The Lady Refuses
| The Lady Refuses | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover for the film | |
| Directed by | George Archainbaud[2] |
| Screenplay by | Wallace Smith[1] |
| Story by | Guy Bolton Robert Milton[3] |
| Produced by | William LeBaron [4] Bertram Millhauser[1] |
| Starring | Betty Compson John Darrow Gilbert Emery Margaret Livingston |
| Cinematography | Leo Tover[1] |
| Edited by | Jack Kitchin[1] |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 72 minutes[4] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Lady Refuses is a 1931 American pre-Code melodrama film, directed by George Archainbaud, from a screenplay by Wallace Smith, based on an original story by Guy Bolton and Robert Milton. It stars Betty Compson as a destitute young woman on the verge of becoming a prostitute, who is hired by a wealthy man to woo his never-do-well son away from the clutches of a gold-digger (Margaret Livingston). The plot is regarded as risqué enough to appear in at least one collection of pre-Code Hollywood films.[5]
Plot
Sir Gerald Courtney (Gilbert Emery) is an aristocrat whose son, Russell (John Darrow), prefers to spend his time partying with young women rather than focusing on the promising career he has in architecture. When Russell leaves one evening to revel with the gold-digging Berthine Waller (Margaret Livingston) rather than spending it dining with his father, Sir Gerald is a bit despondent. As he ponders what to do about his wayward son, providence takes a hand.
A beautiful destitute young woman, June (Betty Compson), on the verge of entering into the oldest of professions due to her desperation, is being pursued by the London police. Cornered, she pounds on Sir Gerald’s door. As she pours forth her unfortunate story to Sir Gerald, he makes a snap decision. As the bobbies arrive to take her away, Sir Gerald assures them that she has been with him the whole evening, securing her freedom. After they leave, Sir Gerald proposes to hire June to seduce his son, so that he will not fall into the clutches of Berthine.
June does her job beautifully, as Russell leaves Berthine and begins to concentrate on his architectural career, much to his father’s delight. There’s a slight hitch however: June has fallen in love with Sir Gerald, rather than Russell. Devastated, Russell calls Berthine to meet him at his apartment (which is upstairs in the same building where June lives). Seeing all of her work being unwound in a single evening, June lures Russell down to her apartment, where she gets him so drunk that he passes out and spends the night.
When Berthine arrives at Russel’s apartment, she has been followed by an ex-lover, Nikolai Rabinoff (Ivan Lebedeff). In a jealous rage, Nikolai kills Berthine. The following morning Russell awakes to find June gone, having vowed to not come between the son and the father. He is also the main suspect in Berthine's murder. Seeking shelter from his father, Russell refuses to invoke June as his alibi. In order to save him, June steps forward and admits that Russell spent the night in her apartment. Sir Gerald, thinking the worst, renounces his devotion for June, which devastates her.
June leaves London, but when Sir Gerald discovers the innocence of Russell’s night spent in her apartment, understands his own mistake and vows to track her down and spend the rest of his life with her.
Cast
- Betty Compson as June
- John Darrow as Russell Courtney
- Gilbert Emery as Sir Gerald Courtney
- Margaret Livingston as Berthine Waller
- Ivan Lebedeff as Nikolai Rabinoff
- Edgar Norton as Sir Gerald's Butler
- Daphne Pollard as Apartment House Maid
(cast list as per AFI database)[1]
Notes
In 1959, the film entered the public domain in the United States due to the copyright claimants' failure to renew the copyright registration in the 28th year after publication.[6]
During production, this film was known by several titles, including Children of the Streets, Ladies for Hire, A Lady for Hire and Forgotten Women.[7] According to several sources at the time, the noted screenwriter, Jane Murfin was supposed to have done work in the adaptation of the Milton/Bolton story for the screen, however, no sources give her credit for any writing work on the film.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "The Lady Refuses: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
{{cite web}}:|archive-url=is malformed: timestamp (help) - ^ "The Lady Refuses". New York Times. Archived from the original on August 16, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
{{cite web}}:|archive-date=/|archive-url=timestamp mismatch; August 17, 2014 suggested (help) - ^ Jewell, Richard B.; Harbin, Vernon (1982). The RKO Story. New York: Arlington House. p. 34. ISBN 0-517-546566.
- ^ a b "The Lady Refuses: Technical Details". theiapolis.com. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
- ^ The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:The Lady Refuses, afi.com; accessed July 24, 2015.
- ^ Pierce, David (June 2007). "Forgotten Faces: Why Some of Our Cinema Heritage Is Part of the Public Domain". Film History: An International Journal. 19 (2): 125–43. doi:10.2979/FIL.2007.19.2.125. ISSN 0892-2160. OCLC 15122313. Retrieved 2012-01-05. See Note 60, pg. 143.
- ^ "The Lady Refuses, Notes". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on August 16, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
{{cite web}}:|archive-date=/|archive-url=timestamp mismatch; August 17, 2014 suggested (help)
External links
- The Lady Refuses at IMDb
- allmovie/synopsis; The Lady Refuses
- The Lady Refuses available for free download at Internet Archive