Nice little nail-biter about the kidnapping of an actress' baby. Dorothea Wieck is the star. With a heavy accent that makes it hard to understand her at times, Wieck's performance is hysterical and overwrought. Understandable, you might say, given what the character is going through. But when she jumps up and runs towards a projection screen showing film of her baby, shouting "Don't cry! Mother's coming!", you'll see what I mean by overwrought. It's hammy stage acting at its finest.

Alice Brady is much better and steals the show. More suited to film acting, Brady gives a sympathetic, lovable turn as a fan of Wieck's who plays a big role in the second half of the film. She's the mother of Spanky McFarland's character, an amusing little butterball who likes to take his pants off. Alan Hale and Jack La Rue play two of the kidnappers. William Frawley plays the detective on the case, barking every line. Baby LeRoy, notorious foil of W. C. Fields, plays the titular baby. The camera lingers on him a lot, undoubtedly getting take 35 before he finally "acts" how they want. He was a cute baby but clearly had no clue what was going on around him.

The cars, motorcycles, planes, and location shots all make me smile. Love old movies for these little windows into the past. Wieck's character also has a mansion that looks so nice inside. Art deco I believe. There's a semi-nude bath scene with Wieck early on that I'm surprised made it past the censors.

The film is broken into four parts: the part where we get to know the actress and how much she loves her son, the part after the kidnapping where she wrings her hands and overacts to the moon, then the part where we get to meet the villains and get to know Brady's character better, and finally the exciting climax. It's a good movie that gets better as it goes along.

The crime genre features criminal activities, investigations, law enforcement, crimes, and the pursuit of justice. Crime stories often revolve around the planning, execution, and consequences of criminal acts, as well as the efforts to solve and prevent such acts. They explore various aspects of criminal behavior, motives, and the moral dilemmas faced by both perpetrators and those seeking to uphold the law.

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The drama genre is a broad category that features stories portraying human experiences, emotions, conflicts, and relationships in a realistic and emotionally impactful way. Dramas delve into the complexities of human life, often exploring themes of love, loss, morality, societal issues, personal growth, with the aim to evoke an emotional response from the audience by presenting relatable and thought-provoking stories.

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A movie star's baby is kidnapped for ransom.

Baby LeRoy and Dorothea Wieck in Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen (1934)

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Dorothea Wieck in Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen (1934)

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Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen

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