Lilly Turner (1933)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Phillip Dunning (play) &
George Abbott (play) ...

Release Date:

13 May 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A carnival magician deserts his wife when he finds out she's pregnant. She then marries the carnival's barker, who is a drunk. After enduring all his abuse, she finds herself attracted to a young engineer. |

Plot Keywords:

Carnival | Magician | Engineer | Unrequited Love | Loyalty

Cast

Ruth Chatterton	...	Lilly 'Queenie' Turner Dixon
George Brent	...	Bob Chandler
Frank McHugh	...	David 'Dave' Dixon
Guy Kibbee	...	Doc Peter McGill
Robert Barrat	...	Fritz 'Heinie'
Ruth Donnelly	...	Edna Yokum
Marjorie Gateson	...	Mrs. Bessie 'Ma' McGill
Gordon Westcott	...	Rex Durkee
Arthur Vinton	...	Sam Waxman
Grant Mitchell	...	Dr. Hawley
Margaret Seddon	...	Mrs. Turner
Mae Busch	...	Hazel
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Walter Brennan	...	(scenes deleted)
Hobart Cavanaugh	...	Earle (scenes deleted)
Ethel Wales	...	Mrs. Flint (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

65 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Company:

First National Pictures

Trivia:

The original play opened in New York on 19 September 1932.

Soundtrack:

The Wedding March

Hokey melodrama is hopelessly old-fashioned stuff for Chatterton fans...

Before Bette Davis made it big at Warner Bros., they had RUTH CHATTERTON suffering as the wronged heroine in melodramas that were supposed to bring fans of the actress to the theaters to watch the actress suffer for her sins. They also had KAY FRANCIS sharing the same sort of vehicles.

This one is a mess. As The N.Y. Times pointed out: "A drab, uninspired story," that has Chatterton, a lady with a past, falling for strongman GEORGE BRENT, who works in a medicine carnival with her and her husband, FRANK McHUGH. The plot has so many elements that it could have been made into a much longer film, but all of it has been squeezed into little more than an hour. She also has an ex-husband (ROBERT BARRAT) in the local insane asylum who went to pieces after their break-up. His escape from the asylum causes further plot complications, especially since he's intent on tossing her current husband (McHugh) out the window during a violent confrontation.

It's incredibly melodramatic but sluggishly directed despite all the sub-plots, with the over-aged Chatterton making the central character about as unbelievable as the plot contrivances.

Definitely a film you can afford to miss.