Sylvia Sidney Double Feature: ‘Confessions Of A Co-Ed’ And “Ladies Of The Big House’

Sylvia Sidney attempts to fend her way through college and prison in this striking double feature from Kino Lorber.

David Burton and Dudley Murphy‘s Confessions of a Co-Ed (1931)

Rejoined by her An American Tragedy co-star Phillips Holmes, Confessions sees Sidney going off to college. Instead of a degree, it’s a love triangle that’s giving Sidney’s Pat a headache. Hal (future director Norman Foster) was the one who fell in love with her first, but womanizer Dan (Holmes) is the one who’s stealing her heart despite Pat’s better judgement (and despite her seeing firsthand what loving Dan did for her sorority sister, Peggy (Claudia Dell)).

One way Confessions immediately stands out is by avoiding the catfight/women fighting over a man depiction of sororities and instead showing women get to have each other’s back. Peggy is a particularly complex character – street smart and not always known for doing the “right” thing (whatever “right” means), she nonetheless makes choices that she believes are in her friend’s best interests based on her experiences and with an awareness that the world doesn’t always reward honesty.

The film is also under no illusions about Dan. Just because he’s Pat’s first choice doesn’t mean he’s a good choice or that the film doesn’t realise how selfish and capable of self-deception he is.

Pre-code can sometimes give the impression of lawlessness but some of the restrictions Confessions had to abide by behind-the-scenes are very obvious while watching, like not being able to use the word “pregnant.” The clever workarounds are fascinating to watch, though, especially at a time when movies seem less and less willing to leave things unsaid (or are under pressure by studios to spell everything out). There’s a power in not confirming the unspoken that Confessions really revels in. The film begins, for example, with one of Pat’s diary entries (the opening titles are supposed to be pages from her diary). Later, though, Pat’s hand is covering part of the page so you can’t read the entire entry and maybe it’s unimportant or maybe it’s everything. The point is viewers are allowed to speculate.

The outcomes couldn’t be more different, but Confessions would make a great double feature with William Wyler‘s The Heiress. Both films are about love not being logical and following your heart when your brain is telling you something different.

Marion Gering‘s Ladies of the Big House (1931)

As horrible as prison is in real life, a good prison movie can be hard to beat and I’d go so far as to describe Ladies of the Big House as a great one. It’s unclear how long Kathleen (Sidney) dated Kid Athens (Earle Fox). It might’ve only been for one night but as soon as she found out he was a criminal, she wanted to end things but Kid Athens won’t hear of it.

Enter Mac (Gene Raymond). After a whirlwind romance, Mac and Kathleen get married, only for Kid Athens to show up on their wedding night. Now Kathleen is in prison, Mac is on death row and, unless someone can prove they’re innocent, it’s not looking good for the newlyweds.

It shouldn’t take a prison movie for Hollywood to reveal the amazing stable of female character actors they could’ve been casting all the time. As film historians David Del Valle and Stan Shaffer bring up in their commentary (they’re the commentators on both films and Shaffer is currently working on a book about pre-code movies), it’s so wonderful to see Louise Beavers in a larger role where she’s not relegated to playing a maid or chef. Wynne Gibson, with her slouchy posture, is a revelation, and then there’s Sidney. In ensemble films lead roles can be bland or boring, especially lead “good girl” roles, but Sidney never mistakes “good girl” for “pushover,” and her characters always have a toughness to them. Crying doesn’t make them weak.

This is probably dark but Ladies of the Big House and Lars von Trier’s Dancer in the Dark as a double feature. Emotionally devastating, with a common theme of death row, but I think it would be fascinating to compare Sidney’s performance with Björk‘s.

Confessions of a Co-Ed and Ladies of the Big House are available on Blu-ray as a double feature from Kino Lorber.