Hilda Crane plot
"I want to live like a man... and still be a woman!"
Hilda Crane, depressed after two failed marriages and a disappointing career, decides to return to her hometown. She finds her happiness there with ex-boyfriend Russell Burns, but unfortunately Russell's cruel and manipulative mother is a formidable obstacle to Hilda's true happiness. To prevent Hilda and Russell from getting married, Russell's mother pretends she's having a heart attack, but ends up dying from it. Hilda and Russell marry, but Russell's life is undermined by the memories of his mother's death and he neglects Hilda as a result. Lonely Hilda begins an affair with a French writer, which ends when Russell catches them. Desperate Hilda then makes a suicide attempt.