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IMDbPro

Sob Sister

  • 19311931
  • 1h 7m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
24
YOUR RATING
James Dunn and Linda Watkins in Sob Sister (1931)
  • Romance
Add a plot in your language
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
24
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Alfred Santell
  • Writers
    • Edwin J. Burke
    • Mildred Gilman(novel)
    • Bradley King(contract writer)
  • Stars
    • James Dunn
    • Linda Watkins
    • Minna Gombell
  • Director
    • Alfred Santell
  • Writers
    • Edwin J. Burke
    • Mildred Gilman(novel)
    • Bradley King(contract writer)
  • Stars
    • James Dunn
    • Linda Watkins
    • Minna Gombell
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 3User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos16

    Minna Gombell and Linda Watkins in Sob Sister (1931)
    Linda Watkins in Sob Sister (1931)
    James Dunn and Linda Watkins in Sob Sister (1931)
    James Dunn and Linda Watkins in Sob Sister (1931)
    Linda Watkins in Sob Sister (1931)
    James Dunn and Linda Watkins in Sob Sister (1931)
    James Dunn and Linda Watkins in Sob Sister (1931)
    James Dunn, Minna Gombell, and Linda Watkins in Sob Sister (1931)
    Linda Watkins in Sob Sister (1931)
    James Dunn and Linda Watkins in Sob Sister (1931)
    James Dunn, Maurice Black, and Howard Phillips in Sob Sister (1931)
    James Dunn and Linda Watkins in Sob Sister (1931)

    Top cast

    Edit
    James Dunn
    James Dunn
    • Garry Webster
    Linda Watkins
    Linda Watkins
    • Jane Ray
    Minna Gombell
    Minna Gombell
    • Vonnie
    Howard Phillips
    Howard Phillips
    • Ned Smith
    George E. Stone
    George E. Stone
    • Johnnie the Sheik
    Molly O'Day
    Molly O'Day
    • Daisy
    Edward Dillon
    Edward Dillon
    • Pat
    George Byron
    • Dutch
    Lex Lindsay
    • Slim
    Harold Waldridge
    Harold Waldridge
    • Johnny
    Neal Burns
    Neal Burns
    • Freddie
    Ernest Wood
    • Dave, Vonnie's Husband
    Harry Beresford
    Harry Beresford
    • Pa Stevens
    Sarah Padden
    Sarah Padden
    • Ma Stevens
    Charles Middleton
    Charles Middleton
    • City Editor Baker
    • (as Charles D. Middleton)
    Joe Brown
    • Undetermined Role
    Wally Albright
    Wally Albright
    • Billy Stotesley
    • (uncredited)
    Maurice Black
    Maurice Black
    • Gimp Peters
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Alfred Santell
    • Writers
      • Edwin J. Burke
      • Mildred Gilman(novel)
      • Bradley King(contract writer) (uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Debut of actress Linda Watkins.

    User reviews3

    Review
    Top review
    Sex before marriage ain't no sin
    This is a good movie, with likable actors playing likable characters. Minna Gombell is in top form as a noisy friend, and James Dunn is quite amiable. Linda Watkins steals the show as the female lead. A pretty blonde with short, finger-waved hair, she is quite appealing and very engaging, displaying a persona both fragile and tough. She bears a passing resemblance to Helen Chandler. It's a shame she didn't make more movies in the 1930s.

    What's most surprising about this film is it's frank treatment of the relationship between Watkins and Dunn, particularly their sexual relationship. Dunn and Watkins are both reporters who live in the same apartment house. He visits her each morning for breakfast over the course of a few weeks. They start to fall in love, with each contemplating marriage, though Dunn believes it wouldn't work because Watkins is too much of a "sob sister," so attached to her work that she'd miss it and would become bored if she ever married and became a housewife, a woman who'd have to quit her job and devote herself completely to taking care of the household.

    Returning to the apartment house late one night after covering a story, Dunn invites Watkins to his apartment where they eventually embrace and the screen fades to black. The next scene has Watkins straightening her hair and clothes, while the noise of a shower runs in the background. She leaves Dunn a note taped to the mirror saying "no regrets."

    What's even more remarkable is that the movie doesn't shy away or forget the fact that the two had sex. Through a misunderstanding, Dunn comes to believe that Watkins slept with him in order to steal material he had on a story. He calls her cheap and she's shocked that he'd think her capable of that. She slept with him out of love. It's really surprising to find a movie from this period dealing so frankly and clearly with the motivations behind a couple having sex!

    The movie ends with all misunderstandings cleared up and the couple married. There seems to be no ill effects from them having had sex before marriage. Watkins is not demonized in any way because of the sex; after it occurs, she is still treated as the heroine in the picture and her character is not looked down upon whatsoever. The movie seems to imply that sex before marriage, at least between those who love each other, is OK, even inevitable, quite a forward and frank attitude for 1931, an attitude that would soon be banned from pictures for close to forty years.
    helpful•7
    3
    • jdeamara
    • May 3, 2010

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 25, 1931 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Blonde Reporter
    • Production company
      • Fox Film Corporation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 7 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.20 : 1

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