The Divorce of Lady X: Difference between revisions

The Divorce of Lady X
The Divorce of Lady X
	Film poster
Directed by	Tim Whelan
Written by	Gilbert Wakefield (play); Lajos Bíró (adaptation); Ian Dalrymple (scenario)
Produced by	Alexander Korda
Starring	Laurence Olivier; Merle Oberon; Binnie Barnes; Ralph Richardson;
Cinematography	Harry Stradling
Edited by	Walter Stokvis
Music by	Miklós Rózsa; Lionel Salter
Color process	Technicolor
Production; company	London Films
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date	15 January 1938;
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$500,000 or £99,000

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The Divorce of Lady X is a 1938 British Technicolor romantic comedy film produced by London Films; it stars Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson and Binnie Barnes. It was directed by Tim Whelan and produced by Alexander Korda from a screenplay by Ian Dalrymple and Arthur Wimperis, adapted by Lajos Bíró from the play Counsel's Opinion by Gilbert Wakefield. The music score was by Miklós Rózsa and Lionel Salter and the cinematography by Harry Stradling.^[3]

The film is a remake of the 1933 film Counsel's Opinion, also from London Films and in which Binnie Barnes appeared in the role played by Merle Oberon.^[4]

Plot

A thick evening fog strands party guests at a smart London hotel. All rooms end up being taken. Leslie Steele, a young, pretty but madcap socialite, barges her way into Everard Logan's suite. He promptly registers one objection after another, but all his efforts to evict Leslie are to no avail. He thus agrees to a compromise, allowing her use of the bedroom, while he takes another room in the suite. She spends the entire time teasing and taunting him.

By breakfast, Logan changes his tune and insists they meet again. But while he's out of the room, dressing, she mysteriously bolts for home, which she shares with her grandfather/judge. He informs her that Logan is a barrister specializing in divorce cases. The zany, impulsive Ms. Steele then tells her grandfather she intends to marry Logan. To her surprise, she learns Logan will be pleading a case before her grandfather's court that day. So she attends the proceeding to observe her intended in action – and to her further surprise, she sees him mercilessly rip to shreds a woman accused of adultery.

As Leslie and Everard spend the rest of the film struggling to adjust to each other's whims and differences, a subplot involving Lord Mere, one of Logan's clients, is interwoven into the complicated story-line. A confusion of identities ensues, as at one point, Logan is led to mistakenly believe that Leslie is actually Lord Mere's wife. But after a weekend fox hunt at the lord's manor, all conflicts are satisfactorily explained away, and the two lovers are reconciled.

By the story's end, Leslie has successfully transformed Everard from the inhumane, hostile, woman-browbeating counselor she witnessed earlier into an empathetic, understanding, sensitive courtroom-interrogator of "the gentle sex".

Cast

Merle Oberon as Leslie Steele
Laurence Olivier as Everard Logan
Binnie Barnes as Claire, Lady Mere
Ralph Richardson as Lord Mere
Morton Selten as Lord Steele
Victor Rietti as hotel manager
J. H. Roberts as Slade
Gertrude Musgrove as Saunders, the maid
Gus McNaughton as room service waiter
H. B. Hallam as Jefferies, the butler
Eileen Peel as Mrs. Johnson
Lewis Gilbert as Tom

Critical reception

A reviewer for Variety wrote: "Alexander Korda's Technicolored comedy is rich, smart entertainment", and also praised the acting: "Oberon impresses. Olivier does his role pretty well, retarded somewhat by an annoying bit of pouting business. Two key performances which sparkle are those of Ralph Richardson and Morton Selten".^[5] whereas several decades later, Leonard Maltin described the film as a "Cute but extremely dated screwball comedy,";^[1] and the Radio Times found the whole thing "quite amusing...in a daft and inconsequential way".^[4]

Emanuel Levy gave the film a "C" grade and wrote that "Though opulent in color costumes and design, this minor British screwball comedy is mostly known for its on-screen teaming of two young actors, Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson, in their pre-Hollywood era, who would become legendary stars".^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b "The Divorce of Lady X (1938) - Notes - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
^ Kulik, Karol (1990) [1975]. Alexander Korda: The Man Who Could Work Miracles. Virgin Books. p. 209. ISBN 0870003356. OCLC 1827622.
^ "The Divorce of Lady X (1938)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 23 July 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
^ ^a ^b Sloman, Tony. "The Divorce of Lady X – review - cast and crew, movie star rating and where to watch film on TV and online". Radio Times. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
^ "The Divorce of Lady X". Variety. 31 December 1937.
^ Levy, Emanuel (10 November 2007). "Divorce of Lady X: Korda Screwball Comedy, Starring Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson". Retrieved 9 October 2021.

