I dont get this, and I am a nurse! His wife said the baby died at birth....so did she have an abortion or did Schneider kill the baby? I mean, talk about late term! It doesnt make sense to me. Anyone got an explanation?
nice socks, man.....
The impression I got from this was that he was performing abortions illegally. He was a doctor but I believe he didn't have the surgical knowledge to perform an abortion without botching it up (hence the woman in the hospital dying and Mary's inability to have another baby).
I think Mary's use of the term "died at birth" was not completely literal. Her husband and Tammy's reactions basically seem to suggest that they both came to the conclusion that she'd had an abortion and was using a polite terminology for it. Tammy seemed almost relieved rather than disappointed.
The only other thing I can think of is a miscarriage, but I think because of the attitude of the film and the morals involved with the story, that abortion is more likely.
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I thought that she cheated on her husband, got pregnant with the pther man's child, then had an abortion.. Perhaps I got it wrong though :-/
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She didn't cheat, it happened long before she met him. In those days, pre-marital sex and having a child out of wedlock was considered a SERIOUS shame.
shareWas the talk of abortion more graphic in the play?
shareI don't know the full story, but I do know that this film was produced during the code years, and I am sure the details of the crux of the matter were slashed by those evil incensing Nazi criminals.
I bet the play suffered from its own source of censure, even if it probably presented the climactic focus more evidently than the film.
I also think the whole scripture reading end sequence was taped on at the end, and the true artistes behind the story's creation saw a slightly less "dear Lord save us" ending to Kirk Douglas' demise.
Yes, in the play, abortion is specifically mentioned. However, when the movie was made, the Hays code was in effect, so the doctor's role was changed to that of an unlicensed incompetent who delivered out-of-wedlock babies, but was unable to deal with birth complications, (which is why Mary's baby was stillborn, and the woman in hospital died).
shareReally? I just assumed Schneider was an abortionist, at a time when it was impermissible to say things like "abortion". And that whole dialog of: "What happened to the child?" "It died at birth" seemed like it was taking the ludicrousness of the Hays code to an extreme.
But, OK, I'll accept that Schneider was playing obstetrician, incompetently. Kinda stretches gullibility, but I guess that's how the movie's creators wanted to play it.
Badgers? We don't need no stinkin' badgers! But if you could show us something in a nice possum...
DETECTIVE STORY caused a headache for the filmmakers as well as the production code who expressly forbade anything to do with abortion on screen. Since the crux of the play hinges on this, some serious compromising had to be done and was done when it came time to transfer this play to the screen. Read THE DAME IN THE KIMONO for more details. Ultimately moviegoers were savvy enough to read between the lines back then ( "dance hall girl" = prostitute, e.g.) since movies had no restrictions in admitting patrons and ultimately had to be "decent' enough for young viewers to see, and so knew that Schneider was really an abortionist.
shareThanks for that. I wish all IMDB posts could be as informative!
the doctor's role was changed to that of an unlicensed incompetent who delivered out-of-wedlock babies, but was unable to deal with birth complications, (which is why Mary's baby was stillborn, and the woman in hospital died).No, this is how they had to present it to get the movie approved but the doctor was definitely an abortionist. People who believe in abortion should see him as a hero. He was the 'savior' of these women who had nowhere else to go to murder their babies.
Sounds to me like either late-term abortion or baby-trafficking. The mother is told the baby was stillborn, allowing her to tell herself that her pregnancy situation is concluded; the doctor is then free to sell the child. Hard to say, though.
share[deleted]
Interesting point. Who's to say that the doctor might not have had an illegal baby-trafficking sideline going on in addition to his abortion business? Black market adoptions could have been a profitable business for Dr. Schneider. Also, it is specifically stated in the movie that Mary's child "died at birth". Seems like a strange way to refer to an abortion, (even if censorship also could have made her couch it in these terms).
And while Mary didn't have to hire an unlicensed doctor to deliver her child, the fact is that she did. She went to Tami for assistance instead of looking for other, better resources. And any doctor he found for her would be likely to be a shady character.