Post by rmichaelpyle on Apr 15, 2009 7:46:35 GMT -6
In 1936 Ruth Chatterton made one of my all time favorite sound pictures, "Dodsworth", along with Walter Huston, Paul Lukas, and David Niven. In the same year, she also released a film I watched last night, "Lady of Secrets" which, because of its fine cast, is worth the watch, but no where near a great film by any means. It's a soaper's soap opera, if ever there was one. This would have been a good pre-code, and it certainly has pre-code themes in it - indeed, it's entire theme! - but it was released in 1936 and, instead, is a soaper's soap. The film also stars Lionel Atwill as Chatterton's father, and he plays a tyrannical father to the point of nausea! Her mother is played by Elisabeth Risdon, a simpering, obeying movie wife. Chatterton's sister, and who really is the star of the show in my opinion, is played by Marian Marsh. Marsh's suitor is played by Robert Allen, a forgetable player if ever there was one. The other two main characters are played by Lloyd Nolan and Otto Kruger. Chatterton has Nolan's baby in 1914 at the outbreak of WWI. She goes to France as the war begins. She's there because her father is looking for Nolan who has joined the French army. He's killed, and she's left with the baby. HOWEVER, her father - mean and grumpy and even meaner, perhaps, Lionel Atwill - claims before a French front line that the baby is HIS NEW daughter, thus absolving all of everything by the time they get back to America. Chatterton goes into seclusion for twenty two years (!!!), ... and the movie begins. All ends on a slightly edgy, but, I guess, happy note about 40 minutes later - that's after this 40 minutes of time I've just given you. It's not a bad film, but the acting sometimes gets into pure stage stuff and is so vedy, vedy stuffy, especially the accents! The soap opera is just too much and ridiculous. But if you like Chatterton - well, I guess it's worth a watch, but I'll spend my time - next time the opportunity arises to see this - watching something else, thank you.