The Lady of Scandal

Some amusing barbs at the British upper crust and it's always nice to spend time with Ms. Chatterton but too much of this movie suffers from the unintended irony of its being as stiff and dull as the people it's satirizing.

This tinny early talkie version of Frederick Lonsdale's 'The High Road' is fun to start with but eventually outstays it's welcome as the leads blather on passionlessly and at great length about love.

Director Sidney Franklin is plainly concentrating on the performances rather than the camera (in the process actually getting a decent performance out of Frederick Kerr), and Basil Rathbone starts to show what he would be capable of when his film career kicked off in earnest shortly afterwards.

There were quite a few interest points regarding 'The High Road', or 'The Lady of Scandal' in other places. It was an early talkie, back when the transition from silents to talkies was still being made and in early days and back when talkies were very much in their infancy. It was directed by Sidney Franklin, director of great films such as the sublime 'Smilin Through' with Norma Shearer. It also starred Ruth Chatterton, who should be better known today, and the great Basil Rathbone.

Sadly, 'The High Road' could have been a lot better. There are certainly far worse talkies back in the very early period that the film was made, but also a lot better (for instance 'Applause' was an early sound film and was quite innovative on a technical level, and it was great) during this period. Chatterton and Rathbone actually come off quite well compared to everything else, though both did a lot better, but by Franklin standards in overall film and directing it was a near-misfire.

Chatterton has a very natural and charming presence, and while she clearly has fun she has poignant moments too. Rathbone gives one of his better early talkie performance, charming and authoritative, though he did go on to do better in 'Anna Karenina', 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' and his Sherlock Holmes films. Frederick Kerr is a scene stealer and gives the funniest performance.

It looks pretty good and doesn't look too primitive, the photography doesn't try to be too clever but it also doesn't feel claustrophobic. The musical scene is good, nice song and well staged. There are some amusing moments and some of the tender ones are touching.

However, too much of 'The High Road' doesn't work. Most of the supporting cast overplay, all the silent film mannerisms present but exaggerated to the maximum, and Ralph Forbes is pretty dull in his role. There is too little to the characters to get one to care for them. Franklin's direction is disappointingly leaden and there is just no vitality to it.

Likewise there is no vitality in the too talky, too flowery and very stilted script. That has comedy that too often is sorely lacking in wit and the moments intended to be tender tend to be too sentimental. The story never comes to life, staying throughout at a cripplingly dull pace, and the whole film feels very stagy and old-fashioned, even by 1930 standards.

Overall, watchable but a long way from great or even good. 5/10

I watched this film, Lady of Scandal, because I had never seen Ruth Chatterton in a film, and I'm very glad I saw it. There was very witty dialogue, some funny scenes, and some tender moments peppered throughout this movie, which was based on a play. The beginning was a riot, as Chatterton, while performing on stage, dances herself over to the wings and hands her fiancée a letter from his family. "Your family is horrid!" she exclaims while doing her high kicks. The dialogue between Chatterton's prospective parents-in-law is especially funny.

It's fascinating to see Basil Rathbone in his pre-Sherlock Holmes days. He was Margaret Mitchell's idea of Rhett Butler, she told a reporter, and it's perhaps a little bit easier to see why in these early films. But it's obvious that when Mitchell wrote her famous book, she envisioned her characters somewhat differently and from another perspective. Rathbone could have been a dashing southern gentleman but the ruggedness and sexiness would have been lost.

Chatterton was a charming performer with a wide range, as exhibited in this film. She could do the theatrical diva, as well as comedy and pathos. I look forward to seeing more of her films.

The Lady of Scandal (1930)

** (out of 4)

This early talkie features Ruth Chatterton playing Elsie Hilary, a British actress who is engaged to a man from a snobbish rich family. Everyone in the family objects to her "nature" except for Edward (Basil Rathbone) who finds himself falling for her. THE LADY OF SCANDAL remains somewhat watchable due to its fun leads but the sad reality is that this is just another early talkie with way too much talking. You know, I truly understand that in the early days of sound people wanted to hear people talk. I do wonder what they truly felt about these movies back then but when you view them today you pretty much just shake your head because of all the dialogue. I mean, to simply tell someone who want to go out and eat takes about ten pages of dialogue because everything just gets so drawn out. This non-stop talking is what really damages this film and keeps it from being more entertaining. What does keep the film at least watchable is the performance of Chatterton who comes across incredibly delightful. She comes out doing a chorus dance and singing a song, which was pretty funny and I liked the way she handled each of the family members who are against her. I've often been very critical of Rathbone's early work but I was shocked to see that he too was rather good here. The supporting cast of character do fine work as well with each of them fitting their roles. Of course, even with all the dialogue the writers weren't able to come up with a way to keep the viewers on the edge of their seats. There's never a bit of suspense as to what's going to happen and the ending is something you'll see coming from a mile away.