Bad Girl (1931)

Interesting facts

• Based on: Bad Girl
• Awards: 2 · Nominations: 3. Including: Academy Award for Best Director; Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay

Bad Girl is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by Frank Borzage and starring Sally Eilers, James Dunn, and Minna Gombell. The screenplay was adapted by Edwin J. Burke from the 1928 novel by Viña Delmar and the 1930 play by Delmar and Brian Marlowe. The plot follows the courtship and marriage of two young, working-class people and the misunderstandings that result from their not having learned to trust and communicate with one another. The film propelled then-unknown actors Eilers and Dunn to stardom. It was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Production

The development of Bad Girl from the novel and play into a film required extensive purging and rewriting of the material to conform to the dictates of the Hays Office. A November 16, 1928, memo from the Hays Office put a damper on the whole production, stating: "'Bad Girl' might be produced as a sex hygiene picture called 'Motherhood.' It is simply the story of girl who is 'bad' for one night, marries the boy the next day, and then has a baby".

Fox, however, came up with a treatment that avoided the scandalous elements of the story and smoothed over the whole issue of premarital sex which Dorothy had with Eddie during their late night in his apartment. Instead, the implications of their night together are not addressed and Eddie's proposal of marriage to save Dorothy from the shame of facing her brother at 4 a.m. comes off as spontaneous.

Despite the vote of approval, Fox executives did not hold much stock in the film's commercial appeal and even Borzage refused to direct it. But Fox pressured Borzage into accepting the assignment since his contract was about to expire and was not expected to be renewed. The studio further showed its lack of enthusiasm for the project by budgeting less than $100,000 for the production and hiring unknown actors.

Borzage wanted Spencer Tracy to play the lead role, but Fox would not agree to this. After seeing a screen test that New York stage actor James Dunn had done at Fox Film's Astoria Studios in Queens, Borzage chose him for the role of Eddie and Dunn was signed to a Fox contract. Dunn made his screen debut in Bad Girl.

Production took place between June 1 and July 4, 1931.

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