Delinquent Parents (1938)
** (out of 4)
Edith Ellis, a good but poor girl, is involved in a wreck where her rich boyfriend's parents demand that he stays away from her. It turns out Edith is pregnant but her mother demands that she give the baby up for adoption. Flash forward eighteen years and now Edith is a judge in a small town where her daughter Carol (Doris Weston), who doesn't know she's adopted, is another good girl. This all changes when she finds out that she's adopted.
DELINQUENT PARENTS is sold as an exploitation movie today but it's actually a fairly straight-forward and serious drama that takes a look at how some folks just consider themselves "above" others when in fact they're not. This film deals with several social issues including the rich getting away with certain behaviors but the real goal of this film is to show parents that their poor judgment can also effect the children they're trying to protect.
There's certainly nothing bad about this picture. It runs for less than a hour and director Nick Grinde actually does a nice job at keeping it entertaining. He certainly manages to keep it flowing at a nice pace and we're also given a couple good performances. I thought Weston was fine in her role as was Maurice Murphy and Helen MacKellar who plays the judge. Again, if you bought this picture expecting an exploitation movie then you're going to be disappointed because this isn't another REEFER MADNESS or SEX MADNESS.
