A Lost Lady

Barbara Stanwyck, the greatest actress never to have won an Oscar, is here unusually young and glamorous in a succession of ravishing Orry-Kelly creations as she is torn between staying faithful to nice but dull (although fabulously wealthy) husband Frank Morgan and dashing young blades Lyle Talbot and Ricardo Cortez.

It's unusual to see Ms Stanwyck adorning a Women's Picture at this stage in her career; slickly packaged in a grade A production by Warner Bros. rather as they would soon showcase Bette Davis. The original 1923 Willa Cather novel had been filmed with Irene Rich ten years earlier (sadly now lost), and after seeing this glossy travesty Ms Cather never allowed her work to be filmed again during her lifetime.

Lost Lady, A (1934)

** (out of 4)

By the numbers love story about a woman (Barbara Stanwyck) who turns very bitter and cold hearted after having a tragedy strike her life. One day she meets an elderly man (Frank Morgan) and he convinces her to marry him even though she warns that she can never love again. After the wedding however, the woman finds love with a younger man and must decide what to do next. Even at only 69-minutes this thing seems to run on and on. I guess the only real reason to see this film is due to the early performance by Stanwyck but she's not too good here. She's not bad but not good either since she's still learning the trade. Morgan steals the show but the screenplay doesn't allow him to do too much. Ricardo Cortez and Lyle Talbot have parts as well.

Warner Brothers (WB) release demonstrating what the studio system did right with these small dramas. Tight script and running time sixty-one (61) minutes did not allow any FAT. This was reinforced by a very competent cast led by Barbara Stanwyck and Frank Morgan, supported by Ricardo Cortez, Lyle Talbot with Rafaela Ottiano (maid as usual). Hobart Cavanaugh and Willy Fung provide comedy relief (as usual and thankfully brief).

Plot revolves around Stanwycks characters loss of love. Resurrection by the love of Frank Morgan. Temptation from first Lyle Talbot then Ricardo Cortez and redemption back to Frank Morgan. This is told in a brisk style that holds interest all the way through. It is a quick time soap opera.

It is great to see is Frank Morgan in a role that was more akin to his early stage presence. Most people only think of him as 'Professor Marvel' from THE WIZARD OF OZ, or some other eccentric character usually over acting. Barbara Stanwyck is looking very 'chic' in a role that would normally be played by WB clotheshorse Kay Francis. Ms. Stanwyck is not what you would call a conventual beauty, but there is something about her sex appeal that is irresistible. We can't exactly put our finger on it, but obviously Robert Taylor did.

'A Lost Lady' starts off strong, with Barbara Stanwyck and Phillip Reed in love and about to get married, only to have their plans tragically changed. As Stanwyck goes into seclusion in order to pick up the pieces, she's approached by Frank Morgan (who you may recognize as the Wizard of Oz), an older man whose love for her is pure yet platonic. From there the film attempts to troll the depths of friendship, love, duty, and marriage, as other men (Ricardo Cortez and Lyle Talbot) are also attracted to Stanwyck. The plot seems to have little to do with the Willa Cather novel of the same name, and as the film progresses, it seems melodramatic and not all that authentic. It's always great to see early Barbara Stanwyck, and in this one you'll see her hit a few tennis balls among other things, but not even she can raise this above being pretty tepid. It was made right at the outset of the production code, which undoubtedly played a role. At 61 minutes it breezes by, and, having failed to develop some of the potential of the story, ends abruptly.

No movie with the great Barbara Stanwyck is completely without interest, but there is little else to recommend this misbegotten movie. Willa Cather was so horrified at what had been done to her novel that she refused to sell any of her other books to the movies, and one can see why. The story, characterisations, time span, plot, and tone have all been changed, for the worse, in a trite Hollywood way. For example, the house in the book, which is a nice-size house whose distinction is the beautiful scenery around it, is here a huge mansion with the standard Thirties-mansion double-height curving staircase. Complex relationships in the novel are here so oversimplified as to be almost meaningless. The movie adheres to a post-Code morality, also very simple, good vs. bad, where the book was much more subtle and complex.

In what I think is the only case of this I have seen, Stanwyck has a different hairstle in every scene, which changes her appearance greatly. It makes you feel that trivial details like these, at the expense of consistency, are what most concerned the film-maker (Alfred Green-- who?).