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Manslaughter (1930) More at IMDbPro »


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Overview

User Rating:
8.0/10   96 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
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Director:
Writers:
George Abbott (adaptation)
Alice Duer Miller (novel)
Contact:
View company contact information for Manslaughter on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
23 July 1930 (USA) more
Genre:
Plot:
A spoiled young rich girl is sent to prison for accidentally running down a pedestrian. There she learns... more | add synopsis
User Comments:
Another great Paramount talkie! more (3 total)

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Claudette Colbert ... Lydia Thorne

Fredric March ... Dan O'Bannon
Emma Dunn ... Miss Bennett
Natalie Moorhead ... Eleanor Bellington
Richard Tucker ... J.P. Albee, Attorney
Hilda Vaughn ... Louise Evans
G. Pat Collins ... John Drummond
Steve Pendleton ... Bobby (as Gaylord Pendleton)
Stanley Fields ... Peters
Arnold Lucy ... Piers
Ivan F. Simpson ... Morson
Irving Mitchell ... Foster
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Additional Details

Runtime:
85 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.20 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: When Colbert drives off after being stopped by the traffic cop, we can hear the car's brakes squeal the moment it's out of camera range. more
Movie Connections:
Alternate language version of Leichtsinnige Jugend (1931) more

FAQ

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7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful.
Another great Paramount talkie!, 23 August 2007
10/10
Author: arthursward (arthursward@hotmail.com) from Easley, SC

Depression moviegoers got a 2-for-1 treat with this melodrama. A festive romance, complete with water skiing and dance parties highlight the first half. An effective and convincing set up for the 'manslaughter' to follow.

Claudete Colbert is mesmerizing as the unrepentant poor-little-rich-girl Lydia Thorne. She is too busy enjoying life's party to feel her conscience, bribing a cop rather than accept a speeding ticket. And when her maid is convicted of stealing her jewels, Lydia's bridge game is more important than a kind word to the judge. A word that would bring years of freedom to her maid's life.

Enter straight shooting District Attourney Dan O'Bannon (Frederic March). He's busy schmoozing political heavyweights with "equal justice for rich and poor" when he falls under Lydia's spell.

Miss Colbert literally sparkles in Archie Stout's photography. Principally backlit, her satin gown and diamond necklace shimmer in the star filter and complete the trap for O'Bannon and viewer alike. Lots of overhead and dolly shots keep the eye-candy coming. This beautifully mounted production gives no clue why Mr. Stout would be doing the cheapo John Wayne westerns 3 years later. Amazingly, Archie Stout would go onto shoot the sumptuously photographed Angel And The Badman for Wayne years later! An automobile accident (not a run over pedestrian as suggested above) triggers the second half of the film and the regeneration of our heroine, and not without delicious plot twists and turns.

Great performances and production make this a must see for the avid talkie buff. And Claudette Colbert fans will be well pleased to find her already in top gear.

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