Easy Virtue (1928)

A divorcée hides her scandalous past from her new husband and his family.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Noel Coward (adapted from the play by), Eliot Stannard (scenario)

Stars:

Isabel Jeans, Franklin Dyall, Eric Bransby Williams

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Isabel Jeans	...	Larita Filton
Franklin Dyall	...	Her Husband
Eric Bransby Williams	...	The Co-respondent
Ian Hunter	...	The Plaintiff's Counsel
Robin Irvine	...	John Whittaker
Violet Farebrother	...	His Mother
Frank Elliott	...	His Father
Dacia Deane	...	His Elder Sister
Dorothy Boyd	...	His Younger Sister
Enid Stamp-Taylor	...	Sarah (as Enid Stamp Taylor)

Storyline

Larita Filton is named as correspondent in a scandalous divorce case. She escapes to France to rebuild her life where she meets John Whittaker. They are later married, but John's well-to-do family finds out Larita's secret.

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Plot Keywords:

divorce | artist | secret | trial | france | 

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Genres:

Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1928 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fragile virtù

Filming Locations:

French Riviera, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gainsborough Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min 89 min (Hypercube restored)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The play opened in London and New York City in 1925. The New York City production began on 7 December 1925 and had 147 performances with Jane Cowl as Larita, Robert Harris as John and Halliwell Hobbes as Colonel Whittaker.

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Goofs

After talking to his mom about Larita and sitting next to Sarah, John's leg and arm positions change between shots.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Prosecutor: Mrs. Filton, do you wish the Jury to believe the co-respondent never kissed you?

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Connections

Version of La comedia: Fácil virtud (1983)

User Reviews

Hitchcock excels in cracking silent about divorce

"Easy Virtue" is an early and impressive Hitchcock in which the master displays a range of innovative filmic devices (such as the way we learn about a marriage proposal by watching the eavesdropping hotel switchboard operator rather than by seeing the man or woman talking on the phone).

The story is based on a play by Noel Coward and (contrary to the other posted IMDB comment on the film) I believe the movie is excellent. The solo organ score on the videotape I watched was absolutely stunning.

The film tackles a range of issues relating to divorce that would become taboo after adoption of the Production Code in 1934. Our heroine Larita is married to a drunken brute. After he catches her almost (but not quite) being seduced by the artist who has been painting her picture, he brings suit for divorce. Adultery is the only ground for divorce in England at this time and we see a gripping trial scene in which the jury has to decide whether to believe Larita's denials. Of course, the jury can't see beyond its Victorian preconceptions (if she's alone with him all day, of course they've slept together) and it finds her guilty.

Now a disgraced woman of "easy virtue," Larita takes to the Riviera where she ensnares a rich young suitor (after he hits her in the eye with a tennis ball). Unfortunately, she doesn't tell him about her checkered past and naturally Larita's family hates her on sight.

This story takes on a range of highly relevant divorce issues. The film skillfully lampoons the absurdity of fault divorce and the need to try questions of adultery to a jury. It takes quite seriously the way that society treated a divorced woman as damaged goods. It attacks the sexual double standard with zeal and skewers the stuffy English aristocracy to great effect. After 1934, divorce didn't exist in the movies (except in comedies where the spouses remarry in the end) and the important legal and social issues raised by divorce and female sexuality were erased from the screen by the censors. Very few early films (silent or sound) ever dealt so candidly with the harsh realities of divorce; "Easy Virtue" compares favorably to the outstanding "One More River" (1934) in its straightforward and quite moving treatment of the issues.