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Hollywood's British colony with the exception of star Constance Bennett filled out the roles in this drama about the British upper classes. I know that American audiences during the Depression did like to see how the upper crust lived. But these noble sacrificing people were a bit much.

Herbert Marshall who appeared regularly in these kind of dramas is going out with Bennett. But dear old dad disapproves because of the unsavory reputation she and brother Hugh Williams have. Henry Stephenson was always playing these upper crust British types as the British like to see themselves is the father.

As a dutiful son and member of Parliament he obeys. Marshall even makes a more suitable match in Elizabeth Allan. As for Bennett she nobly sacrifices herself and Williams does likewise.

A little honesty all around and none of these plot situations would have developed. Outcast Lady should stay outcast.

Constance Bennett and Herbert Marshall have known each other since childhood, but his father, Henry Stephenson, doesn't want them to marry. He sends Herbie away on business, and Constance isn't able to wait. True love has its time limit, I guess. She marries Herbie's best friend, Ralph Forbes, for revenge. Constance really isn't likable in this movie, since her character is both stupid, stubborn, and immature. Later in the movie, she's in knowledge of certain truths that could clear up a lot of confusion and a lot of hurt; but she refuses to tell what she knows. And she's oblivious to the one who's loved her all along. She uses men and doesn't care, but instead of a villainess, we're supposed to feel sorry for her.

It's a big melodrama that can only be seen in the silver screen. If you like the cast, you can try it out. I found it too over-the-top for my taste. It could have been fixed with a better heroine, but I just couldn't get immersed. Plus, I felt the two leads were miscast. Constance Bennett seemed too tired to actually care about anything, and Herbert Marshall didn't seem like the type of man who would let his father boss him around. If you like this movie, you might try out the silent version, A Woman of Affairs, starring Greta Garbo and John Gilbert.

This is an MGM chick flick, 1934- style. Constance Bennett, a first class actress, is Iris, a penniless heiress (I'm still trying to get my brain around how she and her drunken brother can live so well despite their circumstances... they have servants who work whilst politely grumbling over not being paid) who loves the Napier, (Herbert Marshall) son of a prominent English family with interests in India. His father (Henry Stephenson) bans their marriage and each goes off in different directions while carrying awfully large torches for each other. My problems with the production: 1) Marshall is ill-fitted as the somewhat spineless son--- he's 44 here (!) 2) Stephenson is a real one-dimensional turd until the big revelation. 3) The ending (I won't give it away, but it doesn't really fit with Iris' temperament). Connie Bennett ranks (along with Kay Francis and Bebe Daniels) as one of the most underrated actresses around and is always fascinating to watch... even in pedestrian soap like this.

This movie is totally dated.

Outcast Lady stars Constance Bennett, one of my favorite actresses, along with Herbert Marshall, Mrs. Patrick Campbell, Hugh Williams, Elizabeth Allen, Henry Stephenson, Ralph Forbes, and Leo G. Carroll.

This film is a remake of a 1929 film of Garbo's - I'm sure it was better.

Constance is Iris March Fenwick, a woman from a less than successful family who nevertheless had childhood playmates from prestigious families: Napier (Marshall) and Boy (Forbes), both of whom are in love with her.

Napier wants to marry her, but his father (Stephenson) feels it will be detrimental to his career - Iris has no money and no status. He decides to take a job out of the country, make good, and then come back for her.

It doesn't work out that way, and Iris several years later marries Boy. On their wedding night, she discovers a note that someone slipped her, stating that Boy had been in prison under another name. We're not told the crime, but it must have been heinous, because when she shows Boy the note, he jumps out a window.

Iris is blamed, for reasons that aren't terribly clear. Well, first off, people think she pushed him. That aside, people believe that Boy discovered he had made a horrible mistake in marrying Iris and jumped to his death in horror. I guess I don't have the imagination for this - I can't imagine, after knowing her for years, what he discovered. I guess the implication is she had too much sexual know-how.

Iris bravely refuses to tell anyone the real reason for Boy's suicide. Everyone hates her. She then travels and has dalliances. Her brother, Gerald (Marsh) is a down and out alcoholic. He won't speak to her since he blames her for Boy's death. I mean, he sounds like he was in love with him.

Iris wants to help Gerald but since he won't have anything to do with her. Will she finally decide to tell him the truth about Boy?

This thing was totally over the top, so melodramatic, I wanted to scream. The end didn't surprise me at all.

Constance, of course, was gorgeous and in beautiful Adrian gowns. She's very appealing. It's highly doubtful that Herbert Marshall, fourteen years older than both Bennett and Forbes, was a childhood playmate. Still, he's noble and earnest.

Marsh as Gerald comes off as a crazy man. Some of that can be attributed to the acting style back then, and the rest can be attributed to the script.

These actors have all been in better films.

Constance Bennett is terrific in this not so terrific film. Late in life she told an interviewer she was no Sarah Bernhardt but her self-appraisal was off target and doesn't apply to her performance as the outcast lady. MGM filmed this story in 1929 with Garbo and audience comparison of the 2 interpretations may have been a factor in the 1934 version's box-office failure. Or maybe it was something else.

In the early scenes Iris is a young woman in love, bubbling with happiness, for she's about to marry her true love, played by Herbert Marshall. But Marshall is miscast. He's too old to play Napier, Iris childhood playmate, who allows his father to make major life decisions for him. Iris and Napier don't marry. Years later, Iris marries 'Boy', a man with a secret, which she discovers on her wedding day. Boy's response to her discovery is incredible. Iris then makes her own incredible decision that results in the ruination of those she loves as well as herself. Iris tells a lie. This saves Boy's reputation while destroying her own. More years later, the truth is revealed, but it's too late to be of use to anyone. That Bennett succeeds in making these incredible happenings credible is impressive.

And Bennett is graceful and alluring on the dance floor. A wonderful scene shows the pleasure seeking merry widow in her Adrian gown dancing the tango in a nightclub on the Riviera. She does appear to be enjoying herself and her partner. But we know better. Under that gay exterior there beats the broken heart of a noble woman. Or something like that.

Variety's reviewer wrote, "It's a very good acting job by Constance Bennett and if the story hadn't been such a patch-quilt it might have been one of her memorable performances." I agree. The story is to blame. BTW, the secret Iris guarded is somewhat mysterious. Being referred to as Boy's "purity" has misled today's viewers, but the audience of 1934, especially the males, would have known that Boy had a disease, at that time incurable and considered so shameful that it was spoken of only in confidence with one's doctor. MGM's genius producer, Irving Thalberg, as well as the Production Code were responsible for this hash.