This pre-Code drama isn't remarkable for the raunchiness that passed by the censors, but instead for the time capsule of how marriages were viewed in 1931. In 1931, women were expected to completely build their lives around their husbands. If they were neglected, ignored, or cheated on, it was a man's prerogative. He worked hard to bring home the bacon and was entitled to live exactly the way he wanted. While we are supposed to feel sorry for Joan Bennett's heartache in Doctor's Wives, we are not supposed to think it unusual or cruel - in 1931, that is.
Sometimes I really like Warner Baxter, but not in this movie. Just as in To Mary, With Love, he plays a careless cad who doesn't think anyone can get hurt by his actions. Joan tries to surprise Warner at the office to breathe spark back into their marriage, and when she opens the door to his office, he's examining a naked woman. Joan is horrified, but Warner, clueless (and heartless), just tells her to go on home and he'll be back later. When he finally does return home, he insults Joan's lingerie and suggests she buy some in green because he's noticed how pretty it's looked on his female patients when they undress. How hurtful can you get?
Again, in the 1931 mindset, Joan plays an absolute dumbbell. She's ditzy, helpless, and gives Warner no reason to like her except to feel like her savior (and to enjoy her very pretty face). When he proposes, she wants to marry immediately. They have no license yet, and she suggests he write a prescription for it. Perhaps that was supposed to be cute back then, but today, it comes across as shockingly stupid.
After they're married, Joan feels neglected. Others tell her to relax, that it's par for the course to be alone more than with her husband, since she married a doctor. However, the sting comes when he flirts with other women right in front of her. During the few precious times that they do have together, he ignores her and puts on the charm for others. In a symbolic scene, given the choice to light the cigarette of Joan or a female dinner guest who has been draping herself on him all evening, he chooses the latter. It is very hurtful, and I highly doubt we are supposed to think that is par for the course because she married a doctor.
We can't know what we would have thought of this movie had we seen it in 1931. We would have been raised differently and lived different experiences. Today, it's an insulting movie. It's insulting to womanhood, and it hurts the hearts of those who have been in Joan's shoes.
