A Dama Divina

Scottish film-maker Frank Lloyd (a would-have-been birthday celebrant on the day I watched the film under review) was one of the founding members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences – best-known for holding the annual Oscar ceremony. He was also the second Academy Award winner for Best Direction for this rarely seen historical epic which, as it turned out, was the only film in Oscar history to win that category without an accompanying nod for Best Picture (a feat which, given the current rules, is practically impossible to repeat itself). However, Lloyd was even nominated for directing two more movies that same year – WEARY RIVER (which I own a copy of but did not manage to locate in time for inclusion in this ongoing Oscar marathon!) and the unavailable DRAG. He would later emerge victorious again for CAVALCADE (1933) and received his last nomination for MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935) which, like the latter, was also named Best Picture. For the record, his other films that have had notable brushes with Oscar were EAST LYNNE (1931), BERKELEY SQUARE (1933) and IF I WERE KING (1938) – and, although I have all three in my collection, they will have to wait a similarly-themed marathon for their first viewing. After such a distinguished career, Lloyd semi-retired in the mid-1940s and only made the occasional movie in the following decade before dying in 1960.

THE DIVINE LADY – not to be confused with the contemporaneous Greta Garbo vehicle THE DIVINE WOMAN (1928) only a fragment of which exists today – tells the oft-told tale of the controversial affair between Lady Emma Hamilton and Lord Horatio Nelson; I am already familiar with the Alexander Korda version of events entitled THAT HAMILTON WOMAN (1941; the only on screen pairing of then husband-and-wife team of Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier) and also have the Glenda Jackson/Peter Finch- starring A BEQUEST TO THE NATION aka THE NELSON AFFAIR (1973) in my unwatched pile; for the record, I would love to catch Richard Oswald's even earlier LADY HAMILTON (1921), in which the ubiquitous pair of Conrad Veidt and Werner Krauss played Nelson and Sir William Hamilton respectively, and Christian-Jaque's international version EMMA HAMILTON (1968) – with Michele Mercier, Richard Johnson and John Mills.

The narrative here starts out with an 'impoverished' aristocrat (Ian Keith) dismissing a newly-engaged cook (Marie Dressler) because of the "vulgar" antics of her daughter Emma Hart (an Oscar-nominated Corinne Griffith, though her name is bafflingly omitted in Roy Pickard's "The Oscar Movies From A-Z" and seems to be disputed elsewhere too!); her entreaties to rethink his harsh decision win him over and impress his artist friend who wants to paint a portrait of her. Before long, she is accompanying her employer on social occasions, until she embarrasses him by bursting into song at a fair thereby attracting the attentions of every male within hearing distance. He is convinced to dispose of her by thrusting her into the arms of his aging womanizing uncle Sir William Hamilton (H.B. Warner!) even though she had fallen for Keith himself in the meantime. He soon gets to regret his actions when the wealthy relative (whom he had hoped to inherit) marries the wench and turns her into Lady Emma Hamilton, Ambassadress to Sicily! Although that island is ostensibly neutral to the ongoing conflict between England and France, the king sides with France while the queen (sister to the deposed Marie Antoinette) secretly sides with Britain. When Lady Hamilton decides to intervene, the latter's allegiance is instrumental in overturning a Royal decree not to help the ailing British fleet headed by Admiral Horatio Nelson (Victor Varconi – who is not shown wearing a black patch over his blind eye but does get to lose a hand!). Apart from helping the British repel the enemy, this fateful event brings Emma and Horatio together for the first time and, as they say, the rest is history...

The understandably battered print – culled from the "Warner Archives" DVD-R – does not really do the film much justice but remains reasonably watchable throughout. Indeed THE DIVINE LADY is a handsomely mounted and well-crafted production (cinematographer John F. Seitz also received an Oscar nomination for his work here), with Lloyd's solid direction smoothing over the crude sound sequences interspersed throughout where we hear Emma Hamilton sing, and only calling attention to itself intermittently, as in the aforementioned fairground sequence.

I give it 8 rather than 9 because of Griffith's acting when falling in love; her romantic feelings, as opposed to her ambassadress motives which were allied with her patriotism, seemed to spring from nothing. Varconi did all the wooing, and before you know it, whammo, a full blown affair. Griffith was more effective in portraying a girl's enthrallment with her first lover, Keith; I could believe that she trusted too deeply in his motives. Speaking of Keith, he gave an excellent performance of a man attracted to his servant's charms but hypocritical about so much more of her personality; he disgusted me, but in a good way.

But getting back to the action, the naval battles astounded and I was on the edge of my seat, dodging those cannonballs. The role of the Queen and her interaction with Griffith was unique, I thought, because of the power dynamics balancing the Queen's power with the King's and Griffith's part in the whole shebang. Someone whose real life is completely ready for filming is William Hamilton, here in this film an aged cuckold but actually a vulcanologist and man of science. I would enjoy a film depicting his life very much, showing his happy first marriage and dealings with the political structures of the era. Also good to see would be his menage-a-trois with his wife and Nelson in their small home, prior to Trafalgar. So all in all, this was a good Sunday's silent movie for TCM and I'm pleased to have seen it, with the lovely costumes and other production values, too. Then there's that rose over Griffith's lips when Nelson makes his move ...

