The play "Dishonored Lady" opened on Broadway at the Empire Theatre on April 30, 1930, running for 127 performances. The play was written by Margaret Ayer Barnes and Edward Sheldon, directed by Guthrie McClintic and starring Katharine Cornell.
As of the May 1947 release date, stars Hedy Lamarr (Madeleine) and John Loder (Felix) were married. They would divorce later that year in July. It was the third marriage for both. Lamarr would marry a total of six times and Loder five.
Hedy Lamarr, who produced the movie, said that John Loder---her co-star who was also her husband---was boring, dull and tasteless, and she left him shortly after the film was completed.
Three feature films have been based or drawn inspiration from the actual 1857 murder case involving a 21-year-old Glasgow woman named Madeleine Smith, who was accused of poisoning her lover, Pierre Emile L'Angelier, and was then acquitted.
The first screen rendering was Letty Lynton (1932), a seminal work of the pre-Code era that has been sequestered since January 17, 1936, when a federal court ruled that MGM's script too closely resembled the Dishonored Lady play without having acquired the rights or given proper screen credit. The U.S. copyright of the play is due to expire in 2025. The acknowledged source of this film was Marie Belloc Lowndes's 1931 novel Letty Lynton, which was inspired by the Smith trial.
Also based on the Smith trial was the British film Madeleine (1950), directed by David Lean and starring Ann Todd and Leslie Banks. The play 'Dishonored Lady' was not credited for the film of Madeleine (1950) because the final script followed the original facts enough to constitute an original screenplay.
Dishonored Lady (1947) drew inspiration from the 1857 Smith murder trial but was directly based on the play Dishonored Lady. Hunt Stromberg produced both the 1932 film, and Dishonored Lady (1947) starring Hedy Lamarr.
The first screen rendering was Letty Lynton (1932), a seminal work of the pre-Code era that has been sequestered since January 17, 1936, when a federal court ruled that MGM's script too closely resembled the Dishonored Lady play without having acquired the rights or given proper screen credit. The U.S. copyright of the play is due to expire in 2025. The acknowledged source of this film was Marie Belloc Lowndes's 1931 novel Letty Lynton, which was inspired by the Smith trial.
Also based on the Smith trial was the British film Madeleine (1950), directed by David Lean and starring Ann Todd and Leslie Banks. The play 'Dishonored Lady' was not credited for the film of Madeleine (1950) because the final script followed the original facts enough to constitute an original screenplay.
Dishonored Lady (1947) drew inspiration from the 1857 Smith murder trial but was directly based on the play Dishonored Lady. Hunt Stromberg produced both the 1932 film, and Dishonored Lady (1947) starring Hedy Lamarr.