Film

One in a Million

Name: One in a Million
Genre: Drama
Released: 1935
Cast: Dorothy Wilson, Charles Starrett, Holmes Herbert, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, Gwen Lee

Workplace drama

A 1935 drama about a department store clerk falsely accused of theft by her predatory boss, who finds unexpected romance with his son. It's a brisk, earnest melodrama of the studio era—the kind where moral clarity and swift justice feel almost quaint. For viewers who love early Hollywood's directness and want to see how the studios handled workplace exploitation before the Production Code tightened its grip.

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Stella Dallas1937

Maternal sacrifice and working-class dignity told with genuine emotional weight. Barbara Stanwyck's performance is a masterclass in conveying inner life through small gestures, and the film never condescends to its heroine.

But The pacing is glacial by modern standards, and the emotional manipulation—though earned—can feel heavy-handed if you're not in the mood for a good cry.

Morning Glory1933

Katharine Hepburn as an aspiring actress navigating predatory men and her own ambition. Sharp, funny, and surprisingly modern about power dynamics in workplace romance. Hepburn won the Oscar, and she deserved it.

But The theatrical world it depicts feels dated, and some of the 'comic' support characters grate. The resolution is also tidier than real life would allow.

Marked Woman1937

Bette Davis plays a nightclub hostess who testifies against the mob. It's a revenge story wrapped in a workplace drama, with Davis delivering one of her finest performances—tough, funny, heartbreaking.

But The exploitation elements are real and sometimes uncomfortable. Some viewers find Davis's intensity exhausting rather than compelling.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from One in a Million

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

You Only Live Once1937

Both center on the innocent wrongly accused by authority figures, but Lang shows what happens when the machinery of justice can't be appealed to or outrun—the moral clarity of 1935 becomes 1937's moral horror.

Fritz Lang's American masterpiece: a man falsely accused of a crime he didn't commit, hunted by the system that should protect him. It's *One in a Million*'s darker, angrier cousin—same setup, but where the world doesn't forgive.

But It's relentlessly bleak and the resolution is genuinely tragic. If you wanted the studio system to make things right, this will feel like a betrayal.

The Match King1932

Warren William as a charming con man who climbs the corporate ladder through fraud. It's sharp social satire dressed as melodrama, with a genuine sting about ambition and morality.

But It's darker and more cynical than *One in a Million*, and the pacing can feel scattered. Some plot threads resolve unsatisfyingly.

Female1933

Ruth Chatterton as a ruthless female CEO who turns the tables on men trying to seduce their way up. Wickedly funny and genuinely progressive for its time, with real bite about power and desire.

But The gender politics, though ahead of their era, still feel period-specific. Some scenes haven't aged well, and the ending hedges its bets.

The Crowd1928

King Vidor's masterpiece about ordinary people crushed by ordinary life. It's bleaker than *One in a Million* but shares its interest in how the system grinds down the blameless. Essential silent cinema.

But The despair is relentless. It's a silent film, which means no dialogue, and the pacing reflects that. Not comfort viewing.

So Big!1932

Barbara Stanwyck again, playing a widow who builds a life through sheer determination. It's about economic survival without sentiment—clear-eyed and humanly complex.

But The melodrama peaks early and then sprawls. Some viewers find the middle section tedious, and the ending feels rushed.

Safe in Hell1931

Dorothy Mackaill as a woman falsely accused of a crime she didn't commit, seeking refuge on an island. It's nasty, morally muddled, and genuinely about how the innocent get crushed by circumstance.

But It's genuinely unpleasant—the sexual predation is foregrounded rather than implicit. The ending will frustrate anyone looking for justice or uplift.

Rich Man's Folly1931

George Bancroft as a wealthy industrialist whose neglect of his son cascades into tragedy. It's a class melodrama with real anger beneath the surface about how money corrupts everything it touches.

But The son is whiny and the pacing drags in the second half. Some viewers will find the moralism heavy-handed and obvious.

Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles1976

*One in a Million* shows a woman falsely accused and then rescued by romance; *Jeanne Dielman* shows the vast, invisible work women actually do to survive, and how little the world sees or values it. Same moral terrain, opposite register: melodrama versus radical documentary realism.

Chantal Akerman's three-hour Belgian film about a widow managing her household and supplementing income through sex work. It's a radical act of seeing: the mundane rituals of survival, the tiny betrayals, the absolute refusal of sentiment.

But It is deliberately, defiantly boring—long static shots of someone chopping potatoes or making coffee. If cinema is supposed to entertain you, this will feel like punishment. Most viewers find it unendurable.

Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles poster

Marty1955

Both are about finding love across class lines despite authority figures' disapproval, but where *One in a Million* trusts the system to ultimately do right by the heroine, *Marty* shows how exhausting it is to fight that system every single day—and how ordinary people just want to rest.

Ernest Borgnine as a lonely butcher who finds love with a lonely schoolteacher. It sounds sweet, and it is—but it's also about how the system (family, friends, class expectations) conspires to keep good people apart. Tender without being sentimental.

But It's slow and talky and nobody is particularly beautiful or glamorous. The 'drama' is internal and quiet. If you want plot momentum, you'll be checking your watch.