A Woman of Affairs (1928)

Even when Diana, Neville and David played together as children, Diana knew that she loved Nevs. But Morton, Nevs' father, did not like any Merrick. Since Nevs did not have any money, Morton... See full summary »

Director:

Clarence Brown

Writers:

Bess Meredyth (continuity), Marian Ainslee (titles),

Stars:

Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Lewis Stone

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Greta Garbo	...	Diana
John Gilbert	...	Neville
Lewis Stone	...	Hugh
Johnny Mack Brown	...	David (as John Mack Brown)
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.	...	Jeffry
Hobart Bosworth	...	Sir Morton
Dorothy Sebastian	...	Constance

Storyline

Even when Diana, Neville and David played together as children, Diana knew that she loved Nevs. But Morton, Nevs' father, did not like any Merrick. Since Nevs did not have any money, Morton sent him off to Egypt to work and also talked him out of marrying Diana before he left. Diana waited two years and then married David, who Jeffry thought was the greatest thing since sliced bread. While in Paris, David jumps to his death when the cops come after him and Diana lies about the reason for the sake of Jeffry. Of course Jeffry, who has been a drunk all his life, cuts all ties with Diana. While Nevs still loves Diana, she does not return to England for seven years - just 3 days before Nevs' wedding to Constance.

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Plot Keywords:

england | aristocrat | automobile accident | london england | jumping from height | 

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Taglines:

Love-mad escapades...noble passions!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 December 1928 (USA)

Also Known As:

Eine schamlose Frau

Box Office

Budget:

$383,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 91 min (Turner library print) 92 min (copyright time) 98 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Mono (musical score and sound effects)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Hollywood: Single Beds and Double Standards (1980)

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Soundtracks

"Love's First Kiss"
(1928)
Music by William Axt and David Mendoza
Lyrics by Raymond Klages

User Reviews

Garbo's best written, acted and photographed silent

This is Garbo's best silent film and it contains her finest silent performance. This is class A film making- the cinematography is exceptionally good; the cast all act splendidly; and the script, adapted by Bess Merydith from the Arlen play, THE GREEN HAT, was deservedly nominated for an Oscar - the only Oscar nomination a Garbo silent would receive.

This is silent film making at its zenith - the composition and camera movement make for no less than two dozen memorable shots. There are over the shoulder framings of characters (Bosworth and Gilbert, Murder Investigator and Garbo), combinations of character framings within objects close to the camera (Gilbert's entrance into Garbo's hospital room, framed in a semi-circle on the left by Lewis Stone, the bouquet Gilbert sent, and Garbo resting at bottom of frame; Fairbanks twice shot from below with alcohol paraphernalia close to camera; Mack Brown's reaction to close-up handcuffs), rapid dolly ins and outs to bring attention to characters (most memorably from the door of Fairbanks sick room to his emaciated close up form in a chair and the famous Garbo walk to her bouquet of flowers, which she embraces as if they were her lover. Much use of soft focus throughout.

Gilbert and Stone give two of their best performances. Sebastian is excellent as the suffering wife and Fairbanks is outstanding in his seven sequence supporting role, almost stealing the film away from Garbo. She is at her luminous best with amazing control of gesture and facial expression - quite (for me) the finest of all her silent performances. Sadly the 1990 MGM/UA Turner VHS is out of print. I hope her select silents wind up on a multi-disc DVD one day soon. Hopefully, minus the overblown and unremarkable full orchestral score created by Thames Television for this release.

See this one for MGM and Garbo at their silent peak. All students of cinematography, pay attention.