The Woman Condemned

Radio singer Lola Lane goes on vacation, leaving ardent admirer and station manager Jason Robards Jr. In the dark as to her plans. A few days later, reporter Richard Hemingway spots Claudia Dell in night. She was trying to break into an apartment. He tells the judge she's his fiancee and it was her apartment...... she's a terrible practical joker. So the judge marries them. Soon enough, Miss Dell breaks into the apartment, spots Miss Lane dead, shrieks, and is apprehended and found guilty of murder.

Dorothy Davenport's last movie as director has some nice touches -- I was taken by the other defendants in night court, and cameraman James Diamond had worked her before -- but she struggles in vain with a lurid and stupid screenplay written by the always lurid and stupid Willis Kent. The entire series of events in the film, the set of disasters that overwhelm both women, is actuated and worsened by their unwillingness to tell anyone why they are doing what they do, despite their innocent intentions.

Editor Roy Luby does a fine job of keeping the pace up, despite the slow pace of dialogue, but the script sinks everyone. As William Wyler once noted, "It's 90% you get a good script, and 10% the actors. There's nothing else in it." I think that's because Wyler provided everything else; nonetheless.....