A lady with a past
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | A lady with a past Alternative title: The gallant Duchess |
| Original title | Kitty |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1945 |
| length | 103 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Mitchell Leisen |
| script |
Karl Tunberg Darrell Ware |
| production | Mitchell Leisen |
| music | Victor Young |
| camera | Daniel L. Fapp |
| cut | Alma Macrorie |
| occupation | |
| |
A lady with a past (original title: Kitty ; alternative title: The gallant duchess ) is an American historical drama filmed in black and white by director Mitchell Leisen from 1945 . Paulette Goddard took on the leading role . The film is based on the 1943 novel Kitty by Rosamond Marshall .
action
The film is set in England in the 18th century : The former street kid Kitty is a maid from the slums and meets the painter Gainsborough know when they tried to steal his shoes. He offers her money - more than she could get by stealing - in order to be able to make a portrait of her. The noble , but over-indebted Sir Hugh Marcy meets Kitty when she is standing for Gainsborough's position in his studio and offers her a livelihood as a domestic servant. After the completion of the picture with the title “Anonymous Lady”, it gained public attention, the audience puzzled over the identity of the depicted. The Duke of Malmunster then buys the "Anonymous Lady" and The Blue Boy from Gainsborough and is lied to that Kitty is a noble lady . For introducing Kitty to the Duke, Sir Marcy could get his previous post with the Duke back. Sir Marcy, together with his aunt, teaches Kitty manners that correspond to the lie about her social status. Sir Marcy is imprisoned for his debts and Kitty, now in love with him, marries a wealthy third party, the industrialist Jonathan Selby, in order to buy Sir Marcy out with her dowry . After his release, he goes into debt again; Kitty tries to steal money from her husband to help him and is caught by him. Jonathan Selby begins to violate her and is killed by Kitty's housekeeper. Despite his legacy that makes Kitty rich, she has to marry the Duke of Malmunster for Sir Marcy to get his job back. Kitty gives birth to a son, old Duke dies. Kitty is again heiress and confesses to Sir Marcy her real love, out of which she twice foreign-married. Regarding their relationships as business, she ultimately remarries, this time to the Earl of Carstairs, Brett, and breaks Sir Marcy's heart. He can't convince Kitty to give up the marriage because of her feelings and after he finally asks the boss of the old thief gang Kittys to talk to Kitty, he congratulates Kitty and turns away. Kitty realizes her continued love for Sir Hugh Marcy and goes after him.
background
production
The film was produced in black and white by Paramount Pictures .
Director Leisen worked very hard with the film set and costume designers to get a very good picture of England in the 18th century. Californian portrait artist Theodore Lukits served as technical advisor for the artistic scenes and drew the portrait of Kitty that can be seen in the film. Lukits already knew the actor Ray Milland because he drew a portrait of his wife in 1942.
Theatrical release
The film had its world premiere on October 16, 1945. On July 4, 1949 it ran in West German cinemas.
- United States : March 31, 1946 ( Kitty )
- Sweden : October 14, 1946 ( Kitty )
- Finland : December 6, 1946 ( Kadun herttuatar )
- Portugal : April 5, 1947 ( Kitty )
- France : May 13, 1947 ( Kitty ou la duchesse des bas-fonds )
- Argentina : July 25, 1947 ( Kitty, la bribona )
- Netherlands : November 14, 1947
- Denmark : November 29, 1948 ( Kitty )
- Austria : June 3, 1949 ( The Gallant Duchess )
- West Germany : July 4th, 1949 ( A Lady with a Past )
Soundtrack
In the film, which is Tambourine by Jean-Philippe Rameau heard.
Awards
| source | rating |
|---|---|
| IMDb |
 
|
At the Academy Awards in 1947 , Hans Dreier , Walter H. Tyler , Sam Comer and Ray Moyer were nominated for the Best Production Design category.
Web links
- A lady with a past in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b A Lady with a Past Feature film (1945). German synchronous index , accessed on January 6, 2016 .
- ↑ A LADY WITH A PAST. Cinema, accessed January 6, 2016 .
- ↑ Rosamond Marshall: Kitty . Ed .: Sloan & Pearce. Duell, New York 1943, ISBN 0-87529-516-9 (Original title: Kitty .).
- ↑ Release Info. IMDb , accessed January 6, 2016 .
- ↑ Kitty A Lady with a Past (1945). Movie break, accessed January 6, 2016 .
- ↑ Soundtracks. IMDb , accessed January 6, 2016 .
- ↑ A Lady with a Past (1945). IMDb , accessed January 6, 2016 .
- ↑ Awards. IMDb , accessed January 6, 2016 .
- ↑ Kitty (1945). New York Times , accessed January 6, 2016 .