But in that movie, Phyllis Thaxter, who played Ellen Lawson had a bit of the over the top stuff and so did some of the others. I'm quite certain it's from a stage thing and their Acting Training. In the 30s and 40s, motion pictures were still a pretty new thing. Little trivia.....Phyllis Thaxter was also Clark Kent's Mom on the Farm, in Superman 1978.
