The Lady Refuses (1931)

Director:

George Archainbaud

Writers:

Robert Milton (story) and
Guy Bolton (story) ...

Release Date:

8 March 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

A wealthy London nobleman hires a pretty but poor young girl to distract his playboy son from marrying a golddigger...

Plot Keywords:

Fortune Hunter | London England | Monkey | Butler | Hangover

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

Runtime:

72 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate number not assigned) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating)

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

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!

Soundtrack:

Three Little Words

Not a great film by any stretch of the imagination, but I still kind of liked it

This film isn't particularly outstanding in so many ways. Some of the acting and plot elements were rather pedestrian (at best) and the plot is very hard to believe, but despite all this I actually enjoyed the film more than my score of 6 might indicate. That's because this is a "Pre-Code" film (actually, this term should be "Early-Code") and I find these films VERY entertaining relics from our past. The Hays Office was created in the 1920s to enforce morality and decency in the film industry, but it was still in its early days and studios routinely ignored it until the stronger "Production Code" was adopted in 1935. Up until then, films were often amazingly risqué and adult--even by today's standards. A few examples of the things that led to the Hays Office being created and strengthened were:

--The 1920s version of BEN HUR, in which there was quite a bit of nudity and violence--and this was a Biblical Epic!

--The film PARACHUTE JUMPER includes a scene where Frank McHugh is hitchhiking. When a car passes without stopping, his thumb instantly becomes a middle-finger!

--In BIRD OF PARADISE, TARZAN THE APE MAN and THE BARBARIAN, there were some very explicit bathing scenes in which you see a lot of Delores Del Rio, Maureen O'Sullivan and Myrna Loy!

While THE LADY REFUSES doesn't include nudity, it is definitely a "Pre-Code"-style film because of the very adult themes. The leading lady (Betty Compson) plays a prostitute "with a heart of gold" who is hired by a man to seduce away his son from a "gold-digger"! And, later both the son AND father fall for this prostitute and want to marry her! Oddly, however, the words 'prostitute', 'hooker' nor any of the other slang terms for the profession are used in the film--though it's very clear that this is Ms. Compson's job. In addition to this adult aspect of the film, the son twice spends the night in Ms. Compson's bed and everyone in the film THINKS that they were fornicating (though they weren't). Such innuendo NEVER would have been tolerated just a few years later.

Now despite all these sleazy elements, the movie itself is pretty entertaining and well-made--and definitely kept my interest. Ms. Compson was a dandy actress in the film and it's sad her career as a talking picture leading lady slowly fizzled. As for John Darrow and Gilbert Emery, they both were pretty poor at times--having some trouble with their lines and occasionally over or under-acting. It wasn't bad enough to severely hinder the film, but it was noticeable if you were paying close attention.

The bottom line is that for fans of the "Pre-Code" films or film buffs, this is a MUST-SEE film. For most others, it's a time-passer or eminently one you can skip.