External links

The Divorce of Lady X at IMDb

[tcm-1] "The Divorce of Lady X (1938) - Notes - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 10 September 2021.

[2] Kulik, Karol (1990) [1975]. Alexander Korda: The Man Who Could Work Miracles. Virgin Books. p. 209. ISBN 0870003356. OCLC 1827622.

[3] "The Divorce of Lady X (1938)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 23 July 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2021.

[radiotimes-4] Sloman, Tony. "The Divorce of Lady X – review - cast and crew, movie star rating and where to watch film on TV and online". Radio Times. Retrieved 9 October 2021.

[5] "The Divorce of Lady X". Variety. 31 December 1937.

[6] Levy, Emanuel (10 November 2007). "Divorce of Lady X: Korda Screwball Comedy, Starring Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson". Retrieved 9 October 2021.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2012}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
 {{Use British English|date=July 2012}}
 {{Infobox film
-| name           = The Divorce of Lady X
+|name           = The Divorce of Lady X
-| image          = The-divorce-of-lady-x-1938.jpg
+|image          = The-divorce-of-lady-x-1938.jpg
-| image_size     =
+|caption        = Film poster
-| caption        = Film poster
+|director       = [[Tim Whelan]]
+|writer         = Gilbert Wakefield (play)<br />[[Lajos Bíró]] (adaptation)<br />[[Ian Dalrymple]] (scenario)
-| director       = [[Tim Whelan]]
+|starring       = {{ubl|[[Laurence Olivier]]|[[Merle Oberon]]|[[Binnie Barnes]]|[[Ralph Richardson]]}}
-| writer         = Gilbert Wakefield (play)<br />[[Lajos Bíró]] (adaptation)<br />[[Ian Dalrymple]] (scenario)
+|producer       = [[Alexander Korda]]
-| starring       = [[Laurence Olivier]]<br /> [[Merle Oberon]]<br>[[Binnie Barnes]]<br />[[Ralph Richardson]]
-| producer       = [[Alexander Korda]]
+|music          = [[Miklós Rózsa]]<br />[[Lionel Salter]]
+|cinematography = [[Harry Stradling]]
-| music          = [[Miklós Rózsa]] <br /> Lionel Salter
+|editing        = [[Walter Stokvis]]
-| cinematography = [[Harry Stradling]]
-| editing        = L.J.W. Stokvis
+|studio         = [[London Films]]
-| studio         = [[London Films]]
+|distributor    = [[United Artists]]
+|released       = {{Film date|1938|1|15|df=yes}}
-| distributor    = [[United Artists]]
+|color_process  = [[Technicolor]]
-| released       = {{Film date|1938|1|15|df=y}}
-| runtime        = 92 minutes
+|runtime        = 92 minutes
-| country        = United Kingdom
+|country        = United Kingdom
-| language       = English
+|language       = English
-| budget         = $500,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/73217/The-Divorce-of-Lady-X/notes.html|title=The Divorce of Lady X (1938) - Notes - TCM.com|website=Turner Classic Movies}}</ref> or £99,000<ref>Karol Kulik, ''Alexander Korda: The Man Who Could Work Miracles'', Virgin 1990 p 209</ref>
+|budget         = $500,000<ref name=tcm>{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/73217/the-divorce-of-lady-x|title=The Divorce of Lady X (1938) - Notes - TCM.com|website=Turner Classic Movies|accessdate=10 September 2021}}</ref> or £99,000<ref>{{cite book|last=Kulik|first=Karol|title=Alexander Korda: The Man Who Could Work Miracles|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|orig-year=1975|year=1990|page=209|isbn=0870003356|oclc=1827622|url=https://archive.org/details/alexanderkordama0000kuli/mode/2up|url-access=registration}}</ref>
-| gross          =
 }}
-'''''The Divorce of Lady X''''' is a 1938 British colour [[romantic comedy film]] made by [[London Films]]; it stars [[Merle Oberon]], [[Laurence Olivier]], [[Ralph Richardson]] and [[Binnie Barnes]]. It was [[film director|directed]] by [[Tim Whelan]] and produced by [[Alexander Korda]] from a [[screenplay]] by [[Ian Dalrymple]] and [[Arthur Wimperis]], adapted by [[Lajos Bíró]] from the play ''Counsel's Opinion'' by Gilbert Wakefield. The music score was by [[Miklós Rózsa]] and Lionel Salter and the cinematography by [[Harry Stradling]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a8eb471|title=The Divorce of Lady X (1938)|publisher=}}</ref>
