Private Lives (1931)

Director:

Sidney Franklin

Writers:

Noel Coward (play)
Hanns Kräly (scenario) ...

Release Date:

12 December 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Elyot and Sibyl are being married in a big church ceremony. Amanda and Victor are being married by a French Justice of the Peace...

Plot Keywords:

Honeymoon | Hotel | Chalet | Church | Fight

Cast

Norma Shearer	...	Amanda Prynne
Robert Montgomery	...	Elyot Chase
Reginald Denny	...	Victor Prynne
Una Merkel	...	Sibyl Chase
Jean Hersholt	...	Oscar
George Davis	...	Bell Hop

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Franklin Canyon, Santa Monica Mountains, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Robert Montgomery was accidentally knocked unconscious during the fight scene with Norma Shearer.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Elyot, Amanda and Oscar are riding on the gondola, Elyot and Amanda begin to argue. As their argument escalates, the two of them stand up and Oscar, listening quietly, stands up with them. Their is a cut to a medium shot of Oscar which shows him still seated. Then a return to the shot of the three of them which shows Oscar standing again.

Quotes:

Amanda: Extraordinary how potent cheap music is.

Movie Connections:

Version of "ITV Television Playhouse: Private Lives (#4.20)" (1959)

Soundtrack:

Chansonette (The Donkey Serenade)

very good adaptation

I had the pleasure several years ago of seeing Lindsay Duncan and Alan Rickman on Broadway in Noel Coward's durable comedy, "Private Lives," and they were magnificent. I admit I had low expectations for a film version. I was pleasantly surprised that, though scenes were added and changed, the film keeps the tone of the play.

I actually saw part of this movie when I was about nine years old. James Card of the George Eastman House introduced it on a weekly old film program. To a nine-year-old, it seemed very foreign, given its age. Strangely, I have always remembered the line, "We're married in the eyes of heaven" - from that TV showing! And sure enough, my memory was correct - that either says something about Montgomery's line reading, or that I had no understanding of what the line meant, or I have a weird memory. Not sure.

I thought the two stars, Robert Montgomery and Norma Shearer, portrayed the couple excellently. Shearer is so often criticized for her acting, but I'm sorry, I've seen her in some very good performances, although I grant you, she was a movie star first and foremost. The couple also has great chemistry.

I understand the apartment in Paris was changed to attract the German market, which eliminated the great part of the maid.

In the end, the film is very enjoyable and the play, of course, set the stage for many ripoffs. I agree with another of the comments, it would have been fabulous to have Coward and Lawrence preserved on film.