Divine Lady, The (1929)

*** (out of 4)

Director Lloyd picked up the Best Director Oscar for this film, which is the main reason why anyone remembers or talks about it today. While that might be the reason the film is remembered today, the film itself is still pretty good and holds up fairly well. The film tells the story of the doomed love affair of Lady Emma Hamilton (Corinne Griffith) who married Sir William (H.B. Warner) only to cheat on him with Captain Horatio Nelson (Victor Varconi). I'm not overly familiar with the true events but I've been told this movie isn't too close to the truth but that's to be expected. Whereas Hamilton is shown as a rather cheerful and charming person here, apparently in real life she could be twisted and cruel and those sides aren't on display here. With that said, I found the movie to old up fairly well in certain fields but the melodrama has dated quite badly. The entire love story really isn't all that interesting even though the performances carry it for the most part. I found the love triangle to be rather forced as I never really bought into why Hamilton would marry Sir William in the first place. The money might be obvious but I felt that the film really rushed their relationship and that William's entire motivation and feelings are overlooked. The ending is pretty tacky and unemotional, although I'm sure many fell for it back in 1929. The entire look of the film from the cinematography to the amazing sets are a reason to watch the film as are the performances. I found Griffith to be quite charming and she certainly carries the film on her own. The two men turn in fine performances as well. Marie Dressler is pretty much wasted in a thankless role. What really makes this film worth watching is a battle sequence out at sea that happens towards the middle of the picture. The action sequences are very exciting and the stuff dealing with the ships being torn apart look very realistic.

Briefly, as explained in an introductory title card, "This is the historic tale of two people whose lives are an immortal romance; the story of the love and destiny of England's greatest beauty, and England's greatest sailor." The film focuses on the greatest beauty of Corinne Griffith (as Emma Hart). Her main lover is the greatest sailor, Victor Varconi (as Horatio Nelson). Ms. Griffith dominates the drama, which begins in late 18th century England. Introduced as a servant girl, Griffith becomes enamored with noble boss Ian Keith (as Charles Greville). After gaining a reputation as a "vulgar hussy", Griffith is sent to Italy; there, she becomes more ladylike, and marries Mr. Keith's uncle, H.B. Warner (as William Hamilton). Then, as "Lady Hamilton", she meets, and has an historically influential affair with Mr. Varconi, her "true love".

"The Divine Lady" is a showy, costly production. It was noticed during the second "Academy Awards" ceremony for the direction of Frank Lloyd. Mr. Lloyd's direction is, indeed, a strength; in one scene, he makes you feel you are on a Ferris Wheel. Lloyd was also noted for directing Richard Barthelmess in "Weary River" and "Drag", films which sandwiched "Divine Lady". John Seitz' photography is another strength; he is responsible for many beautiful scenes; and, of course, shows superstar Griffith in her best light. Comic relief Marie Dressler (as Mrs. Hart) appears too briefly.

In 1994, Corinne Griffith received a belated "Academy Award" nomination as "Best Actress" for "The Divine Lady"; the revelation appeared in Robert Osborne's "65 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards".

There were no actual "nominations" announced that year (actually, the 1928-29 season); after the awards gained stature, there were attempts to bring the earlier ceremonies in line with what was becoming the industry standard. The inclusion of Griffith's name among the nominees may have been due to a suggestion Jeanne Eagels' performance in "The Letter" be dropped, since she died in October 1929.

A look at the other nominations would support Griffith's inclusion; however, the second ceremony was not one of the Academy's best efforts. Griffith's starry, self-conscious performance was better than "Best Actress" winner Mary Pickford's, in "Coquette"; but, so were most. Lillian Gish and Greta Garbo essayed far superior characterizations during the eligibility period, but were not nominated. However, dog star Rin Tin Tin was considered for a "Best Actor" nomination.

****** The Divine Lady (4/14/29) Frank Lloyd ~ Corinne Griffith, Victor Varconi, H.B. Warner, Ian Keith

and the very strange Oscar win for director, Frank Lloyd, are the only reasons this film is remembered at all. Long, dull, and obvious, The Divine Lady tells the story of Emma Hamilton and Admiral Nelson and his victory at Trafalgar. Because nominations were not announced in the early years of Oscars, it has allowed revisionists to suddenly, in the last few years, proclaim that Corinne Griffith was a nominee for best actress. This makes no sense as Griffith would have been the SIXTH nominee on the list. The academy might have played around in the first several years, but they never had SIX acting nominees. Mary Pickford won for Coquette. The other nominees have always been Bessie Love for The Broadway Melody, Betty Compson for The Barker, Ruth Chatterton for Madame X, and Jeanne Eagels for The Letter. Now out of nowhere, Griffith as been added as the stealth nominee. No way. If there WERE no official nominees announced, how did Griffith suddenly appear as a nominee 70 years after the fact? Nothing against Miss Griffith, whom I liked very much in The Garden of Allah, but she was NOT nominated for an Oscar, despite the trumpetings of TCM and the revisionism of the official Oscar web pages. Check any Oscar book printed before 1995. NO GRIFFITH! Oh and I would have voted for Bessie Love.