+'''''The Divorce of Lady X''''' is a 1938 British [[Technicolor]] [[romantic comedy film]] produced by [[London Films]]; it stars [[Merle Oberon]], [[Laurence Olivier]], [[Ralph Richardson]] and [[Binnie Barnes]]. It was [[film director|directed]] by [[Tim Whelan]] and produced by [[Alexander Korda]] from a [[screenplay]] by [[Ian Dalrymple]] and [[Arthur Wimperis]], adapted by [[Lajos Bíró]] from the play ''Counsel's Opinion'' by [[Gilbert Wakefield]]. The music score was by [[Miklós Rózsa]] and [[Lionel Salter]] and the cinematography by [[Harry Stradling]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a8eb471|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170723084150/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a8eb471|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 July 2017|title=The Divorce of Lady X (1938)|publisher=[[British Film Institute]]|accessdate=9 October 2021}}</ref>
-The film was made in early [[Technicolor#Three-strip_Technicolor|three-strip Technicolor]] and is a remake of the 1933 film ''[[Counsel's Opinion]]'', also from London Films and in which Binnie Barnes appeared in the role played by Merle Oberon.<ref name=radiotimes/>
+The film is a remake of the 1933 film ''[[Counsel's Opinion]]'', also from London Films and in which Binnie Barnes appeared in the role played by Merle Oberon.<ref name=radiotimes/>
 ==Plot==
+A thick evening fog strands party guests at a smart London hotel. All rooms end up being taken. Leslie Steele, a young, pretty but madcap socialite, barges her way into Everard Logan's suite. He promptly registers one objection after another, but all his efforts to evict Leslie are to no avail. He thus agrees to a compromise, allowing her use of the bedroom, while he takes another room in the suite. She spends the entire time teasing and taunting him.
-{{More plot|date=December 2016}}
-Leslie Steele ([[Merle Oberon]]), a guest at a costume party, is forced to stay overnight in a hotel because of thick London fog.  As no rooms are available, Steele talks her way into sharing a suite with Everard Logan ([[Laurence Olivier]]), a handsome though somewhat stiff lawyer. They spend the night together, quite chastely, but Logan becomes convinced that Leslie must be married. His conviction is confirmed when an old school friend, Lord Mere ([[Ralph Richardson]]), arrives and asks Logan to represent him in a divorce case against his wife, Lady Claire ([[Binnie Barnes]]), who had also spent the night in the hotel after the party.
+By breakfast, Logan changes his tune and insists they meet again. But while he's out of the room, dressing, she mysteriously bolts for home, which she shares with her grandfather/judge. He informs her that Logan is a barrister specializing in divorce cases. The zany, impulsive Ms. Steele then tells her grandfather she intends to marry Logan. To her surprise, she learns Logan will be pleading a case before her grandfather's court that day. So she attends the proceeding to observe her intended in action – and to her further surprise, she sees him mercilessly rip to shreds a woman accused of adultery.
-As Leslie had discreetly declined to give her full name, despite having decided to win and marry him, Logan mistakenly believes that she is Lady Claire, making him the mystery co-respondent in his client's divorce.  Leslie encourages the mistaken identity- which also charges her with the three previous divorces of Lady Claire- as a confused and love-struck Logan pursues her against his better judgement, and at risk- he believes- of his career.  Eventually Lord and Lady Mere, now reconciled, are drawn into the confusion, much to their own amusement. Logan is furious and humiliated when Leslie and Lord and Lady Mere finally reveal the deception to him, and shutters his practice in order to travel abroad.  A penitent Leslie pursues him aboard a ship to France, and wins him back as he battles seasickness.
+As Leslie and Everard spend the rest of the film struggling to adjust to each other's whims and differences, a subplot involving Lord Mere, one of Logan's clients, is interwoven into the complicated story-line. A confusion of identities ensues, as at one point, Logan is led to mistakenly believe that Leslie is actually Lord Mere's wife. But after a weekend fox hunt at the lord's manor, all conflicts are satisfactorily explained away, and the two lovers are reconciled.
+By the story's end, Leslie has successfully transformed Everard from the inhumane, hostile, woman-browbeating counselor she witnessed earlier into an empathetic, understanding, sensitive courtroom-interrogator of "the gentle sex".
 ==Cast==
-* [[Merle Oberon]] as Leslie Steele
+*[[Merle Oberon]] as Leslie Steele
-* [[Laurence Olivier]] as Everard Logan
+*[[Laurence Olivier]] as Everard Logan
-* [[Binnie Barnes]] as Lady Claire Mere
+*[[Binnie Barnes]] as Claire, Lady Mere
-* [[Ralph Richardson]] as Lord Mere
+*[[Ralph Richardson]] as Lord Mere
-* [[Morton Selten]] as Lord Steele
+*[[Morton Selten]] as Lord Steele
-* [[Victor Rietti]] as Hotel Manager
+*[[Victor Rietti]] as hotel manager
