Transgression (1931)

When an English husband goes off to India for a year-long business trip, he also sends his wife to live in Paris to alleviate her loneliness and boredom. While she is there, she becomes ... See full summary »

Director:

Herbert Brenon

Writers:

Kate Jordan (play), Elizabeth Meehan (adaptation),

Stars:

Kay Francis, Paul Cavanagh, Ricardo Cortez

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Kay Francis	...	Elsie Maury
Paul Cavanagh	...	Robert Maury
Ricardo Cortez	...	Don Arturo de Borgus
Nance O'Neil	...	Honora 'Nora' Maury
Doris Lloyd	...	Paula Vrain
John St. Polis	...	Serafin, Arturo's Butler
Ruth Weston	...	Viscountess de Longueval
Adrienne D'Ambricourt	...	Julie, Elsie's French Maid
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Agostino Borgato	...	Carlos (scenes deleted)

Storyline

When an English husband goes off to India for a year-long business trip, he also sends his wife to live in Paris to alleviate her loneliness and boredom. While she is there, she becomes quite the courtesan, and meets a Spanish Don who falls in love with her. After her husband returns to meet her in Paris, she finds that the year has changed them somewhat. She is charmed by the Spaniard and duped by him and his conniving valet to come to Spain, just to see him for a few days. The first night that she is there, she falls in "love" with him, and writes a letter to her husband stating that she is going to leave him for the Spanish gentleman. A few minutes after the letter leaves, an old father comes into the estate and shoots the charmer; he had fathered a child by a 16-year-old daughter of this old man. With this new-found knowledge, our lady frantically returns to her husband who truly loved her all along, hoping to stop the letter and save her marriage. Will she be able to intercept ...

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Plot Keywords:

letter | spain | marriage | confession | paris france | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 June 1931 (USA)

Also Known As:

Around the Corner

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of The Next Corner (1924)

User Reviews

Precode Kay in Paris

Young Kay Francis commits a "Transgression" in this 1931 film also starring Paul Cavanagh and Ricardo Cortez. Kay is Elsie, the wife of a wealthy British businessman. The two share a huge, beautiful home in England. A business trip calls the husband, Robert, away to India for nearly a year, and wives are not allowed. So she will be less isolated, Elsie heads for Paris. There she becomes glamorous, sophisticated and worldly. She meets a rich, handsome Spainiard, Arturo (Cortez) who escorts her around and wants a lot more. He finagles a way to get her alone in his mansion; tragedy occurs.

This is an old-fashioned melodrama; few people could suffer like Kay Francis, even early on. Everything about her was so distinctive - her look, her voice, her clothes - it's hard to take your eyes off of her. Cortez is smooth and caddish as her pursuer; Paul Cavanagh as Elsie's husband is difficult to read. He never lets you know how he's going to react until the situation is upon him - then he might surprise you.

Mildly entertaining, of interest for the early Francis.