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	L.J.W. Stokvis
Music by	Miklós Rózsa Lionel Salter
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date	15 January 1938 (1938-01-15)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$500,000 or £99,000

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 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.

The film was made in Technicolor and is a remake of the 1933 film Counsel's Opinion, also made by London Films and in which Binnie Barnes appeared in the role played by Merle Oberon.

Plot

Leslie Steele (Merle Oberon), a guest at a costume party, is forced to stay overnight in a hotel because of a particularly bad London fog. As there are no rooms available, Steele talks her way into sharing a suite with Everard Logan (Laurence Olivier), a handsome but 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 Everard to represent him in a divorce case against his wife, Lady Claire (Binnie Barnes).

Cast

• Merle Oberon as Leslie Steele
• Laurence Olivier as Everard Logan
• Binnie Barnes as Lady Claire 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

External links

• The Divorce of Lady X at IMDb
• The Divorce of Lady X is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
• The Divorce of Lady X at AllMovie
• The Divorce of Lady X at the TCM Movie Database