A Lost Lady

Warner Brothers (WB) release demonstrating what the studio system did right with these small dramas. Tight script and running time sixty-one (61) minutes did not allow any FAT. This was reinforced by a very competent cast led by Barbara Stanwyck and Frank Morgan, supported by Ricardo Cortez, Lyle Talbot with Rafaela Ottiano (maid as usual). Hobart Cavanaugh and Willy Fung provide comedy relief (as usual and thankfully brief).

Plot revolves around Stanwycks characters loss of love. Resurrection by the love of Frank Morgan. Temptation from first Lyle Talbot then Ricardo Cortez and redemption back to Frank Morgan. This is told in a brisk style that holds interest all the way through. It is a quick time soap opera.

It is great to see is Frank Morgan in a role that was more akin to his early stage presence. Most people only think of him as 'Professor Marvel' from THE WIZARD OF OZ, or some other eccentric character usually over acting. Barbara Stanwyck is looking very 'chic' in a role that would normally be played by WB clotheshorse Kay Francis. Ms. Stanwyck is not what you would call a conventual beauty, but there is something about her sex appeal that is irresistible. We can't exactly put our finger on it, but obviously Robert Taylor did.

While not being totally enamoured by the film's title (called 'Courageous' in my country, 'The Lost Lady' known elsewhere would have been far more suitable, and a title that doesn't really gel properly with the plot summary), the subject intrigued enough. Also have liked what has been seen of Alfred E Green's films and Barbara Stanwyck was to me and many others one of the best actresses of the golden age and gave many great performances. It was interesting to see Frank Morgan in an against type role.

A large part of me however was rather disappointed in 'Courageous'. Considering Stanwyck and Morgan's calibre, it should have been a much better film. Is that saying that 'Courageous' is bad? Of course not. It is very well made and acted in particular and starts off great. It is just a shame that it gets increasingly silly and melodramatic too early and ends underwhelmingly, am aware that these are potential traps fallen into a good deal in films at that time but still.

'Courageous' has a lot of great things, starting with the great acting and some of the cast playing against type. This is not one of Stanwyck's tough roles and requires her to be a little more subtle and sensitive, her performance here is very sincere and controlled, nothing feeling overdone or false. Morgan's role here is a dramatic one and a change from his usual eccentric ones, he understates beautifully and has affecting chemistry with Stanwyck (particularly towards the end). Am more familiar with Ricardo Cortez in villainous roles, so it was again interesting to see an in comparison softer side and he manages to give an as sympathetic as he can edge to a character who isn't that really. Rafaela Ottiano does a nice job too in her role.

It as a film is very well made. Beautifully and stylishly shot, atmospherically lit in a sometimes eerie way and with sumptuous sets and costuming. The music doesn't feel intrusive or overused and adds to and not over-emphasises the atmosphere. Green's direction has a lot of striking parts visually and he makes the first half of the film engaging. As indicated, 'Courageous' starts off well.

So it was unfortunate that the rest of the film wasn't as good. The melodrama gets into overload in the middle and it is very overwrought melodrama at that. Especially in the soap operatic Stanwyck and Cortez scenes where one still can taste the increasingly bitter suds after watching, not because of them but the writing. The writing is very sudsy and sometimes quite silly in their scenes and the brief attempts at levity are not amusing or needed, Willie Fung just doesn't fit and more at odds with everything else.

And then there is the ending. Too abrupt and too pat (almost like forgetting that the middle act didn't happen), not to mention subdued. That it was subdued though is admittedly preferable to the film getting more increasingly melodramatic than it already was, but it just felt anaemic. The waste of Lyle Talbot in a prominent role in the source material criminally reduced to practically nothing is unforgivable, as a result he is completely forgettable.

Summarising, watchable definitely but for a crew of this calibre this could have been a lot better. 5/10

Barbara Stanwyck, the greatest actress never to have won an Oscar, is here unusually young and glamorous in a succession of ravishing Orry-Kelly creations as she is torn between staying faithful to nice but dull (although fabulously wealthy) husband Frank Morgan and dashing young blades Lyle Talbot and Ricardo Cortez.

It's unusual to see Ms Stanwyck adorning a Women's Picture at this stage in her career; slickly packaged in a grade A production by Warner Bros. rather as they would soon showcase Bette Davis. The original 1923 Willa Cather novel had been filmed with Irene Rich ten years earlier (sadly now lost), and after seeing this glossy travesty Ms Cather never allowed her work to be filmed again during her lifetime.

'A Lost Lady' starts off strong, with Barbara Stanwyck and Phillip Reed in love and about to get married, only to have their plans tragically changed. As Stanwyck goes into seclusion in order to pick up the pieces, she's approached by Frank Morgan (who you may recognize as the Wizard of Oz), an older man whose love for her is pure yet platonic. From there the film attempts to troll the depths of friendship, love, duty, and marriage, as other men (Ricardo Cortez and Lyle Talbot) are also attracted to Stanwyck. The plot seems to have little to do with the Willa Cather novel of the same name, and as the film progresses, it seems melodramatic and not all that authentic. It's always great to see early Barbara Stanwyck, and in this one you'll see her hit a few tennis balls among other things, but not even she can raise this above being pretty tepid. It was made right at the outset of the production code, which undoubtedly played a role. At 61 minutes it breezes by, and, having failed to develop some of the potential of the story, ends abruptly.

Lost Lady, A (1934)

** (out of 4)

By the numbers love story about a woman (Barbara Stanwyck) who turns very bitter and cold hearted after having a tragedy strike her life. One day she meets an elderly man (Frank Morgan) and he convinces her to marry him even though she warns that she can never love again. After the wedding however, the woman finds love with a younger man and must decide what to do next. Even at only 69-minutes this thing seems to run on and on. I guess the only real reason to see this film is due to the early performance by Stanwyck but she's not too good here. She's not bad but not good either since she's still learning the trade. Morgan steals the show but the screenplay doesn't allow him to do too much. Ricardo Cortez and Lyle Talbot have parts as well.