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The Right of Way

  • 1930
  • TV-G
  • 1h 8m
IMDb RATING
4.1/10
243
YOUR RATING
Loretta Young in The Right of Way (1930)
DramaRomance

Snobbish attorney Charles 'Beauty' Steele loses his wife due to his drinking and his heirs at the same time that his brother-in-law absconds with funds belonging to one of Steele's clients. ... Read allSnobbish attorney Charles 'Beauty' Steele loses his wife due to his drinking and his heirs at the same time that his brother-in-law absconds with funds belonging to one of Steele's clients. In search of the thief, Steele is attacked and left for dead. He is rescued by a kind coup... Read allSnobbish attorney Charles 'Beauty' Steele loses his wife due to his drinking and his heirs at the same time that his brother-in-law absconds with funds belonging to one of Steele's clients. In search of the thief, Steele is attacked and left for dead. He is rescued by a kind couple, but suffers from amnesia. He starts life afresh and is happy, until the return of his ... Read all

  • Director
    • Frank Lloyd
  • Writers
    • Gilbert Parker
    • Francis Edward Faragoh
  • Stars
    • Conrad Nagel
    • Loretta Young
    • Fred Kohler
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    4.1/10
    243
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Frank Lloyd
    • Writers
      • Gilbert Parker
      • Francis Edward Faragoh
    • Stars
      • Conrad Nagel
      • Loretta Young
      • Fred Kohler
    • 17User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos1

    View Poster

    Top cast13

    Edit
    Conrad Nagel
    Conrad Nagel
    • Charley 'Beauty' Steele
    Loretta Young
    Loretta Young
    • Rosalie Evantural
    Fred Kohler
    Fred Kohler
    • Joseph Portugais
    William Janney
    William Janney
    • Billy Wantage
    Snitz Edwards
    Snitz Edwards
    • Luis Trudel
    George C. Pearce
    George C. Pearce
    • The Cure
    • (as George Pearce)
    Halliwell Hobbes
    Halliwell Hobbes
    • The Siegneur
    • (as Holliwell Hobbes)
    Olive Tell
    Olive Tell
    • Kathleen
    Brandon Hurst
    Brandon Hurst
    • Crown Attorney
    Yola d'Avril
    Yola d'Avril
    • Suzette
    Harry Cording
    Harry Cording
    • Rouge's Henchman
    • (uncredited)
    Louise Emmons
    Louise Emmons
    • Villager
    • (uncredited)
    Emmett King
    • The Judge
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Frank Lloyd
    • Writers
      • Gilbert Parker
      • Francis Edward Faragoh
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews17

    4.1243
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    Featured reviews

    2malcolmgsw

    A cure for insomnia

    I fell asleep whilst watching this utter load of bilge and so went and watched most of it again.Where does one start.The court scenes are laughable.After all how could a barrister walk out of court whilst a Judge sums up.If he misdirects then how is the barrister to know.However the most ridiculous moment comes when Nagel is told his true name having lost his memory,and because of this suddenly regains his memory.It all comes back to him in an instant!Other than Loretta Young it is clear that the actors do not have a clue how to act for the talkies.We have gestures and looks and abysmal attempts at accents.This is a film to avoid unless you want a cure for insomnia
    3ccthemovieman-1

    This Early "Talkie" Sounded Too Creaky

    I like a lot of the early '30s "pre-code" films but this was just drivel with poor dialog and some poor acting. I only watched it to see Loretta Young, who was a real beauty in her younger days.

    The dialog and some of things in here are so dated, so sappy and so overly-melodramatic with the lead character, played by Conrad Nagel, that it's almost laughable. What lawyer interrupts his closing speech to pick up a hankie from a woman in the audience, and then whisper something, kiss her hand and leave the courtroom? The guys nickname is "Beauty," and he sure is that! I wonder if audiences in the early '30s actually took this character and dialog seriously....or were they enamored to have "talkies."

