What Becomes of the Children? (1936) – A Melodramatic Mess, But Fascinating.

Right, so, What Becomes of the Children? from 1936. Is it worth watching today? Honestly, probably only if you’re really into old, over-the-top melodramas or studying film history. If you like a story that just keeps piling on the misery, you might find it strangely compelling. But if you prefer subtlety, or anything resembling real-world logic, you’ll likely want to skip it. This one’s a wild ride through a very specific kind of old Hollywood excess.

The film kicks off with the Worthington family, super rich and super disconnected. John Worthington, the dad, is all about his big railroad dreams. Edith, the mom, is busy with her social calendar. Their two small kids, Freddie and Marion, are basically being raised by the nanny. It’s a classic setup for disaster, right? And boy, does it deliver.

You can see the kids, Freddie and Marion, are just desperate for a bit of attention. They look over at the neighbor’s house, Thomas Scott (who’s also the dad’s lawyer, convenient), and you just know they’re thinking, “Why can’t *our* parents be like that?” It’s one of those moments where the film doesn't even need to say it out loud. You get it.

Then, they bring home an abandoned dog! A small, innocent act, and what happens? They get sent to bed early. Classic parental neglect right there. But the real gut punch? They sneak out to play hide and seek, and little Marion falls down the dumbwaiter. The way that whole scene is shot, it feels so sudden. One minute, she’s looking for her brother, the next, a terrifying thud. It's a shocker, especially for such an old film.

The parents, of course, rush home and immediately start blaming each other. Edith, the mom, just rips into John. She says he neglects her *and* the children. And just like that, divorce. The kids are split up: Freddie with Dad, Marion with Mom. It's all very neat and tidy, but also incredibly sad. You almost wish they’d spent five more minutes on the actual impact on the kids, but the movie’s got places to go.

Years later, and things haven’t improved much. John’s got his railroad empire, sure, but his workers are threatening to strike. And Freddie? He’s been kicked out of *another* college. The dad breaks the union, which felt like a strange tangent in a movie supposedly about the children, but okay. Then Freddie basically tells his dad to shove it, refusing to become a carbon copy of him. Good for him, honestly.

Freddie finds himself a girlfriend, Gale Adams, who’s a blues singer. He gets a job playing piano and singing in a small family restaurant. This whole sequence felt a bit out of nowhere, but it was a nice, brief break from the constant gloom. You almost root for Freddie, trying to make his own way.

Meanwhile, Marion’s path is even wilder. Her mom, Edith, just ditches her for a European vacation. So Marion, being the rebellious type, disowns her mom and goes to a wild cocktail party. Next thing you know, she impulsively marries some guy named Roy Daniels. This whole marriage happens so fast you barely have time to process it. And then, on their wedding night, Roy gets arrested for jewel theft! Marion, because the plot demands it, becomes an accessory and ends up in prison for a year. A whole year! Talk about bad luck, or just plain terrible choices.

Out of prison, Marion can’t find work. She’s evicted. She’s at rock bottom, actually considering suicide. Her neighbor, Elsie, takes her out to dinner. And where do they go? To the very restaurant where Freddie works! What a coincidence! And then, Roy Daniels, her jewel-thief husband, walks in. And Elsie, her neighbor, turns out to be one of Roy’s jilted lovers. She *re-introduces* them. I mean, come on. The movie just stacks these moments on top of each other. You gotta laugh a little at the sheer audacity of it.

Roy tries to get rough with Marion, and Freddie, not knowing it's his sister, jumps in to help her. Later, he stops her from taking pills. That’s when they finally figure out they’re siblings. It’s a genuinely touching moment, actually, after all the chaos. For a brief second, you think maybe things are looking up for them.

But no! Roy reappears at Marion’s apartment. A fight breaks out, a gun goes off, and Roy is dead. Both Marion and Freddie are on trial for murder. At this point, the film is just throwing everything at the wall. The parents, John and Edith, finally reconcile because of this family tragedy. Took them long enough, huh? It’s almost comical how it takes their kids potentially going to jail for murder to bring them back together.

Gale, Freddie’s blues-singer girlfriend, saves the day in a surprisingly clever way. She blackmails Elsie, pretending to have seen her shoot Roy, and Elsie spills the beans: Roy’s partner, Shelby, was the real killer. Names cleared, everyone goes back to the old home. A happy family again. And then, the final line, almost too sweet: Marion and Freddie ask their parents to take them to the zoo. Something they were always too busy to do before. It’s a little too neat, a little too perfect of an ending after such a whirlwind of despair.

Didja notice?

• The way the parents are just *so* oblivious at the beginning. You almost wonder if they’re doing it on purpose.
• Marion’s quick marriage to Roy. Like, blink and you miss the entire courtship.
• The sheer number of misfortunes that befall these poor kids. It’s like a competition for who can suffer the most.
• Elsie, the neighbor, being Roy’s ex. And then being the key to solving the murder. Talk about a plot device!
• The very specific way Freddie stops Marion from taking pills. It's a quick, almost clumsy movement.
• How the parents’ reconciliation feels less like true emotional growth and more like a convenient plot point to wrap things up.
• That zoo request at the end. It’s meant to be heartwarming, but it also highlights just how much they missed out on as children. A simple trip to the zoo!

Overall, What Becomes of the Children? is a lot. It’s a fascinating, if sometimes frustrating, watch for how much melodrama it packs into its runtime. It’s not subtle, it’s not nuanced, but it certainly keeps you guessing what absurd thing will happen next. A real product of its time, for better or worse. Definitely leaves you thinking about parental responsibility, or the lack thereof, in a very dramatic way. 🎭