The Divorce of Lady X (1938)

Divorce lawyer Everard Logan thinks the woman who spent the night in his hotel room is the erring wife of his new client.

Director:

Tim Whelan

Writers:

Gilbert Wakefield (story), Lajos Biró (adaptation),

Stars:

Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, Binnie Barnes

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Merle Oberon	...	Leslie Steele / Lady Claire Mere
Laurence Olivier	...	Everard Logan
Binnie Barnes	...	Lady Claire Mere
Ralph Richardson	...	Lord Mere
Morton Selten	...	Lord Steele
J.H. Roberts	...	Slade
Gertrude Musgrove	...	Saunders, the Maid
Gus McNaughton	...	Room Service Waiter
H.B. Hallam	...	Jefferies, the Butler
Eileen Peel	...	Mrs. Johnson

Storyline

Laurence Olivier plays Logan, a barrister who falls in love with Leslie (played by Merle Oberon), the woman he thinks his client will soon be divorcing.

---

Plot Keywords:

hotel | divorce | lawyer | hotel room | social life | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

---

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 January 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Besuch zur Nacht

Filming Locations:

Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

London Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Microphonic Noiseless System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Merle Oberon and Alex Korda started a beautiful friendship on this film, which often meant starting to rehearse by 12:30 in the afternoon followed quickly by lunch which lasted until 3:30pm which meant filming finishing by 10 or 11 at night!

---

Goofs

When on the ship, Logan and Leslie move to the bulwark and Logan holds on to the pillar to his right. In the very next shot, he has both of his hands on the top rail and then holds on to the pillar to his right again.

---

Quotes

Leslie: You're much too nice to turn me out.
Logan: Nice! My dear young lady, you don't know me. The trouble with me is that I'm weak. A charming young girl like you can put anything over on me in five minutes. But at least I know my weakness, so I force myself to be rude. Sometimes even brutal!
[Leslie starts backing Logan into a corner]
Leslie: You do like talking about yourself, don't you?
Logan: Why... yes... most men do. But at least they know the truth about themselves. Women don't. They only know the truth about each ...

---

Connections

Remake of Counsel's Opinion (1933)

---

Soundtracks

"Waltz"
(uncredited)
from Murder on Diamond Row
Music by Lionel Salter

User Reviews

A Slight, Charming Comedy From a Different Age

Lawrence Olivier and Merle Oberon did two movies together within two years. One is considered one of the great romantic films of all time, and the movie that made Olivier a great movie star (and gave Oberon her best performance role): WUTHERING HEIGHTS. The other is this film, made in England a year earlier. THE DIVORCE OF LADY X is a romantic comedy (as WUTHERING HEIGHTS is a romantic tragedy). Olivier is a lawyer, Everard Logan, who is a dynamic barrister, but is also a total misogynist. One night he checks into a hotel just ahead of a crowd of people. It is a very foggy night (the type of pea soup fog that London was known for up until a notorious "killer" fog in the 1950s), and the crowd (who'd been attending a party in the hotel) need beds. The management tries to get Logan to allow one or two socialite ladies to sleep on a couch and a day bed in his rooms, but he refuses. But he has not reckoned with Merle Oberon as Leslie Steele. The granddaughter of a high court judge, she manages to get into Logan's rooms and manipulates him to not only agree to her sleeping there, but appropriates his bed (he goes onto the couch - much to his discomfort).

The next day they share a breakfast, and in the smalltalk it is evident that despite his mistrust of women Logan finds Leslie very attractive. But she kittenishly refuses to tell him her name. She is determined to learn more about him, and she finds his attitude toward women infuriating. In the meantime, Logan is approached by a wealthy nobleman (Ralph Richardson as Lord Mere) as a potential client. Mere suspects his wife Lady Mere (Binnie Barnes) of having an affair. In fact, he tells Logan her Ladyship was with her lover in the hotel that Logan knows he was in on the night of the fog. Logan (naturally) jumps to the conclusion that Lady Mere was his mysterious roommate that night. I will not go into the plot any further, except to say that Leslie eventually realizes what a mistake Logan has made, and decides to use it to teach him a lesson about women.

The script has the feel of a Wodehouse novel, but is slighter. Still the performances of Olivier, Oberon, Richardson, Barnes, and Morton Selden (as Oberon's grandfather) are all splendid. It shows what a good cast can do with even the slightest of materials. Take a look at some of the minor scenes to see what I mean: Selden's first scene, complaining about his weak coffee to his butler/valet, who tells him off properly (they've been used to each other's personalities for years). Or Olivier dealing with a young clerk in his office, who is certain there were two Lady Meres in the office two minutes before (there were, but Oberon and Barnes left together), and ends up thinking the poor clerk is a simpleton. Or the waiter in the hotel who can't understand why the tenant in Olivier's room is constantly changing from a man to a woman to a man. As I said, a slight charming comedy - but it is very charming.