Un jurado de un juicio por asesinato se apiada de la acusada, recientemente absuelta, y la invita a mudarse a la casa de su familia - y su hijo no tarda en enamorarse de ella.Un jurado de un juicio por asesinato se apiada de la acusada, recientemente absuelta, y la invita a mudarse a la casa de su familia - y su hijo no tarda en enamorarse de ella.Un jurado de un juicio por asesinato se apiada de la acusada, recientemente absuelta, y la invita a mudarse a la casa de su familia - y su hijo no tarda en enamorarse de ella.
- Dirección
- Guionistas
- Elenco
- Premios
- 2 premios ganados en total
- First Court Clerk
- (sin créditos)
- Juror
- (sin créditos)
- Barber
- (sin créditos)
- Miss Lucille Morlet
- (sin créditos)
- Antoinette
- (sin créditos)
- Courtroom Spectator
- (sin créditos)
- Dirección
- Guionistas
- Todo el elenco y el equipo
- Producción, taquilla y más en IMDbPro
Opiniones destacadas
Two of the posters regarded "The Lady in Question" as a pallid remake of "Gibouille". Having seen some pre-WWII French films, they were not greatly more explicit than Hollywood was, at the time, in dealing with sex and crime. "The Lady in Question" is a mild comedy-drama made by a studio that was well-equipped to handle such material, Columbia Pictures. Director Charles Vidor, a Frenchman himself, nicely, subtly, and lingeringly establishes time and place. It greatly allows for the suspension of disbelief of hearing perfect English accents on French characters.
This film showcases Brian Aherne, who all too rarely was showcased at all, let alone in a comedy that he carried. He plays Morestan, the bicycle shopkeeper, admirably and almost succeeds in making one believe he was a middle-aged shopkeeper. He has just the right light tone to unify what is a mild plot and a minor-A film. Yes, studios didn't always make big-budget films with their stars. Many of their films, including "A" pictures, were "programmers", films that showcased stars and promising contract players. This, "The Lady in Question" did.
The players do shine, even though this film is an early entry for future stars Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, and Evelyn Keyes. In what could've been a merely decorative role, Hayworth truly has that "lady of mystery" quality that not only holds your attention but, momentarily, keeps one guessing as to whether or not she was guilty. Glenn Ford plays what would've been a callow juvenile with earnestness, a convincing portrait of young lust/love, and just enough vulnerability to make his love/suspicion relationship with Hayworth's character believable. Everyone acquits (pun intended)themselves very well in this film. Since the American film industry doesn't put out "programmers" anymore and we, as a public, are conditioned to see most star vehicles as big-budget affairs, it's a lost art but a beautiful one to sit, savor, and merely enjoy a well-crafted, entertaining film that isn't about anything special but delivers.
Actually, it's BRIAN AHERNE who gets top billing as the Parisian shop owner who sits in on a murder trial and finds himself falling for "the lady in question". Aherne plays the man as a naively foolish individual who looks forward with childish glee to jury duty--and then manages to convince the others that Rita is not guilty of murder.
EVELYN KEYES plays his equally flighty daughter and IRENE RICH is his sensible wife. GLENN FORD is his attractive and reasonably sensible son.
It soon becomes apparent that all of the courtroom scenes are going to be played for comedy rather than drama. LLOYD CORRIGAN and GEORGE COULOURIS play opposing lawyers with comic skill and CURT BOIS does an amusing job as a fellow juror who takes an instant dislike to Aherne when he's accidentally splashed with water and then becomes his amusing adversary for the rest of the story.
But the spotlight is mainly on BRIAN AHERNE and he easily walks off with the film as the bumbling shop owner who begins to think that perhaps he shouldn't have talked the other jurors into freeing Rita, after she has an affair with his son whom he finds has stolen some money in order to leave with her. Aherne had a flair for comedy that is really given the spotlight here.
There's a clever plot twist at the end in which Aherne realizes how wrong he's been about everything.
RITA HAYWORTH shows promise in a rather uninteresting role that doesn't allow her to do more than look like a decorative leading lady and GLENN FORD is clearly not yet the movie star he would become. Both have relatively minor roles compared to Aherne.
Summing up: Interesting oddity is strange mixture of comedy and drama.
This is a remake of the French film Gibouille, it's an interesting piece that never quite gets out of first gear. Rita Hayworth looks lovely and plays off well with Glen Ford's Pierre, whilst Brian Aherne is very entertaining as Andre, but one never gets any sense of feeling with the characters. In a film that purports to be a comedy drama, you find that the picture is caught between both genres, the comedy is sporadically interesting but the drama then comes across as staid. I personally haven't seen the French original but i wouldn't be at all surprised if Gibouille is a bit more daring and close to the knuckle with its execution?. This is a decent picture and one that certainly has a watch-ability factor for cast and outcome of story, it just really should have been so much more one feels. 5.2/10
Columbia Pictures remade the French film Gibouille which had been done the year earlier with Raimu and Michele Morgan in the roles that Aherne and Rita had. In fact Gibouille was what launched Michele Morgan's career in French cinema.
Knowing that I think a lot of the film's humor and innuendo probably got lost on the transatlantic voyage. Aherne is a bicycle shop owner who has been picked for jury duty and is determined to take his responsibilities quite seriously. He gets on a case with Rita as a defendant who is accused of murdering her fiancé. Aherne's questions to her and his forceful advocacy of her, earn Rita an acquittal.
But Brian's not finished. He offers to give her any kind of help she needs because while she has a legal acquittal, she's got a reputation like O.J.'s. Aherne takes her in which causes all kinds of complications with his wife, Irene Rich, son Glenn Ford, daughter Evelyn Keyes, and her fiancé Edward Norris.
The Lady in Question is probably done in by the infamous Code firmly in place in Hollywood. Stuff that the French cinema could and did do, were forbidden here. Columbia also had to keep it in the French setting because of the differences between their jury system and our's.
Still Rita and Glenn do shine together, although no one I'm sure would ever have predicted their mega-hit Gilda six years later. Actually Edward Norris has the nicest performance as the no good rat of a fiancé that Keyes has, who tries to put the make on Rita.
It's a pleasant enough film, but I'm betting the original French version must be infinitely better.
¿Sabías que…?
- TriviaEvelyn Keyes, who plays the daughter Francois Morestan, married the director of this film Charles Vidor in 1944 She also married John Huston, Artie Shaw and lived with Mike Todd.
- Citas
Michele Morestan: What kind of a woman is that Natalie Roguin?
Andre Morestan: I'm not permitted to discuss the case with members of my family.
Michele Morestan: It can't be much, probably mixed up with that sort of thing.
Andre Morestan: People shouldn't condemn what they don't know.
Michele Morestan: I heard about her in the market place today and they say she's not a nice girl.
Andre Morestan: The marketplace, the marketplace, new court of justice. Tomorrow we'll move the judges down among the food and vegetables and settle the case there.
- ConexionesFeatured in Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story (2007)
Selecciones populares
- How long is The Lady in Question?Con tecnología de Alexa
Detalles
- Tiempo de ejecución1 hora 20 minutos
- Color
- Relación de aspecto
- 1.37 : 1