A famous British actress gets involved with two members of a reserved British noble family, whose plan to get rid of her backfires.A famous British actress gets involved with two members of a reserved British noble family, whose plan to get rid of her backfires.A famous British actress gets involved with two members of a reserved British noble family, whose plan to get rid of her backfires.
Mackenzie Ward
- Cousin Ernest
- (as MacKenzie Ward)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaCostumer Adrian perfectly captures the fashion of the era, right down to the new (and scandalous!) trend of women wearing trousers for sport, which was popularized by Coco Chanel.
- GoofsAt the 0:8:47 mark the boom mic or camera rig shadow moves across the pillar to the left of Basil Rathbone after he greets the butler, then another shadow moves on the wall to the right of him before he enters the doorway.
- Quotes
Lady Trench: I suggest we all look horrified.
Lord Trench: That won't be difficult with you in the room!
- SoundtracksHappy Days Are Here Again
(1929) (uncredited)
Music by Milton Ager
Lyrics by Jack Yellen
Played on the radio
Featured review
Chatterton Makes the Film
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.
** (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.
helpful•112
- Michael_Elliott
- Aug 6, 2012
Details
- Runtime1 hour 16 minutes
- Color
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