Sam Woods's Kitty Foyle 1940

Menzies created the whole look of the film; I simply followed his orders.  Sam Wood just directed the actors; he knew nothing about visuals.
--cinematographer Lee Garmes

Everything about Kitty Foyle is, in fact, a presentation of two choices:  the right and wrong ways for a woman to live, think, love, marry.
--Jeanine Basinger, A Woman's View (Knopf, 1993)

Unfortunately William Cameron Menzies did not work on Kitty Foyle; though Wood did a fair job of directing star Ginger Rogers in her attempt to distance herself from Fred Astaire the film has little visual distinction and a confusing flashback structure. It is a soap opera, a "woman's picture" without the irony of Douglas Sirk or the searing social analysis of John T. Stahl.  There is unintentional irony in Sam Wood, who became a ferocious anti-communist, directing a film about class struggle that is written by Dalton Trumbo, a member of the Hollywood Ten.

Kitty Foyle, played by Ginger Rogers, is a working class girl in Philadelphia who gets a job as secretary to Wyn Stafford (Dennis Morgan), a wealthy magazine editor.  Kitty falls in love with Wyn and when the magazine folds (after Wyn uses up all the family money he's been given for it) Kitty and Wyn are in love and Wyn offers to keep paying Kitty's salary.  Kitty is offended and moves to New York, where she meets a doctor, Mark Eisen (James Craig).  Just when she starts to fall for the doctor Wyn shows up and offers to marry her.  She hesitates because of their class difference but Wyn assures her they will live in N.Y.  They marry but when they return to visit Wyn's snobbish family he finds out that he will not receive his trust money if he leaves and he decides they have to stay in Philadelphia after all. Kitty stalks out and returns to N.Y., gets a divorce, and finds out she is pregnant.  The baby dies at birth and Kitty takes a job at a new branch of the store where she works.  The new branch turns out to be in Philadelphia, where she runs into Wyn's wife and young son.  Kitty goes back to New York and plans to marry the doctor and then Wyn suddenly shows up and says he wants Kitty to go with him to South America, though he says he can't get a divorce.  Kitty hesitates and then leaves to marry the doctor, choosing honesty and integrity over money and social standing; we last see her in a cab headed to the church.

Both of Kitty's suitors are sleazy and manipulative, so why does Kitty have to settle on either of them?  But Trumbo and Wood don't seem to see any other choice; their film seems to reflect the times without being particularly critical of them.