Lena Rivers

It would take at least twice as long today for a feature film to deal with the touchy subject matter this preCode gem from Tiffany (updated from Mary J. Holmes' sadly still pertinent 1856 novel) breezes through in just an hour.

The film throughout looks fresh after nearly ninety years thanks to the outfits and the location work, and in the title role Charlotte Henry (best remembered for playing Alice in Wonderland for Paramount the following year) heads a strong cast in which James Kirkwood and Clarence Muse are permitted nuanced characterisations.

This movie is about Charlotte Henry. Her mother is dead and she does not know who her father is. Although her grandmother, Beryl Mercer, insists her parents were married, there is considerable doubt. As a result, when she and granny go to live with Lena's uncle in Louisville, there is considerable disdain for her, made worse by the estate and money being provided by her uncle's wife. Her only friends are from the next estate over, John St. Polis who takes a shine to her and gives her a horse, and his ward, Morgan Galloway, who is being pursued by Lena's cousin, Joyce Compton. That only serves to make Miss Henry's situation worse.

It's based on a novel by Mary Jane Holmes. She's an author I had never heard of before, even though Wikipedia insists she was second in popularity in the era only to Harriet Beecher Stowe. The novel was published in 1856, which means that this modern-dress movie version (for the 1930s) undoubtedly differed in many details of racial relations, although not in the matter of Louisville, Kentucky being a horse-mad city.

There were four silent movie versions of the movie. Two were released in 1914. The one starring Beulah Poynter survives at UCLA.

When this film begins, a woman has just died after giving birth to a child--and the woman was apparently not married, or, if she was, no one knows who the father is. Because of this, the baby (Lena) is brought up by her grandparents. But when her grandfather dies, the grandma and Lena are in need of a home and are forced to seek a home from the grandma's son in Kentucky--a son who is weak and married to an awful woman and together they have an awful daughter. In many ways, it's a like "Cinderella"--with the pair being forced to live with a nasty lady and her nasty daughter. The nastiness gets worse when a handsome neighbor starts showing attention to Lena--mostly because Lena is a sweet young woman and her cousin is a nasty thing! What's next for Lena now that her uncle, aunt and cousin make it apparent she isn't wanted? And, who IS Lena's father and where is he now?

There is a lot to like and hate about this one. I noticed one person gave it a 10, but I am just not as forgiving. On the plus side, Charlotte Henry WAS very good in the lead and the script was generally very nice. Overall, I did enjoy the film. But, on the other hand, the film wasn't always so expertly crafted--such as the sloppily made drunk driving scene and a bit of the acting here and there was only fair. Plus, some will blanch (and rightly so) due to one bit of dialog. While looking at the black people signing, Lena asks "Are they really as happy as they seem?"--at which point, the guy responds "Happy as children!". Surely this will induce a few cringes!!

By the way, in addition to the title "Lena Rivers", the film also is known as "The Sin of Lena Rivers" and it sure makes this nice movie sound like an exploitation film--which it's NOT!