Public Opinion (DVD)

Noted scientist Paul Arnold's marriage to the beautiful and much younger opera star Mona Trevor is torn asunder by jealousy and mistrust. Paul is convinced that Mona is having an affair with her amorous co-star Carlos Duran, and when she agrees to embark on an international tour with Carlos it's the final straw as far as Paul is concerned.

Paul and Mona's divorce becomes a public scandal when they engage in a bitter dispute over the custody of their young son Tommy. Mona is plagued by guilt over the loss of her marriage and turns to the bottle, which brings her career to a crashing halt. When Tommy is inexplicably stricken with paralysis, Mona is so desperate to see her child that she poses as her own twin sister Anne - a ruse that has unexpected consequences for all.

Director Frank R. Strayer (1891-1964) began his career at the tail end of the silent era and worked in various genres: comedy, drama, musical, even Spanish-language features. He displayed a deft touch for horror in such B-movie classics as The Monster Walks (1932), The Vampire Bat (1933), The Ghost Walks (1934) and Condemned to Live (1935), but he achieved his greatest success directing a dozen of the enormously popular Blondie comedies, starring Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake.

• drama