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IMDbPro

Private Lives

  • 19311931
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 24m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
1.2K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
59,739
5,354
Reginald Denny, Jean Hersholt, Una Merkel, Robert Montgomery, and Norma Shearer in Private Lives (1931)
ComedyDramaRomance
Divorced couple unexpectedly meet each other during their honeymoon and rekindle their love.Divorced couple unexpectedly meet each other during their honeymoon and rekindle their love.Divorced couple unexpectedly meet each other during their honeymoon and rekindle their love.
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
1.2K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
59,739
5,354
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Sidney Franklin
    • Writers
      • Noël Coward(from the play by)
      • Hanns Kräly(scenario)
      • Richard Schayer(scenario)
    • Stars
      • Norma Shearer
      • Robert Montgomery
      • Reginald Denny
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Sidney Franklin
    • Writers
      • Noël Coward(from the play by)
      • Hanns Kräly(scenario)
      • Richard Schayer(scenario)
    • Stars
      • Norma Shearer
      • Robert Montgomery
      • Reginald Denny
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 35User reviews
    • 13Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • Photos39

    Robert Montgomery and Norma Shearer in Private Lives (1931)
    Reginald Denny, Una Merkel, Robert Montgomery, and Norma Shearer in Private Lives (1931)
    Una Merkel and Robert Montgomery in Private Lives (1931)
    Una Merkel and Robert Montgomery in Private Lives (1931)
    Una Merkel and Robert Montgomery in Private Lives (1931)
    Reginald Denny and Norma Shearer in Private Lives (1931)
    Norma Shearer in Private Lives (1931)
    Robert Montgomery and Norma Shearer in Private Lives (1931)
    Reginald Denny and Norma Shearer in Private Lives (1931)
    Reginald Denny, Una Merkel, Robert Montgomery, and Norma Shearer in Private Lives (1931)
    Robert Montgomery and Norma Shearer in Private Lives (1931)
    Norma Shearer in Private Lives (1931)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Norma Shearer
    Norma Shearer
    • Amanda Prynne
    Robert Montgomery
    Robert Montgomery
    • Elyot Chase
    Reginald Denny
    Reginald Denny
    • Victor Prynne
    Una Merkel
    Una Merkel
    • Sibyl Chase
    Jean Hersholt
    Jean Hersholt
    • Oscar
    George Davis
    George Davis
    • Bell Hop
    Herman Bing
    Herman Bing
    • Train Conductor
    • (uncredited)
    Ferike Boros
    Ferike Boros
    • Cook at Chalet
    • (uncredited)
    Alphonse Martell
    Alphonse Martell
    • Hotel Concierge
    • (uncredited)
    Wilfrid North
    • Sibyl's Wedding Escort
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Sidney Franklin
    • Writers
      • Noël Coward(from the play by)
      • Hanns Kräly(scenario)
      • Richard Schayer(scenario)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Robert Montgomery was accidentally knocked unconscious during the fight scene with Norma Shearer.
    • Goofs
      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

      Victor Prynne: He struck you once didn't he?

      Amanda: Oh, more than once.

      Victor Prynne: Where?

      Amanda: Several places.

      Victor Prynne: What a cad!

      Amanda: Ha-ha. I struck him too. Once I broke four gramophone records over his head. It was very satisfying.

    • Connections
      Version of Les amants terribles (1936)
    • Soundtracks
      Someday I'll Find You
      (1931) (uncredited)

      Music and Lyrics by Noël Coward

      Sung by Norma Shearer

      Whistled and played on piano by Robert Montgomery

      Played often as background music

    User reviews35

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    It's Pure Fluff...But What Delectable Fluff
    Noel Coward created at least four comic plays that have staying power: "Private Lives", "Design For Living", "Hay Fever", and "Blythe Spirit". Three of them were turned into films, but the results are mixed. "Design For Living" was seriously bowdlerized by Hollywood, with a "bi-sexual" element eliminated. "Blythe Spirit" (which has a funny twist on how marriages always seem to sour as individuality is smashed) was done better, but it lacks a resolution that showed how the "so-called" tragedy of the plot actually benefits the hero, Charles Condimine. And "Private Lives", while having a degree of elegance from it's stars, is not brittle enough.

    Coward was a master of developing attitude through his dialog. He seems to have modeled his handling of his characters on William S. Gilbert (of Gilbert & Sullivan fame). Gilbert had always insisted when directing his own plays that the characters retained the seriousness of their own characters and points of view. This worked in the Savoy Operas quite well, and Coward (who wrote musicals as well as comedies) picked up on it. When Elyot and Amanda flow from their sexual cosiness into their inane arguments, both of them are firmly sure that they are in the right. But being in the right is not enough: they have to be above it all by their social snobbery in the same dialog. If you don't insist on this in producing "Private Lives" the play may remain amusing but it's snap is lost.

    Example:

    Amanda: "I heard you went to Asia"

    Elyot: "Yes"

    Amanda: "How was China?"

    Elyot: "Very large."

    Amanda: "How was Japan?"

    Elyot: "Very small."

    Brittle and short and to the point - and it does give an impression of what Elyot noticed (very little really) of two major Asiatic cultures. It is also quite dismissive - the teaming millions of Asia are reduced to four meaningless words. This dialog appears in the film version of PRIVATE LIVES, but the sharpness required for "Very large" and "Very small" is not quite there. So the effect of the dialog is diminished.

    Robert Montgomery usually played in MGM films at this time as weaklings (like in "The Big House") or as upper crust cads (like in "The Divorcée"). He demonstrated an agreeably sophisticated cynicism in his films, and was slowly building up an acting ability that would turn into strong dramatic performances in "Night Must Fall" and films like "They Were Espendable" later on.

    Montgomery came from a wealthy family, so his polished elegance was real. But he was an American, and Elyot's brittle snobbery is more likely to be found in English acting. The role of Elyot was played by Noel Coward originally. MGM either never thought of asking him to play the role, or could not get him for some reason.

    Norma Shearer was a better than average actress, and she had played upper class Americans (like her betrayed wife in "The Women"), but she too is not English (she was Canadian). She too can't quite match the flash of snobbishness in Amanda's role that was brought to it by the original player, Gertrude Lawrence. As Lawrence and Coward were close friends in real life, they brought even more to the roles than Montgomery and Shearer could have brought.

    The result is that the film is very amusing - otherwise I would not give it an "8". But it could not reach the divine heights that Coward and Lawrence brought to it.

    As for the supporting couple, Reginald Denny and Una Merkle, they are adequate for their hapless roles as the newlywed partners of Elyot and Amanda. But Una Merkle as Sybil is too middle American a personality, and only is able to hint at Sybil's "fade - in - the - shade" fate when compared to spitfire Amanda. Denny was a workmanlike Victor, and (as the only English person in the cast's leads) a touch of reality to the film. But Victor's smoldering anger is barely touched on in his performance (he's too much of a gentleman). Oddly enough, MGM never thought of using the actor who originated Victor's character on stage - another friend of Noel. His name was Laurence Olivier.
    helpful•8
    6
    • theowinthrop
    • Oct 4, 2006

    FAQ1

    • A favorite line

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 12, 1931 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • German
    • Also known as
      • Vidas íntimas
    • Filming locations
      • Glacier National Park, Montana, USA
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 24 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

    Related news

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    Reginald Denny, Jean Hersholt, Una Merkel, Robert Montgomery, and Norma Shearer in Private Lives (1931)
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