I loved a woman

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
Original title I loved a woman
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1933
length 90 minutes
Rod
Director Alfred E. Green
script Charles Kenyon , Sidney Sutherland
production Warner Brothers
camera James Van Trees
cut Herbert Levy
occupation

I Loved a Woman is a 1933 American film starring Edward G. Robinson and Kay Francis .

action

John Hayden is an idealistic man in his youth who would like to become an artist. Circumstances force him to work as a meat dealer. He quickly rises to one of Chicago's meat barons and becomes notorious for his ruthless way of doing business. His wife Martha is an ambitious woman who wants to get into better society under all circumstances. She doesn't care about John's emotional desires and neglects her marital duties. The frustrated John meets the cabaret singer Laura McDonald. Laura takes out a loan from John to study singing in Europe. What began as an extramarital flirtation soon becomes great love for John. He wants to marry Laura, but she refuses. In the meantime, Martha becomes suspicious and lets watch John. She finds out that he not only cheats on her, but also supplies poor quality meat to the US Army. She blackmailed John and in the end he lost everything: his wealth, his position, his marriage and his great love Laura. John goes to Greece and the end of the film suggests a bright future for him.

background

The film originally went into production in June 1933 under the title Red Meat . Laura's character is drawn quite positively. She is neither an amoral seductress nor a greedy gold digger. When John accuses Laura of meeting other men, Laura confidently replies:

“You haven't lost anything because you were never the only one. I try to be honest with you. I always didn't care how many love affairs you had next to me. "

Immediately after moving from Paramount to Warner Brothers in 1932, Kay Francis had risen to become a popular actress of independent, self-confident women who fight for their love and who do not submit to standard morals. Since her debut in Man Wanted , Francis had always been announced as a star, above the title. In I Loved A Woman , the studio now intended to announce her only as a "featured player", hence under the title. Francis found it a further setback to be allowed fewer scenes than Edward G. Robinson. Even Genevieve Tobin should initially appear longer on the screen than Francis. It was only after a number of arguments that Francis finally agreed to take on the role. The shooting was accordingly not very harmonious. In addition, there was the difference in size between the two actors of almost 10 centimeters, which made it necessary to put Robinson on a box in some scenes in order to get him on eye level with Francis.

For Francis, the film actually marked the beginning of a long dry spell, during which the studio cast her mostly in roles in cheaply made routine productions that had previously been rejected by other stars like Ruth Chatterton and Barbara Stanwyck . It was not until the success of Living on Velvet that Francis regained popularity.

Theatrical release

The production cost was $ 338,000, but this was more due to the fact that Edward G. Robinson played the main role than the presence of Kay Francis. It was not very popular at the box office, grossing just $ 381,000 in the US. In addition, there was an additional $ 168,000 from abroad for a total of $ 549,000.

Web links

source

  • Scott O'Brien: Kay Francis. I Can't Wait to be Forgotten - Her Life by Film and Stage. ISBN 1-59393-036-4

Literature on the subject of pre-code films

Footnotes

  1. ↑ You've lost nothing, because you never were the only one. I'm trying to be honest with you. I never cared how many loves you had besides me.