The sin of Madelon Claudet

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Movie
German title The sin of Madelon Claudet
Original title The Sin of Madelon Claudet
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1931
length 74 minutes
Rod
Director Edgar Selwyn
script Charles MacArthur
Ben Hecht
production Irving Thalberg for MGM
camera Oliver T. Marsh
cut Tom hero
occupation

The Sin of Madelon Claudet (OT: The Sin of Madelon Claudet ) is an American film with Helen Hayes from 1931. It is based on the play The Lullaby by Edward Knoblock. The film is a typical example of the so-called Confession Tales with its dramatic story about female self-sacrifice and is thus in the direct tradition of films such as Madame X , Once a Lady and The Right To Love with Ruth Chatterton or Blonde Venus with Marlene Dietrich .

action

Alice Claudet intends to introduce her husband, Dr. Lawrence leaving Claudet. His friend Dr. Dulac tries to prevent this. He tells her the story of a French peasant girl. The girl Madelon is in love with the American artist Larry Maynard. She would like to escape her tranquil life in the country with him. However, Maynard is more likely to have to leave France as his father is reportedly seriously ill. Madelon later finds out that Maynard has cheated on her with another woman and is married. However, Madelon is pregnant by him. Her father forces Madelon to marry a local farmer. When he tries to get her to give up on her newborn son, however, she flees. In Paris she met the charming Carlo Boretti, who turned out to be a jewel thief. Shortly before the arrest, Boretti commits suicide, and Madelon finds himself in court on charges of complicity. She has been sentenced to ten years innocent in prison and leaves her son believing that he has died. Dr. Dulac takes care of the boy while his mother tries to earn the money for his education and ends up on the street. All the money Madelon earns goes to her son, who is a successful medical student. Only Dr. Dulac knows of the existence of Madelon Claudet. When she ends up old in the poor house, she only wishes to see her son again and visits him as a patient in his practice. After Dr. Dulac Alice Claudet has told her mother-in-law's tragedy, Alice proposes to her husband Lawrence that they take their mother with him.

background

Helen Hayes was already a "living legend" of American theater in the early 1930s. After several triumphs on Broadway, she carried the title of "First Lady of the Theater" and was mentioned in the same breath as actresses such as Katharine Cornell , Ethel Barrymore and Maude Adams . At the height of her success, Hayes decided to follow her husband, writer Charles Mac Arthur, to Hollywood , where MacArthur finalized the script for Rasputin: The Demon of Russia for a huge fee . MGM's head of production , Irving Thalberg , finally persuaded Hayes to sign a non-exclusive film contract and initially envisaged the filming of What Every Woman Knows , the stage star's last great success. Problems with the rights led to the fact that in the end the script of The Lullaby , the film adaptation of a melodrama from 1923, served as a template for Hayes' screen debut.

The film was initially planned with Kay Francis in the lead role. However, the actress declined the offer to work for MGM in drastic terms:

“I'd have to be completely crazy to play that stupid French prostitute. Why is this stupid goose selling just to buy clothes for her son? Bah. How can you create sympathy for such a limited woman? "

The film initially went into production under the title The Lullaby . After a series of disastrous previews , however, Irving Thalberg decided to re-shoot a good third of the film and thus completely re-shoot it. The script was rewritten again. Helen Hayes, who was already involved in Samuel Goldwyn's production of Arrowsmith , the film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Sinclair Lewis , alongside Ronald Colman , had to shoot her scenes on her Sundays off. In the end, the film was released under the title The Sin of Madelon Claudet and proved to be a great financial success.

Film historical classification

Madame X , the Ruth Chatterton was in the lead role, and Common Clay with Constance Bennett from the following year was the style for the genre of Confession valley , during the Great Depression mainly attracted the female audiences. Most of the films revolve around the problems of women who get into trouble through a love story with a man of weak character. In the end, the women end up on the streets to support themselves and their children and / or family. Often the women also became the lovers of older men or pursued unworthy occupations in order to survive: Barbara Stanwyck in Shopworn , Constance Bennett in Herz at the crossroads . Most of the women tried to hide the illegitimate origin of their children: Kay Francis in I Found Stella Parrish , Give Me Your Heart and Confession , Ruth Chatterton in Frisco Jenny or Ann Harding in The Life of Vergie Winters .

criticism

Most critics exuberantly praised Helen Hayes.

Mordaunt Hall eloquently expressed his admiration in the New York Times :

“It's no wonder that those in charge at MGM are so excited about Helen Hayes' portrayal in" The Sin of Madelon Claudet ". Because Miss Hayes manages to vividly interpret the difficult role through her superb play: She effectively portrays the embittered and aged Madelon, who has just come out of prison and has to endure further blows of fate. At yesterday's screening, the female audience wiped the tears from their eyes and were enthusiastic about the wonderful game of the actress and her make-up. Sometimes waves of sympathy could be heard when Miss Hayes appeared on the screen. "

Awards

The film won at the Academy Awards in 1932 to

Venice Film Festival

  • Audience award for the most touching film
  • Audience award of the most popular actress - Helen Hayes

These prizes were awarded through a public vote.

Web links

Further literature on the topic

Footnotes

  1. ↑ I would have to be out of my mind to play that silly French prostitute. Why that dumb little bunny actually walked the streets so that she could buy clothes for her son? Phooey! How can you generate sympathy for such a shallow woman?
  2. ↑ It is no wonder that the production heads of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer are enthusiastic over Helen Hayes's acting in her first picture, "The Sin of Madelon Claudet." For this actress's superb portrayal in a difficult role [...] Miss Hayes succeeds in depicting Madelon's wrinkled and worn appearance on her release from jail, and the effect of her unfortunate life thereafter, in a most compelling fashion. Yesterday afternoon women in the audience wiped away tears as they whispered about the marvelous acting and make-up of the actress. Sometimes waves of murmurs were elicited by Miss Hayes's appearance.