A Lady of Chance (1928)

Seasoned grifter Dolly Crandall returns to the 'badger game' but has a change of heart when she falls in love with a young man she believes is a rich Southerner.

Director:

Robert Z. Leonard

Writers:

Leroy Scott (from the story "Little Angel"), Edmund Goulding (adaptation),

Stars:

Norma Shearer, Lowell Sherman, Gwen Lee

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Norma Shearer	...	Dolly
Lowell Sherman	...	Bradley
Gwen Lee	...	Gwen
Johnny Mack Brown	...	Steve Crandall (as John Mack Brown)
Eugenie Besserer	...	Mrs. Crandall
Buddy Messinger	...	Hank (as Buddie Messinger)

Storyline

Dolly, alias "Angel Face," meets a naive young man at a hotel who appears to be rich. Thinking she's found an easy mark, she marries him, only to find out that the plantation he was bragging about belongs to a neighbor, and his fortune is more speculative than real. In spite of herself, she falls in love with him.

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Plot Keywords:

plantation | southerner | grifter | badger game | blackmail | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 December 1928 (USA)

Also Known As:

Faka

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min 78 min (2001 alternate)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System) (talking sequences) Silent Stereo (2001 re-issue)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song "Just a Little Bit of Driftwood" (1928); music and lyrics by Benny Davis, 'Dohl Davis' and Abe Lyman was published in connection with the movie.

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Quotes

Steve Crandall: [to Angel Face] I never realized how uninteresting cement was until I met you.

User Reviews

Shearer's Last Silent

In a "ritzy" hotel, seductive Norma Shearer (as Dolly "Angel Face" Morgan) uses her job as telephone operator to connect with wealthy gentlemen. Recently paroled, Ms. Shearer shows off her thighs under torn stockings while sharing a hard luck story, then lures the men to her apartment. There is, of course, a high price to be paid; in case on screen, Shearer makes out with a tidy $10,000. The plot thickens when Shearer's crooked cohorts Lowell Sherman (as Bradley) and Gwen Lee (as Gwen) want a piece of her solo action. Shearer successfully scams the pair, but they turn up to cause more trouble when she sets her sights on handsome cement tycoon Johnny Mack Brown (as Steve Crandall), who has a surprise of his own to reveal...

This was Shearer's last "silent" film; though MGM seemed reluctant to move their stars into talking pictures, several of them became even bigger stars, so the delay worked out very well for those. Curiously, this film has been shown without its "Synchronized Musical Score and Sound Effects" (SSE) on "Turner Classic Movies" (TCM). TCM premiered "A Lady of Chance" with an "all-new" music score in 2001, but had host Robert Osborne discussing the original soundtrack before a 2012 "Silent Sunday" airing, apparently unaware TCM was not showing the original version. Late 1920s "silent films" (which were never "silent") were typically released with SSE. Hopefully, the original soundtracks will be restored; the present trend needs reversing.

***** A Lady of Chance (12/1/28) Robert Z. Leonard ~ Norma Shearer, Lowell Sherman, Johnny Mack Brown, Gwen Lee