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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2012}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2012}}
{{Infobox film
{{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
⚫
| color_process = [[Technicolor]]
| runtime = 92 minutes
|country = United Kingdom
| country = United Kingdom
|language = English
⚫
|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>
| 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>
| 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==
==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, a guest at a ball at the Royal Park Hotel, is forced to stay overnight there because of thick London fog. As no rooms are available, Miss Steele talks her way into sharing a suite with Everard Logan, a handsome though somewhat stiff lawyer. All his efforts to oust her are to no avail and she even ends up talking him out of his pyjamas.


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.
The next morning, they have breakfast together. She tells him only her Christian name, Leslie; the night before she led him to believe she was married. He insists they must meet again. While he's out of the room, dressing, she bolts, and is picked up by her family's butler.


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.
At home, where she lives with her grandfather, a judge, while her parents are India, Miss Steele queries him about Logan and tells her grandfather she's going to marry him. She also learns that Logan will be in her grandfather's court that day.


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".
At Logan's office, an old school friend, Lord Mere, arrives and asks Logan to represent him in a divorce case against his wife, who had also been stranded at the hotel. The story his friend tells of his wife matches what happened to Logan in every detail. Logan defends Lady Mere, until he learns Lord Mere is her fourth husband, the previous three being very declasse.

Miss Steele attends her grandfather's court that day to observe Logan in action and sees him rip a woman to shreds. In his office he interviews the Lady Mere's maid, who saw Lady Mere and the man she was with, terrified she will recognize him. Then Miss Steele shows up, and Logan rants at her about what he thinks is her past life; she plays along and he confesses to loving her, and they kiss. He immediately panics and runs back into his office and insists on hearing all the details of Lady Mere's marital career from her maid. He agrees to take the case.

Logan meets Miss Steele at a nightclub and begs her to marry him once he obtains "her" divorce. As they dance he queries her about her four husbands. They leave the club and she makes an appointment to see him at his office. At home, she tells her grandpa about the evening, and he tells her that her deception may backfire on her when Logan learns the truth.

Lord Mere shows up at Logan's office and tells him the divorce is off. Logan is disappointed, thinking his chance at love is gone. Once Lord Mere gets home his wife tosses him out when he questions her story. At his club, Lord Mere ponders Logan's parting words, "Tell your wife she's the most wonderfully clever woman in the world". Drunk, he calls Logan at 3 am, insisting he explain the comment.

Logan tells Lord Mere that he's "the man from the Royal Parks Hotel." Lord Mere is amused, and gives his blessing. At home, he also gives his blessing to his wife.

The next morning Miss Steele and Lady Mere arrive simultaneously at Logan's office. After they both simultaneously claim to be Lady Mere, Miss Steele drags Her Ladyship off to the beauty shop, where the learn the whole story from each other. Lady Mere calls Logan, but it's Miss Steele who invites him to Mere Hall. After some doubts he accepts.

At Mere Hall, Logan arrives too late to ride out with the rest, but encounters Miss Steele and begs her to leave with him, but she rides off. That afternoon at tea, he is introduced by Lady Mere to "Miss Leslie Steele" and turns away in disgust at her deception, while her grandpa laughs.

At the cost of abandoning an important case, he flees the country, but she manages to board the same ship, finds him, and insists, rather than eloping to Paris with her, he must return and argue the case, which he does, brilliantly.


==Cast==
==Cast==
* [[Merle Oberon]] as Leslie Steele
*[[Merle Oberon]] as Leslie Steele
* [[Laurence Olivier]] as Everard Logan
*[[Laurence Olivier]] as Everard Logan
* [[Binnie Barnes]] as Claire, Lady 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==
==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==
==References==
Line 74: Line 58:


==External links==
==External links==
* {{IMDb title}}
*{{IMDb title|0030063}}
* {{AllMovie title}}
* {{TCMDb title}}


{{Tim Whelan}}
{{Tim Whelan}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Divorce of Lady X, The}}
{{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:British romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:Films shot at Denham Film Studios]]
[[Category:Films shot at Denham Film Studios]]
[[Category:London Films films]]
[[Category:London Films films]]
[[Category:British film remakes]]
[[Category:Remakes of British films]]
[[Category:British films based on plays]]
[[Category:British films based on plays]]
[[Category:Films directed by Tim Whelan]]
[[Category:Films directed by Tim Whelan]]
Line 96: Line 77:
[[Category:Films about divorce]]
[[Category:Films about divorce]]
[[Category:Films set in London]]
[[Category:Films set in London]]
⚫
[[Category:1930s British films]]
[[Category:1930s English-language films]]
[[Category:English-language romantic comedy films]]

Latest revision as of 08:43, 22 December 2024

The Divorce of Lady X
Film poster
Directed byTim Whelan
Written byGilbert Wakefield (play)
Lajos Bíró (adaptation)
Ian Dalrymple (scenario)
Produced byAlexander Korda
Starring
CinematographyHarry Stradling
Edited byWalter Stokvis
Music byMiklós Rózsa
Lionel Salter
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • 15 January 1938 (1938-01-15)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$500,000[1] or £99,000[2]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

Critical reception

[edit]

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

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "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.
  4. ^ 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.
  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.
[edit]
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