-* J.H. Roberts as Slade
+*J. H. Roberts as Slade
-* Gertrude Musgrove as Saunders, the Maid
+*Gertrude Musgrove as Saunders, the maid
-* [[Gus McNaughton]] as Room Service Waiter
+*[[Gus McNaughton]] as room service waiter
-* H.B. Hallam as Jefferies, the Butler
+*H. B. Hallam as Jefferies, the butler
-* Eileen Peel as Mrs. Johnson
+*Eileen Peel as Mrs. Johnson
-* [[Lewis Gilbert]] as Tom
+*[[Lewis Gilbert]] as Tom
 ==Critical reception==
-The reviewer for ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote, "Alexander Korda’s Technicolored comedy is rich, smart entertainment," and also praised the acting: "Oberon impresses. Olivier does his role pretty well, retarded somewhat by an annoying bit of pouting business. Two key performances which sparkle are those of Ralph Richarson and Morton Selten."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/1937/film/reviews/the-divorce-of-lady-x-1200411556/|title=The Divorce of Lady X|first=Variety|last=Staff|date=1 January 1938|publisher=}}</ref> whereas more recently, [[Leonard Maltin]] called the film a "Cute but extremely dated screwball comedy,";<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/73217/The-Divorce-of-Lady-X/|title=The Divorce of Lady X (1938) - Overview - TCM.com|website=Turner Classic Movies}}</ref> and the ''[[Radio Times]]'' found the whole thing "quite amusing...in a daft and inconsequential way."<ref name=radiotimes>{{cite web|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/film/fq6d44/the-divorce-of-lady-x/|title=The Divorce of Lady X – review - cast and crew, movie star rating and where to watch film on TV and online|website=Radio Times}}</ref>
+A reviewer for ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote: "Alexander Korda's Technicolored comedy is rich, smart entertainment", and also praised the acting: "Oberon impresses. Olivier does his role pretty well, retarded somewhat by an annoying bit of pouting business. Two key performances which sparkle are those of Ralph Richardson and Morton Selten".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/1937/film/reviews/the-divorce-of-lady-x-1200411556/|title=The Divorce of Lady X|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=31 December 1937}}</ref> whereas several decades later, [[Leonard Maltin]] described the film as a "Cute but extremely dated screwball comedy,";<ref name=tcm/> and the ''[[Radio Times]]'' found the whole thing "quite amusing...in a daft and inconsequential way".<ref name=radiotimes>{{cite web|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/film/fq6d44/the-divorce-of-lady-x/|title=The Divorce of Lady X – review - cast and crew, movie star rating and where to watch film on TV and online|website=Radio Times|last=Sloman|first=Tony|access-date=9 October 2021}}</ref>
+Emanuel Levy gave the film a "C" grade and wrote that "Though opulent in color costumes and design, this minor British screwball comedy is mostly known for its on-screen teaming of two young actors, Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson, in their pre-Hollywood era, who would become legendary stars".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://emanuellevy.com/review/divorce-of-lady-x-the-6/|last=Levy|first=Emanuel|authorlink=Emanuel Levy|title=Divorce of Lady X: Korda Screwball Comedy, Starring Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson|date=10 November 2007|access-date=9 October 2021}}</ref>
 ==References==
@@ Line 55: / Line 58: @@
 ==External links==
-* {{IMDb title|id=0030063}}
+*{{IMDb title|0030063}}
-* {{AllMovie title|id=14075}}
-* {{TCMdb title|id=73217}}
 {{Tim Whelan}}
@@ Line 63: / Line 64: @@
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Divorce of Lady X, The}}
-[[Category:1930s romantic comedy films]]
+[[Category:1938 romantic comedy films]]
-[[Category:1938 films]]
+[[Category:1930s color films]]
-[[Category:British films]]
 [[Category:British romantic comedy films]]
 [[Category:Films shot at Denham Film Studios]]
 [[Category:London Films films]]
-[[Category:British film remakes]]
+[[Category:Remakes of British films]]
-[[Category:Films based on plays]]
+[[Category:British films based on plays]]
 [[Category:Films directed by Tim Whelan]]
 [[Category:Films scored by Miklós Rózsa]]
 [[Category:Films produced by Alexander Korda]]
-[[Category:Screenplays by Ian Dalrymple]]
+[[Category:Films with screenplays by Ian Dalrymple]]
 [[Category:Films about divorce]]
+[[Category:Films set in London]]
+[[Category:1930s British films]]
+[[Category:1930s English-language films]]
-{{romantic-comedy-film-stub}}
+[[Category:English-language romantic comedy films]]