Complete credited cast: | |||
Kay Francis | ... | Stella Parish | |
Ian Hunter | ... | Keith Lockridge | |
Paul Lukas | ... | Stephan Norman | |
Sybil Jason | ... | Gloria Parish | |
Jessie Ralph | ... | Nana | |
Barton MacLane | ... | Clifton Jeffords | |
Eddie Acuff | ... | Dimmie | |
Joe Sawyer | ... | Chuck (as Joseph Sawyer) | |
Walter Kingsford | ... | Reeves | |
Harry Beresford | ... | James | |
Robert Strange | ... | Jed Duffy |
Stella Parish, star of the London stage, keeps her private life a secret. After an opening night triumph, her mysterious past catches up with her and she vanishes before the after-party. When Ms. Parish doesn't show up, Keith Lockridge, an ace newspaper reporter, at first assumes it to be a publicity stunt. But producer Stephan Norman receives word that Stella is leaving the country. Lockridge is able to track Stella to a ship bound for America, where she is traveling under a false name and wearing a disguise. Aboard the ship Lockridge befriends Stella and her young daughter Gloria. In New York he becomes very close to Stella (now without the disguise) and Gloria, all the while digging up the details of Stella's sordid past. Stella confesses her love for Lockridge after he's already wired his story to his newspaper. With the truth out in the open, Stella sends Gloria to be raised abroad while she exploits her notorious reputation onstage. Sorry for the mess he's made, Lockridge does ... Written by Jimmy L.
This is a badly dated melodrama about an actress whose dark past is revealed by a conniving reporter. Kay Francis is luminous, but she can't play trash. When Stella gets tough and starts on her downward trend, Kay, with her patrician beauty and educated accent, can't do it. A very talky movie, supposedly set in England, but the atmosphere and language aren't very British.
Apparently the play she appears in has something to do with Caligula - trust me, it's no starmaking play or performance. It was fun to see that the play actually had an orchestra, a reminder of the old days when "straight plays" were really huge events.