Lady of the Night (1925)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Monta Bell

Writers:

Adela Rogers St. Johns (story)
Alice D.G. Miller (scenario)

Release Date:

23 February 1925 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Lady of the Night ~ the story of two baby girls, born near in proximity, but worlds apart in life, - Molly Helmer...

Plot Keywords:

Judge | Dance Hall | Reform School | Prison | Inventor

Cast

Norma Shearer	...	Molly Helmer / Florence Banning
Malcolm McGregor	...	David Page (as Malcolm Mac Gregor)
Dale Fuller	...	Miss Carr - Florence's Aunt
George K. Arthur	...	'Chunky' Dunn
Fred Esmelton	...	Judge Banning
Lew Harvey	...	Chris Helmer - Molly's Father
Gwen Lee	...	Molly's Friend
Betty Morrissey	...	Gertie - Molly's Other Friend (as Betty Morrisey)

Runtime:

Portugal:70 min | 61 min (2006 alternate version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

USA:TV-G (TV rating)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corporation

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star (2002) (TV)

Love Quadrangle

Norma Shearer is terrific playing a dual role in this well-done silent film about two women - Molly, the daughter of a convict and Florence, the daughter of the judge who sentenced him. Molly of the heavily painted face, huge feather hat, and big beaded necklace, lives in a flat on the wrong side of the tracks and goes out with a little local named Chunky. But while out at the nearby dance hall she meets a handsome, crooked grinned lug named Dave Page, who she instantly falls in love with. Dave has invented, of all things, a device that can open any safe in the world - encouraged by Molly to "not go crooked", he sells the invention to the judge and a group of bank directors, and soon literally bumps into Florence - and into a love of his own! Poor, poor Molly.

Norma Shearer is so good in this, the characters of Molly and Florence completely seem like two different women, and excellent split screen photography is used here when they are both on screen at the same time. I thought there would be something in this about the fact that the two are lookalikes, perhaps switching places or something - never happens. The fact they look alike is just not part of the plot here. The lighting is done in an interesting way in this - Norma as Florence seems to be shot in more filtered, subtle lighting and she looks very lovely - Norma as Molly is severely lit to make her look more sharp and, boy oh boy, does the thick makeup she wears as this character look really harsh - she looks almost like a prostitute here. The print of this film looked gorgeous, full of sharp contrast, and brightly tinted in sepia/orange, pink, and blue shades. The piano score for this, done by Jon Mirsalis, is wonderful and matches the story well.