"Finishing School" was a high society movie about the troubles of a rich girl with a mother more concerned about appearances than her daughter's actual well-being. If such a topic interests you, then you'll like this movie. To me it was nauseating.
Before getting into the synopsis, I think I should provide a brief explanation of a finishing school. It was, or perhaps still is, a private school where girls and young women were sent to learn how they were expected to behave socially once they become women. Finishing schools were probably followed up with a "coming out party" (popular in England). These schools are responsible for cranking out the stuffy, pretentious, vapid women of society who come from money.
Helen Crawford-Radcliffe (Billie Burke) was one such woman. She spoke with an annoyingly high octave voice and spoke about nothing of importance. But society women have a way of talking about nothing yet making it sound important just by how they speak and their choice of words.
"Finishing School" began with Helen dropping off her daughter Virginia (Frances Dee) at Crockett Hall finishing school--or maybe I should say abandoning her daughter at finishing school. Virginia was an obedient, mild-mannered girl who was roomed with Cecilia 'Pony' Ferris (Ginger Rogers), the total opposite. Pony was what we used to call "fast." She smoked, drank, and snuck out to hook up with boys. When she brought Virginia along on one of her soirees, Virginia hooked up with a waiter and resident doctor named Ralph 'Mac' McFarland (Bruce Cabot).
I kinda knew where the movie was going, and I watched to see if I was right.
Virginia's relationship with Ralph, who moonlighted as a waiter in a hotel, wasn't met with approval by Virginia's mother or the headmistress of the school, Miss Van Alstyne (Beulah Bondi). Virginia kept seeing Ralph, and when she was left at Crockett Hall over Christmas vacation she hooked up with Ralph again. This hook up confirmed my expectations.
She got pregnant.
Of course, pregnancy didn't fit in anyone's plans. As much as Virginia tried to hide it, it became obvious to the perceptive Miss Van Alstyne who saw Virginia's pregnancy as a stain on the school's record. She apprised Virginia's mother who saw it as a stain on her own social record.
Neither of them cared about what it meant for poor Virginia, and nor did I.
I had other concerns, like why in 1934 they couldn't say the word pregnant on screen. Women had already been having babies for millenia, so why was it such a taboo word? Did they fear that saying the word "pregnant" would impregnate the women in the audience?
In fact, they never even said "having a baby" or any other euphemism in "Finishing School." They went out of their way to use all kinds of silly context clues to indicate Virginia got knocked up, but never once said that she was pregnant, had a bun in the oven, having a baby, or whatever else.
Honestly, Virginia's issue and circumstances didn't move me one bit. She was a rich girl with tons of resources who went and got knocked up. It happens. It happened before 1934 and continued to happen after 1934. Virginia wasn't special. She was just a frustratingly simple and naive girl who couldn't handle the silliness of being a part of high-society.
"Finishing School" wasn't all that different from another Frances Dee movie of 1934 called "Coming Out Party." In that movie she was a rich girl with a shallow mother who worried more about Frances's debutante ball than about Frances herself. Frances had a poor boyfriend who wouldn't be approved by the family and she got pregnant by him.
Come up with something new.
Free on Odnoklassniki.
Before getting into the synopsis, I think I should provide a brief explanation of a finishing school. It was, or perhaps still is, a private school where girls and young women were sent to learn how they were expected to behave socially once they become women. Finishing schools were probably followed up with a "coming out party" (popular in England). These schools are responsible for cranking out the stuffy, pretentious, vapid women of society who come from money.
Helen Crawford-Radcliffe (Billie Burke) was one such woman. She spoke with an annoyingly high octave voice and spoke about nothing of importance. But society women have a way of talking about nothing yet making it sound important just by how they speak and their choice of words.
"Finishing School" began with Helen dropping off her daughter Virginia (Frances Dee) at Crockett Hall finishing school--or maybe I should say abandoning her daughter at finishing school. Virginia was an obedient, mild-mannered girl who was roomed with Cecilia 'Pony' Ferris (Ginger Rogers), the total opposite. Pony was what we used to call "fast." She smoked, drank, and snuck out to hook up with boys. When she brought Virginia along on one of her soirees, Virginia hooked up with a waiter and resident doctor named Ralph 'Mac' McFarland (Bruce Cabot).
I kinda knew where the movie was going, and I watched to see if I was right.
Virginia's relationship with Ralph, who moonlighted as a waiter in a hotel, wasn't met with approval by Virginia's mother or the headmistress of the school, Miss Van Alstyne (Beulah Bondi). Virginia kept seeing Ralph, and when she was left at Crockett Hall over Christmas vacation she hooked up with Ralph again. This hook up confirmed my expectations.
She got pregnant.
Of course, pregnancy didn't fit in anyone's plans. As much as Virginia tried to hide it, it became obvious to the perceptive Miss Van Alstyne who saw Virginia's pregnancy as a stain on the school's record. She apprised Virginia's mother who saw it as a stain on her own social record.
Neither of them cared about what it meant for poor Virginia, and nor did I.
I had other concerns, like why in 1934 they couldn't say the word pregnant on screen. Women had already been having babies for millenia, so why was it such a taboo word? Did they fear that saying the word "pregnant" would impregnate the women in the audience?
In fact, they never even said "having a baby" or any other euphemism in "Finishing School." They went out of their way to use all kinds of silly context clues to indicate Virginia got knocked up, but never once said that she was pregnant, had a bun in the oven, having a baby, or whatever else.
Honestly, Virginia's issue and circumstances didn't move me one bit. She was a rich girl with tons of resources who went and got knocked up. It happens. It happened before 1934 and continued to happen after 1934. Virginia wasn't special. She was just a frustratingly simple and naive girl who couldn't handle the silliness of being a part of high-society.
"Finishing School" wasn't all that different from another Frances Dee movie of 1934 called "Coming Out Party." In that movie she was a rich girl with a shallow mother who worried more about Frances's debutante ball than about Frances herself. Frances had a poor boyfriend who wouldn't be approved by the family and she got pregnant by him.
Come up with something new.
Free on Odnoklassniki.