Lady with Red Hair

The Lady With Red Hair is about the relationship of Broadway impresario David Belasco and his star creation Mrs. Leslie Carter.

Mrs. Carter was a society socialite whose rather messy divorce and custody battle made her want to seek employment in the theater when she couldn't get a job doing anything else. After a few tries she hook up with David Belasco who molds her into a glamorous stage star from the turn of the last century.

What I found amazing in this whole film was that we never do find out just what in this divorce made her such a notorious woman. The film opens as the divorce proceeding is about to conclude, we never see what it was all about.

We do find out that the terms of the divorce gave her limited visitation rights to her son. That's given as the real reason for her determination to succeed as opposed to possibly trading in on her notoriety. A reason today's audience would definitely understand. In fact why was she billed as "Mrs. Leslie Carter" if it wasn't for the notoriety.

Miriam Hopkins as Carter and Claude Rains as Belasco give a good account of themselves. So do those two old gals Laura Hope Crews as Hopkins's mother and Helen Westley as the owner of the theatrical boardinghouse where they reside. Those two date back to when Mrs. Leslie Carter was a big name on Broadway.

Richard Ainley of the Ainley British theatrical family gives a wooden performance in a part that's underwritten as Carter's second husband. Wasn't Errol Flynn available?

Back in the 1890s divorce in and of itself was scandal. So why weren't we given the salacious details?

This film was released a year after "The Wizard of Oz," and I was surprised to hear some of that classic's music being utilized in a scene here. The music in question from "Oz" is played over the opening scenes of Dorothy and Toto (puzzlingly entitled "Trouble In School"), and several times throughout the film. In "Lady with Red Hair," the same music is heard in scenes involving the lead character's young child.

Interestingly, in 1951, the film "Too Young to Kiss" utilized the exact same music over the opening credits.

Being that 1939's "Oz" came first, I can only assume the later films "borrowed" composer Harold Arlen's score.

CORRECTION: I have been informed that the above-mentioned tune is actually not original to "Oz," but is a classically composed children's tune.

Miriam Hopkins is "The Lady with Red Hair" in this 1940 biopic of Mrs. Leslie Carter which also stars Claude Rains as David Belasco, Richard Ainley as Lou Payne, and a fine cast of supporting players, including Laura Hope Crews and Victor Jory.

Miriam Hopkins and Claude Rains give wonderful performances. Hopkins was a beautiful actress who really makes us feel for Mrs. Carter. Rains is great as the flamboyant, egotistical producer/writer/actor/impresario David Belasco, one of the great names in theater.

Though Mrs. Carter's second husband, Lou Payne, served as adviser on this film, it's a poor representation of the real events of Mrs. Carter's life. True, there was a much publicized and bitter divorce, and she was undoubtedly viewed as a scandalous character for that and for becoming an actress. However, she had custody of her son Dudley, so there was no custody battle. Once she broke with Belasco, she did not go back to him and, in fact, started working in vaudeville and actually made some films toward the end of her life. She did indeed marry Lou, and he became her leading man in many productions.

The driving force for Mrs. Carter in the beginning of this film is regaining custody of her son, but she finally realizes that in her time away from him, he is thoroughly bonded with his father. In the film also (and I'm not sure if it was true in real life) she traveled with her mother and lived in a theatrical boarding house, which gives the film some added interesting atmosphere.

Not a bad movie, probably not a depiction of the greatness of either Carter or Belasco. One of Mrs. Carter's most famous moments was in The Heart of Maryland, where she wore a wig with six-foot tresses. Off-stage, fans blew her hair as she hung 35 feet above the stage clutching the center of a bell to keep it from ringing. Quite a visual.

As everyone else has commented, THE LADY WITH RED HAIR is another of those Warner bios that takes liberty with the facts, but manages to be good entertainment.

However, as the very theatrical title lady, MIRIAM HOPKINS gives an over-the-top melodramatic touch to her entire role, making it seem implausible that theater patrons would give her "acting" such a standing ovation. Indeed, the worse part of the film is when it shows Hopkins practicing her art or giving a demonstration of her talent as a stage actress.

The other flamboyant performance is given by CLAUDE RAINS, but rightfully so, since he's playing David Belasco who apparently liked to "ham it up" at every opportune moment whether teaching others how to act or simply acting up a storm in his personal life.

Director Curtis Bernhardt has done nothing to keep Hopkins or Rains from all the theatrical excesses they bring to their characterizations, but we do get some good supporting work from HELEN WESTLEY as the boarding home owner, LAURA HOPE CREWS (as Miriam's mother), JOHN LITEL as a producer, and many other Warner contractees. But RICHARD AINLEY is colorless in the sort of part that could easily have gone to CORNEL WILDE, who instead has a bit part as a wannabe actor at the boarding house. Ainsley's performance is wooden indeed and pales opposite the strident and mannered acting of Hopkins.

Interesting but something about the screenplay suggests that much was altered and cut in producing this film based on Leslie Carter's memoirs. Little JOHNNY RUSSELL appears briefly in two scenes as Carter's son, the one she loses custody of in a court battle. (He played Shirley Temple's little brother in THE BLUE BIRD shortly before this film).

By all means, put your microscope up to this 1940 release and comment away. When I read reviews, it's as though people think the genre of realism should apply to all decades (and now centuries) and that any and all details that are omitted or distorted are qualifiers for finding fault. So much for entertainment for entertainment's sake.

I'm a real fan of Hopkins. I'm not a huge fan of 1920s or 1930s film, so my fascination with her is limited to the 1940s and beyond. Let's face it, she could deliver her lines as fast as a racing horse. And she excelled in doing so.

This is pure Hollywood fare. It flows as such. Tons of plot loopholes. Cliche dialogue. Over the top execution. Relax and enjoy. Stop over-analyzing.