Wonderland Burlesque's
Let's All Go To The Movies
She's A Lady!
Part XVI
Sometimes? It takes a lady.
News is received by Sir Jeoffrey, a dissolute roué, whose contempt for the other sex extends even to his own daughters, of the arrival of another female child in the family. The mother dies shortly after, and the child, Clorinda, is brought up among the servants without a guiding hand. True to his vow to ignore his offspring, Sir Jeoffrey does not come in contact with Clo, until her sixth year, when he finds her playing with his powder horn in the great hall of his castle, Wildair, and sternly upbraids her. The child, who has inherited her father's courage and strength of will, shows no fear, and grasping a riding crop beats Sir Jeoffrey with all the fury of her tiny wrath. Her spirit and daring attract Sir Jeoffrey's attention, and he is delighted to find the child his own. From that moment, he keeps her in his own company, dressed in boy's clothing to obscure her sex, a member of his wanton circle. She grows up in this atmosphere of debauchery, and learns to swear, smoke and drink. She eventually engages in a duel with a man madly in love with her, and upon winning it, denounces the wearing of trousers. Appearing in society as a woman of quality, she eventually marries a nobleman of great stature.
Based on the 1896 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett, this silent film drama was directed by J. Searle Dawley and stars stage star Cissy Loftus, House Peters, and Peter Lang.
It was produced by Daniel Frohman and Adolph Zukor, and was among the first of Zukor's feature-length productions
A Lady of Quality is considered a lost 1913 silent film with no prints surviving.
Clorinda Wildairs breaks off an affair with the unscrupulous Sir John Ozen to become engaged to a rich nobleman, Mertoun, the Duke of Osmonde. Clorinda accidentally kills Sir John when he, infuriated by her forthcoming marriage, threatens to blackmail her. She buries the body in the cellar and admits her act to the forgiving Osmonde before marrying him.
Middle-aged Napa Valley grape-grower Tony posts a marriage proposal to San Francisco waitress Lena, enclosing a photo of his handsome younger brother Buck. When she gets there, she overlooks his duplicity and marries him. Then she falls in love with Buck! Complications ensue...
This American pre-Code drama was directed by Victor Sjöström, written by Sidney Howard, and stars Vilma Bánky, Edward G. Robinson, Robert Ames, Richard Carle and Lloyd Ingraham.
Bánky and Robinson appeared in German-language version also produced and directed by Sjöström. Otherwise with a different cast, it was released a year later in the United States as Die Sehnsucht Jeder Frau.
Vilma Bánky
After Winthrop Beauvel and his wife, Isabel have a big argument, she storms out and goes on an ocean voyage. Winthrop thinks Isabel has left him for good, and promptly gets a divorce although he still loves Isabel. He takes up light-housekeeping with Mary, whom he also learns to love. Isabel returns and is not happy about sharing her husband with another woman, especially since Isabel is the first-wife-of-record and Mary isn't. Mary is so concerned about Winthrop's happiness that she decides to commit suicide in order to keep Winthrop and Isabel together. But then she has second thoughts when good-hearted and liberal Isabel turns out to be not adverse to sharing.
This American Pre-Code romantic drama was directed by John M. Stahl and stars Genevieve Tobin, Rose Hobart, Conrad Nagel, and Basil Rathbone.
A copy exists in the Library of Congress.
After concert pianist Lisa Campbell learns that she has a serious heart problem. she vows to enjoy what time she has left. On taking her first holiday she meets Kit Firth, a pilot on leave whose vision has been impaired due to a bomb explosion while he was on active service. Kit is searching for a rare mineral Britain needs in the war effort. Following an explosion at the local tin mine, Kit and several others are trapped, but due to his knowledge of the mine, he leads the others to safety. But his greatest challenge is to come, when he has to undergo an operation, that hopefully may keep him from going blind.
Based on a short story by J. W. Drawbell, this British black-and-white romance was directed by Leslie Arliss and stars Margaret Lockwood, Stewart Granger, and Patricia Roc.
Arliss admitted gaining inspiration from a number of magazine stories which provided romantic escapism for war era women.
Lockwood had not played piano since her school days, but learned how to play the concerto featured in the film in order to bring realism to her performance. She practiced for hours every day with Harriet Cohen, who actually performed on the soundtrack. "In the end I was able to play with not too many mistakes," wrote Lockwood, in her autobiography.
Margaret Lockwood
Or so these films would have us believe.
They promise lots of drama, the occasional comedy or musical, and a little bit of dirt!
Let's take a walk down Hollywood Blvd. and shine a light on these magnificent classic films.
This way, if you please. But remember...
Ladies first!
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A Lady Of Quality
(1913)
It was produced by Daniel Frohman and Adolph Zukor, and was among the first of Zukor's feature-length productions
A Lady of Quality is considered a lost 1913 silent film with no prints surviving.
