Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen
Encyclopedia
Miss Fane's Baby is Stolen is an American comedy-drama film produced in 1934 written by Adela Rogers St. Johns
and Jane Storm from a novel and story by Rupert Hughes
, and directed by Alexander Hall
. It stars Dorothea Wieck
, Alice Brady
and Baby LeRoy
. The events depicted in the film were allegedly based on the Lindbergh kidnapping
.
. Weick was assigned to the project after the original choice for the lead, Carole Lombard
, refused to take the role. In the opening 'film-within-a-film' sequence, many of the film's crew members can be seen playing crew members of Miss Fane's film, including director Alexander Hall
and cinematographer Alfred Gilks
.
Screenwriter Adela Rogers St. Johns had covered the Lindbergh case, which was still a fresh news item when Miss Fane's Baby is Missing went into production, and was not yet resolved when the film was released. Unlike the real case, Michael Fane is recovered safely and unharmed, in compliance with the Motion Picture Production Code.
of the New York Times enthusiastically called the film "extraordinarily effective," and singled out for praise its leading lady: "Miss Wieck's interpretation of mental agony is subdued but very true. Her expression of joy at the return of Michael is apt to bring tears to the eyes of the most hardened cinema-goer..." Time Magazine called it "a topical film which draws tears with out half trying" in a dual review with I Am Suzanne!
, and noted the "expert work" of cast members Brady and Jack La Rue
.
The film is best known to modern viewers for cast member George 'Spanky' McFarland of Our Gang/Little Rascals fame.
Adela Rogers St. Johns
Adela Rogers St. Johns was an American journalist, novelist, and screenwriter. She wrote a number of screenplays for silent movies and, late in life, appeared with other early twentieth-century figures as one of the 'witnesses' in Warren Beatty's Reds, but she is best remembered for her...
and Jane Storm from a novel and story by Rupert Hughes
Rupert Hughes
Rupert Hughes was an American historian, novelist, film director and composer based in Hollywood. Hughes was born in Lancaster, Missouri. His parents were Felix Turner Hughes and Jean Amelia Summerlin, who were married in 1865. His brother Howard R. Hughes, Sr., co-founded the Hughes Tool Company....
, and directed by Alexander Hall
Alexander Hall
Alexander Hall was an American theatre actor and film director....
. It stars Dorothea Wieck
Dorothea Wieck
Dorothea Wieck was a German theatre and film actress.- Career :Wieck made her debut in 1926 and appeared in several silent films...
, Alice Brady
Alice Brady
Alice Brady was an American actress who began her career in the silent film era and survived the transition into talkies. She worked up until six months before her death from cancer in 1939...
and Baby LeRoy
Baby LeRoy
Baby LeRoy was a child actor who appeared in films in the 1930s.Born Ronald Le Roy Overacker in Los Angeles, California, Baby LeRoy's career began when he was less than a year old, co-starring with Maurice Chevalier in A Bedtime Story, and ended with a cameo role as himself in Cinema Circus...
. The events depicted in the film were allegedly based on the Lindbergh kidnapping
Lindbergh kidnapping
The kidnapping of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., was the abduction of the son of aviator Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The toddler, 18 months old at the time, was abducted from his family home in East Amwell, New Jersey, near the town of Hopewell, New Jersey, on the evening of...
.
Plot summary
Despite the dramatic story elements of child kidnapping, the overall tone of the film mixes comedy and drama. Madeline Fane (Wieck) is a busy and successful actress who is fiercely devoted to her two-year-old son. One day, little Michael disappears from his crib. Miss Fane avoids speaking to the police at first, then calls upon both law enforcement and her legions of fans for help. One of them, impoverished Molly Prentiss (Brady) who is also a single mother, comes to the rescue.Production
This is one of only a handful of English-language roles for Swiss-German actress Dorothea WieckDorothea Wieck
Dorothea Wieck was a German theatre and film actress.- Career :Wieck made her debut in 1926 and appeared in several silent films...
. Weick was assigned to the project after the original choice for the lead, Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard was an American actress. She was particularly noted for her comedic roles in the screwball comedies of the 1930s...
, refused to take the role. In the opening 'film-within-a-film' sequence, many of the film's crew members can be seen playing crew members of Miss Fane's film, including director Alexander Hall
Alexander Hall
Alexander Hall was an American theatre actor and film director....
and cinematographer Alfred Gilks
Alfred Gilks
Alfred Gilks ; sometimes credited as Alf Gilks was a cinematographer from 1920 through to 1956. He worked on many silent films in the 1920s, such as Red Hair with Clara Bow and the 1926 historical epic Old Ironsides starring Esther Ralston and where he used some of the first motorised camera...
.
Screenwriter Adela Rogers St. Johns had covered the Lindbergh case, which was still a fresh news item when Miss Fane's Baby is Missing went into production, and was not yet resolved when the film was released. Unlike the real case, Michael Fane is recovered safely and unharmed, in compliance with the Motion Picture Production Code.
Reception
Miss Fane's Baby is Stolen opened to positive reviews. Mordaunt HallMordaunt Hall
Mordaunt Hall was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for The New York Times, from October 1924 to September 1934....
of the New York Times enthusiastically called the film "extraordinarily effective," and singled out for praise its leading lady: "Miss Wieck's interpretation of mental agony is subdued but very true. Her expression of joy at the return of Michael is apt to bring tears to the eyes of the most hardened cinema-goer..." Time Magazine called it "a topical film which draws tears with out half trying" in a dual review with I Am Suzanne!
I am Suzanne
I Am Suzanne! is a 1933 American romance film set in Paris and dealing with puppeteers. It was directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Leslie Banks, Lilian Harvey and Gene Raymond....
, and noted the "expert work" of cast members Brady and Jack La Rue
Jack La Rue
Jack La Rue was an American film and stage actor.Born as Gaspere Biondolillo, he worked on the New York stage from 1923 to 1931. He moved to Hollywood, where he appeared in numerous films...
.
The film is best known to modern viewers for cast member George 'Spanky' McFarland of Our Gang/Little Rascals fame.