Seasoned grifter Dolly Crandall returns to the 'badger game' but has a change of heart when she falls in love with a young man she believes is a rich Southerner.Seasoned grifter Dolly Crandall returns to the 'badger game' but has a change of heart when she falls in love with a young man she believes is a rich Southerner.Seasoned grifter Dolly Crandall returns to the 'badger game' but has a change of heart when she falls in love with a young man she believes is a rich Southerner.
Johnny Mack Brown
- Steve Crandall
- (as John Mack Brown)
Buddy Messinger
- Hank Crandall
- (as Buddie Messinger)
Charles K. French
- Prison Warden
- (uncredited)
Polly Moran
- Hotel Maid Who Coughs
- (uncredited)
Walter Percival
- Police Sgt. Matheson
- (uncredited)
Bert Roach
- Fat Man Who Flirts With Dolly
- (uncredited)
Adele Watson
- Western Union Clerk
- (uncredited)
Featured reviews
In a "ritzy" hotel, seductive Norma Shearer (as Dolly "Angel Face" Morgan) uses her job as telephone operator to connect with wealthy gentlemen. Recently paroled, Ms. Shearer shows off her thighs under torn stockings while sharing a hard luck story, then lures the men to her apartment. There is, of course, a high price to be paid; in case on screen, Shearer makes out with a tidy $10,000. The plot thickens when Shearer's crooked cohorts Lowell Sherman (as Bradley) and Gwen Lee (as Gwen) want a piece of her solo action. Shearer successfully scams the pair, but they turn up to cause more trouble when she sets her sights on handsome cement tycoon Johnny Mack Brown (as Steve Crandall), who has a surprise of his own to reveal...
This was Shearer's last "silent" film; though MGM seemed reluctant to move their stars into talking pictures, several of them became even bigger stars, so the delay worked out very well for those. Curiously, this film has been shown without its "Synchronized Musical Score and Sound Effects" (SSE) on "Turner Classic Movies" (TCM). TCM premiered "A Lady of Chance" with an "all-new" music score in 2001, but had host Robert Osborne discussing the original soundtrack before a 2012 "Silent Sunday" airing, apparently unaware TCM was not showing the original version. Late 1920s "silent films" (which were never "silent") were typically released with SSE. Hopefully, the original soundtracks will be restored; the present trend needs reversing.
***** A Lady of Chance (12/1/28) Robert Z. Leonard ~ Norma Shearer, Lowell Sherman, Johnny Mack Brown, Gwen Lee
This was Shearer's last "silent" film; though MGM seemed reluctant to move their stars into talking pictures, several of them became even bigger stars, so the delay worked out very well for those. Curiously, this film has been shown without its "Synchronized Musical Score and Sound Effects" (SSE) on "Turner Classic Movies" (TCM). TCM premiered "A Lady of Chance" with an "all-new" music score in 2001, but had host Robert Osborne discussing the original soundtrack before a 2012 "Silent Sunday" airing, apparently unaware TCM was not showing the original version. Late 1920s "silent films" (which were never "silent") were typically released with SSE. Hopefully, the original soundtracks will be restored; the present trend needs reversing.
***** A Lady of Chance (12/1/28) Robert Z. Leonard ~ Norma Shearer, Lowell Sherman, Johnny Mack Brown, Gwen Lee
"A Lady of Chance" was Norma Shearer's last silent film. The Turner Movie Classic channel debut of this forgotten gem with a brand-new score, took place on August 15, 2001. It was a total delight! The print was in excellent condition and looked just as audiences first saw it in 1928. Norma, who never looked lovelier, was in top form and showed how adept she was as a silent movie actress. Never let anyone say that she couldn't handle comedy! It's a fun film to watch and I recommend it to anyone, not just Shearer fans.