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A Lady Of Quality
(1924)
Also based on the 1896 novel A Lady of Quality by Frances Hodgson Burnett. this American silent historical drama was directed by Hobart Henley and stars Virginia Valli, Earle Foxe, and Milton Stills.
It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. A Jewel Production. Universal, not owning a theater chain, devised a 3-tiered brand system to assist it in marketing its features to independent theater owners: Red Feather (low-budget programmers), Bluebird (mainstream releases) and Jewel (prestige releases). Jewels were often promoted as limited engagements in hopes of commanding higher roadshow ticket price levels. Universal ended banding in late 1929.
This 1924 version is also considered a lost film, as no existing prints can be found.
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A Lady To Love
(1930)
The New York Times praised Robinson, but found the rest lacking: "The picture lacks a pictorial mobility, but its range of acting, as offered by Mr. Robinson, from the lightest humor of emotions, as depicted during the scene when he discovers himself forsaken by his loved ones, is most gratifying."
Vilma Bánky and Edgar G. Robinson
In 1958, the film entered the public domain (in the USA) because the claimants did not renew its copyright registration in the 28th year after publication.
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A Lady Surrenders
(1930)
After Winthrop Beauvel and his wife, Isabel have a big argument, she storms out and goes on an ocean voyage. Winthrop thinks Isabel has left him for good, and promptly gets a divorce although he still loves Isabel. He takes up light-housekeeping with Mary, whom he also learns to love. Isabel returns and is not happy about sharing her husband with another woman, especially since Isabel is the first-wife-of-record and Mary isn't. Mary is so concerned about Winthrop's happiness that she decides to commit suicide in order to keep Winthrop and Isabel together. But then she has second thoughts when good-hearted and liberal Isabel turns out to be not adverse to sharing.
This American Pre-Code romantic drama was directed by John M. Stahl and stars Genevieve Tobin, Rose Hobart, Conrad Nagel, and Basil Rathbone.
A copy exists in the Library of Congress.
You can watch this film in its entirety on YouTube for free!
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A Lady Surrenders
(1944)
AKA: Love Story
Based on a short story by J. W. Drawbell, this British black-and-white romance was directed by Leslie Arliss and stars Margaret Lockwood, Stewart Granger, and Patricia Roc.
Lockwood had not played piano since her school days, but learned how to play the concerto featured in the film in order to bring realism to her performance. She practiced for hours every day with Harriet Cohen, who actually performed on the soundtrack. "In the end I was able to play with not too many mistakes," wrote Lockwood, in her autobiography.
Lockwood also wrote that, for a scene that featured an argument between the two women, she and Roc had to "slap each other's faces constantly, 'til we both ached."
Stewart Granger was making Waterloo Road at the same time as this film. He says the city of Gainsborough was bombed during the making of Love Story, which he later called "a load of crap – and a smash hit!"
Critic Jeremy Arnold excused the film's overly melodramatic storyline and lack of realism and appreciated the context in which the film was released. "For wartime British audiences", Arnold wrote, "a melodramatic romance dealing with death, heroism and sacrifice, lushly photographed amidst the shores of Cornwall, must have served as a shot in the arm." Arnold found the film to be "so skillfully made that what seems like contrived melodrama in the abstract comes off more as just a sweeping romantic aura on screen." Arnold praised the acting in the film, writing that Lockwood "delivers a solid performance" and that the supporting actors, Tom Walls and Patricia Roc, stole the film. A well-known comic actor of the British stage and screen whose career began in 1905, Walls appeared in Love Story toward the end of his life. Patricia Roc was in some ways the more desirable of the two romantic choices, according to Arnold, who noted that "our eyes go to her more than to Lockwood whenever the two share the screen."
Stewart Granger was making Waterloo Road at the same time as this film. He says the city of Gainsborough was bombed during the making of Love Story, which he later called "a load of crap – and a smash hit!"
Critic Jeremy Arnold excused the film's overly melodramatic storyline and lack of realism and appreciated the context in which the film was released. "For wartime British audiences", Arnold wrote, "a melodramatic romance dealing with death, heroism and sacrifice, lushly photographed amidst the shores of Cornwall, must have served as a shot in the arm." Arnold found the film to be "so skillfully made that what seems like contrived melodrama in the abstract comes off more as just a sweeping romantic aura on screen." Arnold praised the acting in the film, writing that Lockwood "delivers a solid performance" and that the supporting actors, Tom Walls and Patricia Roc, stole the film. A well-known comic actor of the British stage and screen whose career began in 1905, Walls appeared in Love Story toward the end of his life. Patricia Roc was in some ways the more desirable of the two romantic choices, according to Arnold, who noted that "our eyes go to her more than to Lockwood whenever the two share the screen."
This film can be viewed in its entirety on YouTube for free, under the title Love Story (1944).
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A Scene from A Lady Surrenders (1944)
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And that's all for now, folks.
Tune in next time...
Same place, same channel
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A Scene from A Lady Surrenders (1944)
AKA: Love Story
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