The Story of Temple Drake (1933) review

"Fast girl" (Miriam Hopkins) gets into a car accident with a male friend, winds up staying in a house with seedy bootleggers, is raped by their leader "Trigger" (Jack La Rue) and, instead of running away from him, decides to stick around her abuser (for reasons it doesn't bother to explore).  It caused quite a stir when it came out - some argue it helped lead to the creation of the Hays Code - but as a story it's stiff and appears intent on 'punishing' Temple for her freewheelin' nature: the ending here is different from that of William Faulkner's novel and the movie views the court-room as a place of redemption.  Making the "half-wit" - who was just trying to keep Temple from being assaulted - be the sacrificial victim to move the plot forward is kind of a cheap move, is it not? (Sorry, Bill.)