    Well, at least Loretta looked super, and sounded like a normal person but how many could people today watch this and stick around long enough to see her? She doesn't appear until almost a half hour, which is almost half the movie!
    artman-8

    creaky....VERY creaky!

    A Bizarre, far-fetched, wholly unrealistic bit of nonsense! Conrad Nagel's performance is so overripe it is actually hilarious! And what the hell was with that mustache of his? As most of the other reviews have said, the one saving grace is the presence of beautiful Loretta Young, who was obviously adapting to making talking films much better than her co-stars! The film is so crudely constructed and acted that i cant help but wonder if it was made earlier and sat on the shelf for a while? I cant agree tho that one should avoid this film, it is def an early talkie curiosity and because of Nagel's outrageously overwrought performance, almost a must-see!
    3boblipton

    So Awful It Escaped

    Conrad Nagel is a trial lawyer who, no sooner does he get his client off, calls him guilty. His Pecksniffian wife has been using him as a checkbook to pay her brother's gambling debts. When that very brother steal a large sum of money for an undisclosed purpose, Nagel pursues him and demands it back. For his trouble, he is threatened by some low-lifes. He calls them cowards, so they beat him to death.... almost. Fortunately, there's Loretta Young to nurse the amnesiac Nagel.

    What disagreeable people all these Canadians are! Nagel offers some of his worst acting in this very slightly expanded stage play that sat on the shelf for at least six months, because Warner Brothers didn't think it worthwhile to release this piece of cheese that Frank Lloyd turned out for them. Even Snitz Edwards, in his antepenultimate screen appearance, offers nothing to please the audience.
    1blanche-2

    So old you can smell the mothballs

    Not to be disrespectful of the early days of talkies, but if you see this one listed on TCM, skip it. It absolutely creaks with age. Set in Quebec, "The Right of Way" is a melodrama about a rather mean attorney nicknamed "Beauty" (don't ask me why) who gets involved in a bar fight when he goes to see his thieving brother-in-law in a bad part of town. As a result of the beating he takes, he develops amnesia and is brought to a rural area by a man he defended. When he regains consciousness, he remembers nothing, and takes the name Charles Mallard. He falls in love with the lovely daughter of the postmaster, played by Loretta Young. Young, radiant and beautiful, was about 18 when she did this film.

    Except for a naturalistic Young, the acting is outrageously bad, intensely melodramatic, with many lines said with tremulous voices. As is often the case in the early days of sound, the actors weren't used to the medium yet so their timing is off. And the French Canadian accents - horrific. I can't agree with one of the posters about Conrad Nagel - yes, he was over the top, but so was his atrocious dialogue. He at least didn't drag the pace.

    Not good.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Completed in 1930, and reviewed in Photoplay Magazine August 1930 (on the newstands in July), release was delayed until February 1931.
    • Goofs
      In the opening intro card, the contraction "it's" is used twice where it should have been spelled "its" both times.
    • Quotes

      Charley 'Beauty' Steele: I'm very grateful for your invitation, Kathleen, even though shadows should never be invited. And, I am a shadow! Am I not? That has fallen across the serene sunshine of your life.

      Kathleen: A very beautiful speech. You're undoubtedly drunk again.

      Charley 'Beauty' Steele: No, on the contrary, I'm quite sober. But, I don't blame you for not recognizing it. You so seldom see me in that condition.

      Kathleen: I so seldom see you in any condition. And I'd prefer not to talk about that.

      Charley 'Beauty' Steele: That's very generous and Christian of you, my dear.

    • Connections
      Remake of The Right of Way (1915)
    • Soundtracks
      Nocturne No. 2 in E-Flat Minor, Op. 9 No.2
      (1830-1) (uncredited)

      Written by Frédéric Chopin

      Played on piano by Olive Tell

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 7, 1931 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • California, USA
    • Production company
      • First National Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 8 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White

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