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6.4/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.4/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Once to Every Woman remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you like old hospital dramas where everyone is constantly stressed and wearing very crisp uniforms, sure. If you’re allergic to 1930s melodrama or people staring intensely at each other in hallways, skip it. It’s for the folks who like seeing Fay Wray doing more than just screaming at giant apes.
The movie is mostly just people talking really fast in rooms that look like they were painted yesterday. There’s a lot of medical jargon that probably sounded impressive back then but just sounds like background noise now. Still, the tension between the doctors is honestly kind of funny.
Fay Wray is essentially the only person in this building with a functioning brain. She spends half the runtime dealing with this one arrogant doctor who thinks he’s the gift to medicine. It feels weirdly relatable, like that one coworker who won't stop talking about their degree while the breakroom fridge is literally on fire.
The pacing is a bit of a mess. Sometimes they’re rushing through a surgery scene like they’re trying to catch a train, then they spend ten minutes on a conversation that didn't need to happen. It feels like A Tailor Made Man in terms of that specific 30s studio polish, but with way more stethoscopes.
It’s nowhere near the complexity of something like The Man in the Iron Mask, but it doesn't try to be. It’s just a soap opera with medical bills. Sometimes that’s enough.
Don't look for deep psychological themes here. It’s just people being dramatic about their jobs and who they want to take to dinner. It’s thin, it’s quick, and it’s fine for a rainy afternoon. Just don't expect to be thinking about it when you wake up tomorrow. 🏥