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I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Fantastic!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

This was the third film McCrae had made with Constance Bennett, and backed by Selznick and directed by Cukor, I'm surprised it wasn't made into a bigger production (it's only 68 minutes). According to a review on TCM.com, this film was a dud at first. Cukor did many reshoots and edits to fix it up. Lead Judy Carroll (Bennett) has to testify against Al Howard (Walter Pidgeon), and because of that, she is not allowed to adopt the little girl she had been raising. To get her career going again, Judy wants to do a play written by "Jakobs" ( McCrae), but she has become so "refined", that he doesn't think Judy can do the part justice. Judy takes him around to her old, rough neighborhood to prove she started off at the bottom, and can do the part justice. Bennett even sings a song in a pub during a night on the town. Of COURSE they fall in love, and if Jakobs' jealousy doesn't get in the way, it could work out. Then more complications arise, and they must decide if you CAN have it all. Jobyna Howland plays Judy's mother, and she's so over the top, and drunk half the time that she really steals the scenes in which she appears. Also a couple lines for Sterling Holloway (Winnie the Pooh !) in the pub. This seems to have started as a play by Lucia Bronder, her only film project. There are a couple of abrupt, rough edits, but after reading the history of the film, I guess that's to be expected. It's pretty good... I'm actually surprised at the low rating that this has... of course, it IS only 200 votes so far.

Constance Bennett brings vim and vigor to this soppy story of maternal longings. In Bennett's most recent hit movie, What Price Hollywood, she said, "I can't have a baby in every picture", but in that film, and in Rockabye, no kidding, there's a baby. In Bennett's private life, as all fan mag readers knew, between marriages Bennett had adopted a baby and was raising it as a single, working mom. This was unusual in 1932, but as fan mag readers also knew, Bennett did as she pleased. In Rockabye, Bennett, a celebrated Hollywood star with an adopted baby, plays Judy, a celebrated stage star adopting a baby. A case of art imitating life. Did Bennett's femme fan base vicariously see themselves in Bennett's character, a lone woman with child? Not likely, as Judy did not struggle alone to raise an adorable tyke but had multiple hands assisting - namely a nanny, nurse, governess, cook, and her own mother, plus a male presence in the person of her doting manager. Did Bennett's femme fan base wonder why Bennett didn't marry first and then pursue motherhood? Did the adoption agency wonder? Did audiences wonder why Bennett, at the peak of her Star Power, insisted on making this never produced and unproducible play?Bennett is fabulous and gives a wonderful and lively performance. In films prior to What Price Hollywood Bennett was passive, even lethargic. In Rockabye she kicks up her heels, sings in a speakeasy with the pals of her youth, gets frisky with scrambled eggs and balloons, and has a rollicking good time with her new love. I suspect Bennett was playing herself, a free-spirit who thumbed her nose at conventions. Bennett too is believable in the script's hard-to-swallow scenes of sorrow and sacrifice. Variety's reviewer wrote, "This actress is one of the few who can somehow achieve conviction in just such stagey things" and "She is accountable for practically all its merits." How did the public respond to Rockabye? After the opening in New York, Variety predicted it would do well, as all Bennett films had done. Bennett's biographer wrote that it was a colossal box-office flop. TCM wrote that RKO records showed it was a respectable hit and grossed slightly more than the very successful What Price Hollywood. So it was a flop and a hit? Maybe it was both. After a disastrous preview of Rockabye, the film was remade with a new director and costars. This would have doubled production costs and resulted in a loss, regardless of grosses. RKO then wised up - in future, no more babies. 10 stars for Bennett. 0 stars for story.

Rockabye (1932) * 1/2 (out of 4) Growing up trashy but turned into a lady, an actress (Constance Bennett) wants to adopt a child but isn't allowed after her past is brought up in a court trial. This is an early film from George Cukor that really doesn't have any of the charm or spirit that his later films have. The film is incredibly slow moving and the 67-minute running time feels longer than three hours. Bennett is good in her role but she doesn't have a lot to work with and Joel McCrea is wasted as is Walter Pidgeon. With a cast like this you'd expect a lot better.

Possibly because her heyday was 70+ years ago, the beauty and glamor of Constance Bennett is not mentioned much today. It's a pity, because she was a vivacious film presence and remained so until her death in 1966. Lana Turner was a bit taken aback when, on the set of Madame X in 1965, she first saw the woman who was to play her formidable mother-in-law - a gorgeous Bennett. If Turner was to wear mink, Bennett wanted sable and got it. Unfortunately, she died shortly after the film's completion.Rockabye is a 1932 film about an actress with a certain reputation. She has three suitors - her ex-fiancée, Walter Pidgeon, whose trial begins the film, in a very small role, youthful Joel McCrea as a married playwright, and her agent, played by Paul Lukas. Directed by Cukor, it's an interesting film (and I believe pre-code), fueled by Bennett's performance, who is especially charming in scenes with the child. She also does all her own singing.This is a good one to catch on TCM.