Redwarmin
This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place
Allison Davies
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
dbdumonteil
The title is a misnomer :there's no bad girl in the movie,so this Borzage movie might not be what you are expecting.One of Borzage's first talkies,and based on a play,it's often too..talky.But the two principals make up for it with their spontaneity and their talent.The story is very simple;unlike many movies of the great director,the couple here does not have to fight against a hostile world -only the girls parents seem to be enemies but they are given only one scene- ,but actually against themselves.Particularly James Dunn whose dream is to own his radio store and who does not want children probably because he's got bad memories from his childhood.Sally Eilers ,on the contrary ,wants to raise a family,and if she cannot,she intends to work again ,which her hubby cannot stand.Nothing melodramatic here,but an endearing depiction of everyday life of the life of a young couple during the depression years .Excellent scenes: James Dunn ,taking his wife to the brand new apartment he has bought for her ,spending every last cent .The same,crying his heart out in the doctor's office The last scenes at a time -not so long ago- when husbands did not attend the childbirth and this extremely moving moment when Dunn asks to hold the child.All the happiness to become a father is in this scene.
Kalaman
An interesting little Borzage love story set during the Depression, detailing the struggles of young couple (Sally Eilers & James Dunn) with their hopes and dreams. Curiously Borzage won his second Oscar as Best Director for this oddly heady little movie and that's perhaps the only reason to watch it. It works as a timepiece of its era. But I definitely wouldn't call "Bad Girl" one of Borzage's best romances (in many ways it strikes me as turgid and unaffecting in several moments, and I didn't like the ending), but it is definitely worth catching if you are fan or a student of the director's sublime and unheralded oeuvre.
bigkids
Unfortunately, this is apparently a very scarce film, not available on VHS or DVD, and seldom if ever broadcast. However, as a fan of Vina Delmar I have read the novel upon which the film is based, and must point out that the story takes place in 1923. This was the flapper era, the roaring twenties, the jazz age . . . and the era of Prohibition!A very different period from that of the Great Depression, which began in 1929, and was two years old when the film was made.Whether the story line was changed to place the story in Depression-era New York instead of Roaring Twenties New York, is interesting to consider.
I would dearly love to see this film, and to see how well it lives up to the very fine novel by Vina Delmar, BAD GIRL.Regis Hardy
marc
I finally tracked down Bad Girl. It had been on my list of wanna sees for years as it had won a major Oscar for Best Director- Frank Borzage.It was one of those tantalizing early talkies that had not actually been lost it had merely fell from sight. When I finally saw it last year at a Borzage revival, the film was a revelation.It was a pre-code delight about an ordinary couple, falling in love, struggling financially and having a baby etc.It most reminded me of the great silent film-The Crowd, which dealt with similar matters. What was especially fascinating to me was its depiction of "average" lower middle class types and how they lived and spoke in Depression America. The apartments... the slang, all of it, seemed real. It wouldn't be until the 50's neo realism hit American movies that we would see ordinary people depicted on the screen again, without condescension The movie has all the Borzage trademarks- love surviving against all odds, even an exciting if a little hokey climax.Unfortunately, the film has been slighted often in movie books,most likely, because the authors have never actually seen it. If it is ever shown again, try to see it. It's a wonderful peek at average city folks in Depression America.
