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:

Lajos Biró (adaptation) (as Lajos Biro), Ian Dalrymple (scenario & dialogue)

Stars:

Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, Binnie Barnes

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Merle Oberon	...	Leslie
Laurence Olivier	...	Logan
Binnie Barnes	...	Lady Mere
Ralph Richardson	...	Lord Mere
Morton Selten	...	Lord Steele
J.H. Roberts	...	Slade
Gertrude Musgrove	...	Saunders
Gus McNaughton	...	Waiter
H.B. Hallam	...	Jefferies
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.

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Plot Keywords:

taming of the shrew | screwball comedy | divorce | hotel room | unrequited love | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 January 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Besuch zur Nacht

Filming Locations:

London Film Production Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£99,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

London Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording) (Western Electric Noiseless System)

Color:

Color (photographed in) (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie is an adaptation of the same play as Counsel's Opinion (1933). Both movies were produced by Alexander Korda, and Binnie Barnes appeared in both of them, as Leslie in the earlier movie, and as Lady Mere in this one.

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Goofs

The contention is that Logan confuses Leslie with Lady Mere, but the first time Lord Mere meets Logan, Mere says his wife is American. Leslie is definitely not American.

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Quotes

Logan: But do you love her?
Lord Mere: What?... I say, uh, yes.
Logan: Then why do you want a divorce?

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Connections

Version of Counsel's Opinion (1933)

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Soundtracks

Mayfair in May
(uncredited)
Music by Vivian Ellis
Arranged by Ronnie Munro

User Reviews

Mistaken identity British comedy

Laurence Olivier, Merle Oberon, Ralph Richardson, and Binnie Barnes star in "The Divorce of Lady X," a 1938 comedy based on a play. Olivier plays a young barrister, Everard Logan who allows Oberon to spend the night in his hotel room, when the London fog is too dense for guests at a costume ball to go home. The next day, a friend of his, Lord Mere (Richardson), announces that his wife (Barnes) spent the night with another man at the same hotel, and he wants to divorce her. Believing the woman to be Oberon, Olivier panics. Oberon, who is single and the granddaughter of a judge, pretends that she's the lady in question, Lady Mere, when she's really Leslie Steele.

We've seen this plot or variations thereof dozens of time. With this cast, it's delightful. I mean, Richardson and Olivier? Olivier and Oberon, that great team in Wuthering Heights? Pretty special. Olivier is devastatingly handsome and does a great job with the comedy as he portrays the uptight, nervous barrister. Oberon gives her role the right light touch. She looks extremely young here, fuller in the face, with Jean Harlow eyebrows and a very different hairdo for her. She wears some beautiful street clothes, though her first gown looks like a birthday cake, and in one gown she tries on, with that hair-do, she's ready to play Snow White. Binnie Barnes is delightful as the real Lady Mere.

The color in this is a mess, and as others have mentioned, it could really use a restoration. Definitely worth seeing.