Small-town gossip spreads faster than a party line on fire, and Jean Arthur's caught in the middle.
When a small-town girl's boyfriend leaves in disgrace, gossips spread false reports of her pregnancy.
Acting
Jean Arthur's comedic timing masks genuine panic beautifully.
Writing
Sharp pre-Code dialogue that Twitter mobs wish they could write.
Director
Erle C. Kenton
Jean Arthur
Marge Oliver
Victor Jory
Matthew Putnam
Helen Lowell
Nettie Putnam
Charley Grapewin
Will Oliver
Clara Blandick
Mathilda Sherman
Geneva Mitchell
Irene Sherman
Maude Eburne
Clara West
Matt McHugh
Bert West
Oscar Apfel
Thomas P. Sherman
Robert Middlemass
Judge Stephen Stephenson
Walter Brennan
Paul - Railroad Telegrapher (uncredited)
Robert Allen
Roy Daniels
Louise Carter
Grandma Kern
Lillian Harmer
Deborah
Adda Gleason
Townswoman
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Party lines were fading by 1935, making this film a nostalgic nod to a dying communication technology that enabled communal surveillance.
Helen Lowell's Nettie was reportedly expanded after test screenings—audiences loved hating her more than the nominal villain.
US