Entertaining silent film following the story of a gold-digger named Dolly aka "Angel Face" (played by Norma Shearer). Dressed up as the "good girl" we first meet Dolly working as a switchboard operator at a ritzy hotel, where she is recognized by two former partners in crime (slick, oily Brad and bad, blonde Gwen) who force her to rejoin their "racket" or face the consequences (she failed to report for her parole). Seducing a wealthy man she met at the hotel, he's soon minus $10,000 and picking out mug shots of Dolly at police headquarters. Brad and Gwen try to keep the dough for themselves, but wise Dolly gets the better of them - and wanting to work her own racket, she heads for Atlantic City where she ends up at a hotel absolutely swarming with men attending a "tile and cement" convention. There she meets her next "mark", an innocent Southern cement man/mama's boy (Johnny Mack Brown) who happens to be the perfect specimen of the "tall, dark, and handsome" man. She doesn't seem to notice his rather remarkable charms - under the impression he's about to make a million dollar deal, her heart is only on his wallet. Dolly bats her eyelashes into marriage, but things aren't exactly what she expects - and she just can't seem to escape from those two vultures either!
This is a fun film - amusing and well acted, with an interesting, if predictable plot line. Norma Shearer is great, as always, and has a lot of expression on her face in this film - Johnny Mack Brown is charming and oh so handsome to look at. Lowell Sherman, who plays Brad, is terrific in this as he plays the smarm to the hilt. There is some interesting photography in this - like a shot of just the feet of the actors as Dolly is chased by some phony cops, and another interesting shot of the heavily made-up face of "Angel Face" visualized atop her new switchboard operator look when she is recognized by Gwen. The version of this screened on TCM features a decent jazz score that suits the film well.
This is a fun film - amusing and well acted, with an interesting, if predictable plot line. Norma Shearer is great, as always, and has a lot of expression on her face in this film - Johnny Mack Brown is charming and oh so handsome to look at. Lowell Sherman, who plays Brad, is terrific in this as he plays the smarm to the hilt. There is some interesting photography in this - like a shot of just the feet of the actors as Dolly is chased by some phony cops, and another interesting shot of the heavily made-up face of "Angel Face" visualized atop her new switchboard operator look when she is recognized by Gwen. The version of this screened on TCM features a decent jazz score that suits the film well.
Norma Shearer's final silent is an amiable lightweight romantic comedy in which she plays a con woman who marries for money only to discover that her new husband lives in a shack with his mother and kid brother. Lowell Sherman and Gwen Lee provide fun support as a rival pair of grifters who try to horn in on Shearer's mark.
I don't watch many silent films (wish they'd take the time to get the speed right) but this one was okay, partially because I didn't have to put up with Norma Shearer's exaggerated acting voice! Silent (and pleasantly so), she did a good job as a former con artist who thought she married money but ended up in love, only to discover her new husband may soon be the wealthy man she thought he was! Just when she's about to have it all, her past comes back to haunt her.
Will she allow herself to be blackmailed? Will her husband find out the truth? Will it matter to him if he does? Will she beat her former associates at their own game?
Tune in and find out.
Will she allow herself to be blackmailed? Will her husband find out the truth? Will it matter to him if he does? Will she beat her former associates at their own game?
Tune in and find out.
Did you know
- TriviaThis movie originally was filmed as a silent picture. With the advent of sound though, audiences began skipping silent films and only spending their money to see "talkies". M-G-M, one of the last studios to adopt sound, did not have any "talkies" to release. So, M-G-M began taking silent films they had not yet released, such as this film, and, post-production, added sound sequences to them. Unfortunately, these sound sequences and the accompanying sound track apparently have not survived, and so a modern musical score has been added. Many consider this as more detrimental rather than an enhancement to the action on the screen.
- Quotes
Steve Crandall: [to Angel Face] I never realized how uninteresting cement was until I met you.
- Alternate versionsMGM also released this movie in a totally silent version in 1928.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Hollywood Hist-o-Rama: Norma Shearer (1962)
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Carita de Ángel
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime
- 1h 18m(78 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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