Lady with a Past is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic comedy film starring Constance Bennett as a shy and very proper young lady who decides to invent a scandalous past for herself to spice up her life. It is based on the novel of the same name by Harriet Henry.
Although she is an heiress and quite lovely, Venice Muir is very shy. She is flattered when flirtatious Donnie Wainwright urges her to elope to Paris with him, then irked when he abandons her before their ship departs.
Venice gets an idea, hiring a penniless fellow, Guy Bryson, to pretend to be a gigolo and spread word of Venice's effect on men. Soon she is the toast of Paris, suitors lining up to woo her, including Rene, a man of noble lineage. Unbeknownst to her, Rene is in serious debt. When she rejects his proposal, Rene commits suicide, enhancing Venice's reputation as a heartbreaking vixen.
Sailing back home, Venice is followed by more gossip, including some about Guy. A dazzled Donnie begins pursuing her again, finally winning over Venice without ever knowing of her ruse.
According to RKO records the film lost $140,000.[1]
"There are several instances of enlivening dialogue which help to relieve the slow tempo of the whole," wrote Clara Sawdon in a review for International Photographer. "The title will undoubtedly act as an excellent decoy to attract Constance Bennett fans, however, the chief fault seeming to lie in the choice of a story not suitable for screen adaptation."[2]
Referencesedit
^ abcRichard Jewel, 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 14 No 1, 1994 p39
^Sawdon, Clara M. "When Seen Through Feminine Eyes." The International Photographer Vol. 4 No. 2 p35. March, 1932. Accessed 7 May 2023.
lady, with, past, 1932, american, code, romantic, comedy, film, starring, constance, bennett, very, proper, young, lady, decides, invent, scandalous, past, herself, spice, life, based, novel, same, name, harriet, henry, directed, byedward, griffithe, babille, . Lady with a Past is a 1932 American pre Code romantic comedy film starring Constance Bennett as a shy and very proper young lady who decides to invent a scandalous past for herself to spice up her life It is based on the novel of the same name by Harriet Henry Lady with a PastDirected byEdward H GriffithE J Babille assistant Screenplay byHorace JacksonBased onLady with a Past1931 novelby Harriet HenryProduced byCharles R RogersStarringConstance BennettBen LyonDavid MannersEdited byCharles CraftProductioncompaniesRKO Pathe Pictures Inc Charles R RogersDistributed byRKO Pathe Pictures Inc Release dateFebruary 19 1932 1932 02 19 Running time80 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget 541 000 1 Box office 595 000 1 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Reception 4 References 5 External linksPlot editAlthough she is an heiress and quite lovely Venice Muir is very shy She is flattered when flirtatious Donnie Wainwright urges her to elope to Paris with him then irked when he abandons her before their ship departs Venice gets an idea hiring a penniless fellow Guy Bryson to pretend to be a gigolo and spread word of Venice s effect on men Soon she is the toast of Paris suitors lining up to woo her including Rene a man of noble lineage Unbeknownst to her Rene is in serious debt When she rejects his proposal Rene commits suicide enhancing Venice s reputation as a heartbreaking vixen Sailing back home Venice is followed by more gossip including some about Guy A dazzled Donnie begins pursuing her again finally winning over Venice without ever knowing of her ruse Cast editConstance Bennett as Venice Muir Ben Lyon as Guy Bryson David Manners as Donnie Wainwright Don Alvarado as Carlos Santiagos Albert Conti as Rene the Viscomte de la Thernardier Merna Kennedy as Ann Duryea Astrid Allwyn as Lola Goadby Don Dillaway as Jerry Blanche Friderici as Nora as Blanche Frederici John Roche as Carl Howe Cornelius Keefe as Spaulding Nella Walker as Aunt EmmaReception editAccording to RKO records the film lost 140 000 1 There are several instances of enlivening dialogue which help to relieve the slow tempo of the whole wrote Clara Sawdon in a review for International Photographer The title will undoubtedly act as an excellent decoy to attract Constance Bennett fans however the chief fault seeming to lie in the choice of a story not suitable for screen adaptation 2 References edit a b c Richard Jewel RKO Film Grosses 1931 1951 Historical Journal of Film Radio and Television Vol 14 No 1 1994 p39 Sawdon Clara M When Seen Through Feminine Eyes The International Photographer Vol 4 No 2 p35 March 1932 Accessed 7 May 2023 External links editLady with a Past at IMDb nbsp Lady with a Past at the TCM Movie Database Lady with a Past at AllMovie Lady with a Past at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films nbsp This article about a 1930s romantic comedy film is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lady with a Past amp oldid 1191672949, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
