The Lady Refuses (1931)

A wealthy London nobleman hires a pretty but poor young girl to distract his playboy son from marrying a golddigger. Complications ensue when the girl and the father begin to fall for each ... See full summary »

Director:

George Archainbaud

Writers:

Robert Milton (story), Guy Bolton (story),

Stars:

Betty Compson, John Darrow, Gilbert Emery

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Betty Compson	...	June
John Darrow	...	Russell Courtney
Gilbert Emery	...	Sir Gerald Courtney
Margaret Livingston	...	Berthine Waller
Ivan Lebedeff	...	Nikolai Rabinoff
Edgar Norton	...	Dobbs - Sir Gerald's Butler
Daphne Pollard	...	Millie - Apartment House Maid

Storyline

A wealthy London nobleman hires a pretty but poor young girl to distract his playboy son from marrying a golddigger. Complications ensue when the girl and the father begin to fall for each other, and things get even more complicated when the son declares his love for her, too.

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Plot Keywords:

reputation | jealousy | hangover | fortune hunter | drunkenness | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 March 1931 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

72 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first lines]
First Bobby: [a dark, foggy street in London. Two bobbies are observing a young woman walking along furtively] New one, isn't she Albert?
Albert, Second Bobby: Must be, or she wouldn't be out on a night like this. No weather for a dog.
First Bobby: Nor for no cat, neither!

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Soundtracks

"It's the Same the Whole World Over"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Sung a cappella by Daphne Pollard twice

User Reviews

The independent woman before she was silenced

I agree with the other reviewers: This isn't a great movie because it is too stage bound, the plot is far-fetched, the London setting unconvincing (why not New York?), and some of the acting is wooden or uneven. However, John Darrow is convincing as a talented young man a little too enslaved by his passions, and he is sexually alive and compelling. Betty Compson is great - hers is the performance that make this and so many other pre-Production Code movies worthwhile. She has no shame about who she is (nor has Margaret Livingston, who appears to have stepped out of Valley of the Dolls), and her last speech earns the movie a 7 in my book. She is completely liberated, though she knows how to and does pay lip-service to conventional morality. It is this combination, the lip-service combined with the complete independence, that makes this pre-Production Code movie (among many) so radical. Her final scene eloquently gives the lie to conventional morality and left me agape. No need for the 1960s-lib genre with movies like this.