Lady by Choice

Carole Lombard and May Robson star in "Lady By Choice" from 1934, with Robson sort of reprising her Apple Annie character.

Lombard is Alabam, the Human Heat Wave, a fan dancer. Her publicist is attempting to garner some good publicity for Alabam and suggests that for Mother's Day, she go to a nursing home and adopt an old lady to be her mother.

Alabam sees a smiling, gentle Patricia Patterson (Robson) at the home and recognizes her as the screaming, out of control bag lady who came up before a judge (Walter Connolly) at the same time Alabam was there, brought up on a morals charge because of her dancing. Patterson, of course, never had any intention of staying in the nursing home and, there against her will, was obviously making the lives of the people who ran the home a living hell.

In the beginning, it's a match made in heaven, with Patricia living in Alabam's gorgeous apartment and wearing the new clothes Alabam purchased for her. Patricia wins $7000 ($139,185 in today's money) and pretends she inherited it, in order to convince Alabam that she can stop fan dancing and to pursue a stage career.

Problems arise later when Alabam gets together with the wealthy Johnny (Roger Pryor) who is a guardian of Patricia's (and it's hinted that she's his actual mother). Patricia is against the relationship, believing Alabam is a gold digger.

Fun movie with the absolutely stunning Lombard walking around in beautiful clothes with a lot of dead animals hanging from them. She and Robson have excellent chemistry, and their scenes are the best.

Sad to see Lombard, so beautiful and vibrant, and realize she only had eight years left. However, she left a wonderful legacy.

Fan dancer Carole Lombard is retired by order of judge Walter Connolly. When publicity man Raymond Walburn comes up with the idea that she adopt a mother, she chooses May Robson, a rowdy drunk she met in Connolly's court. It as if Apple Annie were adopted by Sally Rand. But Robson takes her duties as a mother seriously.

The first half of this movie is an unrelieved delight, with Robson basically doing the role she had performed a month earlier for Capra, and which would gain her an Oscar nomination. Miss Lombard is hilarious and crude and sexy, and the comedy is nicely balanced with sentiment as the two women take to each other. However, in the second half, when te efforts to fix Miss Lombard fail, the money runs out, and a marriage with Roger Pryor becomes the main plot, everything falls apart. The humor vanishes, people change their minds to suit the exigencies of the plot, and I lost interest. Everyone continues to offer fine performances. These are all seasoned professionals. But the story telling collapses, as does the efforts at comedy.

This movie was a sequel of sorts to Capra's "Lady for a Day" and in it May Robson reprises her Apple Annie character. Indeed May Robson steals the show and gives by far the best performance. This film would be Carole Lombard's last with Columbia pictures. As with her film, "Brief Moment" her director at Columbia was David Burton and the character actor Arthur Hohl is on board again as costar, here playing her crooked manager.

Carole Lombard's performance is fair. She is trying hard and keeps herself animated, but seems to come up just short. She seems to suffer from a bad case of "over-acting". However, since she is playing a "bad" actress from the wrong side of town, I can't say this is too troubling. The story is complex and on the whole the acting is fine, so overall the viewing experience is pleasing and worth repeating. The ending does tug at your heart-strings and the resolution is well thought out. The characters examine their own faults and are able to take advantage of opportunities to grow...with a little help along the way.

May Robson and Carole Lombard are both excellent as something like mother and daughter in this fast moving and enjoyable comedy.

Robson is the likable but down-and-out hard drinker who winds up before judge Walter Connolly for starting a riot in a bar; it's her seventh or eighth time up on charges, and he finally sends her off to a home for old ladies.

Meanwhile, fan dancer Lombard is brought into the same courtroom for a morals code violation—actually a failed publicity stunt arranged by her agent.

Setting out to find some good publicity, Lombard hits on the idea of "adopting" a mother. Discovering Robson in the old ladies' home, Lombard takes her home, dresses her up, calls up some reporters, and has some pictures taken. The plan is to quickly pay off the old lady and get her to scram; however, the two women begin to get acquainted….

The rest of the plot is hardly surprising; Lombard sums it up nicely at one point: "I did it for a publicity gag. But she got under my skin."

Roger Pryor is fine as the lawyer who has an old family connection with Robson, and takes an interest in Lombard. Walter Connolly is excellent as usual as the judge—though he puts on many faces (stern, concerned, exasperated) he is of course at heart an old softie.

No huge surprises but quite satisfying overall; the plot and script are no great shakes but it's all made more than worthwhile by top efforts from Lombard and Robson.

Fan dancer Carole Lombard 'adopts' tippler bag lady May Robson as her mother in order to improve Carole's public image. The old lady winds up becoming a mother figure to Carole and tries to help her become successful in a more respectable career. But when that falls through, Carole starts to date a young lawyer friend of May's for his money. This creates a rift between the two women and May determines to stop Carole from taking advantage of the lawyer.

May Robson is great. Carole Lombard is beautiful and has good chemistry with May. Fine support from Walter Connolly, Roger Pryor, and Arthur Hohl. Lady for a Day is one of my favorite Frank Capra films. It has great Damon Runyon characters, fun dialogue, and a lot of heart. This is a cash-grab follow-up to that movie but not a sequel. May Robson plays a similar character but this is not Apple Annie. None of the characters in this movie are quite as colorful or enjoyable as those in the Capra movie. Still, it's entertaining enough thanks to Lombard and Robson.