Manslaughter

Depression moviegoers got a 2-for-1 treat with this melodrama. A festive romance, complete with water skiing and dance parties highlight the first half. An effective and convincing set up for the 'manslaughter' to follow.

Claudete Colbert is mesmerizing as the unrepentant poor-little-rich-girl Lydia Thorne. She is too busy enjoying life's party to feel her conscience, bribing a cop rather than accept a speeding ticket. And when her maid is convicted of stealing her jewels, Lydia's bridge game is more important than a kind word to the judge. A word that would bring years of freedom to her maid's life.

Enter straight shooting District Attourney Dan O'Bannon (Frederic March). He's busy schmoozing political heavyweights with "equal justice for rich and poor" when he falls under Lydia's spell.

Miss Colbert literally sparkles in Archie Stout's photography. Principally backlit, her satin gown and diamond necklace shimmer in the star filter and complete the trap for O'Bannon and viewer alike. Lots of overhead and dolly shots keep the eye-candy coming. This beautifully mounted production gives no clue why Mr. Stout would be doing the cheapo John Wayne westerns 3 years later. Amazingly, Archie Stout would go onto shoot the sumptuously photographed Angel And The Badman for Wayne years later! An automobile accident (not a run over pedestrian as suggested above) triggers the second half of the film and the regeneration of our heroine, and not without delicious plot twists and turns.

Great performances and production make this a must see for the avid talkie buff. And Claudette Colbert fans will be well pleased to find her already in top gear.

Lydia (Claudette Colbert) is wealthy and selfish. She has no time for others as is illustrated when her maid Evans (Hilda Vaughn) is sent to prison for theft. Lydia's evidence could prevent Evans from going to jail but she forgets to turn up. She meets with O'Bannon (Fredric March), a lawyer who is committed to equal rights for rich and poor and although they fall in love, his principles do not sit comfortably with her behaviour. After a car accident in which a policeman dies, he takes the case for prosecution against her and she is sent to prison. How does she cope and what will O'Bannon do next?....

The film is OK to begin with but every scene is just a little too long and so the film starts to drag. The cast are good but the story could have been told at a better pace and with a little more excitement. The way the film resolves itself is rather sudden and convenient for all involved.

In this talkie remake of the 1922 Cecil B. De Mille movie, Claudette Colbert is the rich, careless girl who runs down a police officer; Frederick March is the District Attorney who is first her lover, and then her prosecutor. In the silent version, these roles had been taken by Beatrice Joy and Thomas Meighan.

Under the direction of George Abbott, who was taking a wanderjahr in Hollywood, the performances are excellent. Archie Stout offers camerawork that is simultaneously American, yet offers a shadow-filled prison that looks a bit Germanic. The dialogue is slightly coy for a Pre-Code movie, but there's no mistaking what is going on when March wins her conviction then quits his job to go on a long drunk.

It's a proper three-act drama with an epilogue. In the first, Miss Colbert is a heedless young thing, who gets caught speeding and then drops a bracelet as a bribe for the speed cop. In the second, her maid has stolen her bracelet, and Miss Colbert agrees to testify for her, but can't be bothered. On finding out, she speeds to the court, strikes the officer she bribed, and witnesses what happens when she kills someone. She goes through a wide range of emotions under Abbott's direction. In the epilogue...

It's a well-made and affecting story, and the leads do a fine job. Nonetheless, Demille's version hangs a heavy pall over this, even though it is claimed as his worst movie. I really can't say. It's been a long time since I saw it, and have no clear memory. I shall have to remedy that gap.

Honestly, for a film from 1931 this is as perfectly made as possible. The story is totally absorbing which will appeal to everyone whatever your tastes. The production and acting is superb - faultless and thoroughly enjoyable.

Claudette Colbert is perfect as 'the rich girl who lives on the hill.' She's adorably lovely, naively unaware of her own privilege and innocently unaware of the consequences of her entitled lifestyle. Everyone who knows Lydia loves her and that's all down to Colbert's natural acting. You thoroughly believe that Lydia is a real person you're watching, a real person whom you could fall in love with.

Fredric March is always one of the most naturally likeable guys of the pre-code era and that's no exception in this. His character is a little too good to be true at times but that's needed to offset some of the stuffy over-privileged attitudes of the 'old money' patriarchs of the town. His character is the voice of the common man. He's the one who asks the question, the theme of this picture: should justice be the same for the rich and the poor. That it's actually debated whether rich people have to go to jail seems weird and antiquated at first but then again, have things really changed?

The injustice theme would have been handled very differently, much more vociferously were this made by Warner Brothers. Were it a WB film, her time in jail would probably have made Lydia a much more remorseful like some sort of sexy Scrooge on Christmas Day. In this, her character isn't really changed that much which makes you feel a little annoyed with her but that's actually more realistic and adds to the authenticity.

For a 1930 film the picture quality was surprisingly good,most impressive was the crash scene ,where Colberts reckless driving causes the death and leads to her conviction. Considering this was a very early performance by her ,she plays the part very well- portraying a lack of sensitivity but without being malicious As good as she is ,I have to reluctantly admit that March steals the show -his pain and torment fill up the screen