The Lady Consents

I have been married nearly 32 years. And, if my wife had cheated on me, I certainly would NOT have handled it the way Anne did in "The Lady Consents"...in fact, I can't imagine anyone handling it quite this way.

When the story begins, Dr. Talbot (Herbert Marshall) is trying to ride a very unruly horse he owns. He isn't very successful and a brash lady (Margaret Lindsay) insists she can tame the horse. Seconds later, she's unconscious and the lady awakens a bit later, bruised but otherwise fine. Then, out of the blue, the pair kiss...which is odd since the Doctor is married. He then informs the lady...and tells his wife (Ann Harding) as well. The wife, ever the understanding woman, says he shouldn't worry about it. However, soon the Doc and this new woman are a number...and the wife doesn't do anything...hoping this affair will run its course. Well, it doesn't and soon the Doc and his wife divorce so that he can marry this new woman. Will it all work itself out or not?

It seems very tough to believe the wife's actions in the film. She not only isn't angry, but excuses her husband's infidelity and informs him that what's most important is that HE is happy! She even goes so far as to say "He didn't want to fall in love with her...those things just happen"! Could this get any worse? Yep, the ex-wife goes to the wedding...just to show everyone how 'civilized women behave'! Very restrained and 'sophisticated' but hardly realistic.

So is this any good? Well, the acting certainly is and it's hard to hate any film with actors like these. But the story is a disappointment in many ways. It's not just that the wife is ridiculously understanding and decent, but that you also KNOW that the Doctor can't be happy with the new wife since it's a film made under the Production Code. And, the Code was strongly against adultery and insisted it had to be punished...eventually. So, the new wife ended up being extremely selfish and clueless. Odd, however, that the script somehow absolved the husband of his misbehavior despite all this.

By the way, I really liked Edward Ellis in the film as the Doctor's father. While clearly a supporting player, he was very enjoyable to watch and was the unofficial voice of reason throughout much of the story.