The Lady of Scandal

Sluggish is the word for MGM's adaptation of Frederick Lonsdale's "The High Road." Long pauses were not uncommon in early talking features but they seem to go on forever in this one. Stuffy people in huge rooms who pause a very long time between pompous utterances. Also of note is the very uneven, often shoddy sound recording. Although MGM was known to be the most well-financed studio in Hollywood, the audio is surprisingly tacky. The actors' voices sound like they are being piped in through a poor telephone line. At times actors' footsteps can be heard clicking across the floor and at other times they're dead silent. Of minor interest, a few camera setups present the action in both the fore- and background of the frame.

Standard English drawing room-types populate the cast, best represented by Frederick Kerr (a cross between Guy Kibbee and Winston Churchill in his final decline and who has some fun moments after trying out a cocktail called "Gullet Washer"), Nance O'Neill as his monocled wife, and MacKenzie Ward as a dapper eccentric.

The leads are Basil Rathbone (who does well despite the technical obstacles to contend with), Ruth Chatterton (very mannered) and Ralph Forbes (cardboard through and through).

I watched this film, Lady of Scandal, because I had never seen Ruth Chatterton in a film, and I'm very glad I saw it. There was very witty dialogue, some funny scenes, and some tender moments peppered throughout this movie, which was based on a play. The beginning was a riot, as Chatterton, while performing on stage, dances herself over to the wings and hands her fiancée a letter from his family. "Your family is horrid!" she exclaims while doing her high kicks. The dialogue between Chatterton's prospective parents-in-law is especially funny.

It's fascinating to see Basil Rathbone in his pre-Sherlock Holmes days. He was Margaret Mitchell's idea of Rhett Butler, she told a reporter, and it's perhaps a little bit easier to see why in these early films. But it's obvious that when Mitchell wrote her famous book, she envisioned her characters somewhat differently and from another perspective. Rathbone could have been a dashing southern gentleman but the ruggedness and sexiness would have been lost.

Chatterton was a charming performer with a wide range, as exhibited in this film. She could do the theatrical diva, as well as comedy and pathos. I look forward to seeing more of her films.

The Lady of Scandal (1930)

** (out of 4)

This early talkie features Ruth Chatterton playing Elsie Hilary, a British actress who is engaged to a man from a snobbish rich family. Everyone in the family objects to her "nature" except for Edward (Basil Rathbone) who finds himself falling for her. THE LADY OF SCANDAL remains somewhat watchable due to its fun leads but the sad reality is that this is just another early talkie with way too much talking. You know, I truly understand that in the early days of sound people wanted to hear people talk. I do wonder what they truly felt about these movies back then but when you view them today you pretty much just shake your head because of all the dialogue. I mean, to simply tell someone who want to go out and eat takes about ten pages of dialogue because everything just gets so drawn out. This non-stop talking is what really damages this film and keeps it from being more entertaining. What does keep the film at least watchable is the performance of Chatterton who comes across incredibly delightful. She comes out doing a chorus dance and singing a song, which was pretty funny and I liked the way she handled each of the family members who are against her. I've often been very critical of Rathbone's early work but I was shocked to see that he too was rather good here. The supporting cast of character do fine work as well with each of them fitting their roles. Of course, even with all the dialogue the writers weren't able to come up with a way to keep the viewers on the edge of their seats. There's never a bit of suspense as to what's going to happen and the ending is something you'll see coming from a mile away.

This tinny early talkie version of Frederick Lonsdale's 'The High Road' is fun to start with but eventually outstays it's welcome as the leads blather on passionlessly and at great length about love.

Director Sidney Franklin is plainly concentrating on the performances rather than the camera (in the process actually getting a decent performance out of Frederick Kerr), and Basil Rathbone starts to show what he would be capable of when his film career kicked off in earnest shortly afterwards.

Is this film ever a throwback. Hard to believe that back in those days in very class stratified Great Britain that the upper classes would get all in a snit over the idea of one of their titled people marrying an actress. Yet that is the subject of The Lady Of Scandal.

Who in this case happens to be Ruth Chatterton a rather celebrated actress on the London stage. Young Ralph Forbes proclaims that he's going to marry Chatterton so his family and extended family invite her to a weekend in the country to look her over. Once there however she's not happy with this snooty crowd. And her father Robert Bolder in an Alfred P. Doolittle type attitude doesn't want her marrying into them either.

Which is all right with cousin Basil Rathbone if she doesn't marry Forbes. He's got his own title to offer. He's also got a married mistress on the side.

The Lady Of Scandal had a respectable run in London's East End. But I rather think it didn't do well in the USA. This is one of those foreign works that Americans by and large just wouldn't get. Granted that people here wanted escapist entertainment during the Depression. But these people don't seem to have a clue.

Ruth Chatterton does fine in a most dated work that I doubt we'll ever see a remake of.