverol Jean Rouverol (July 8, 1916 – March 24, 2017) was an American author, actress and screenwriter who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studios in the 1950s. Life and career Rouverol was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of pl ...

as Carrie Flint *

Esther Dale Esther Dale (November 10, 1885 – July 23, 1961) was an American actress of the stage and screen. Early years Dale was born in Beaufort, South Carolina. She attended Leland and Gray Seminary in Townshend, Vermont. In Berlin, Germany, she stu ...

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 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. Von Eltz was a Yale University professor's son. After 12 ...

as Dr. Harding *

Stanley Andrews Stanley Andrews (born Stanley Martin 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 ...

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-drama-film-stub