The Lady in Question

Movie
Original title	The Lady in Question
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Publishing year	1940
length	80 minutes
Rod
Director	Charles Vidor
script	Marcel Achard , ; Lewis Meltzer
production	BB Kahane
music	Lucien Moraweck
camera	Lucien N. Andriot
cut	Al Clark
occupation
	Brian Aherne : André Morestan; Rita Hayworth : Natalie Roguin; Glenn Ford : Pierre Morestan; Irene Rich : Michele Morestan; George Coulouris : Defense Counsel; Lloyd Corrigan : Prosecutor; Evelyn Keyes : Françoise Morestan; Edward Norris : Robert LaCoste; Curt Bois : Henri Lurette; Frank Reicher : President; Sumner Getchell : fat boy; Nicholas Bela : Nicholas Farkas;

The Lady in Question is an American drama film starring Brian Aherne , Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford from 1940.

action

André Morestan, the good-natured owner of a small bicycle shop in Paris , is appointed to the jury in a murder case. Natalie Roguin is charged with killing her lover. In court, she desperately protests her innocence. Deeply moved by her speech, Morestan stands up for her within the jury. But although she is acquitted, she is confronted with prejudice against her person everywhere. Since she doesn't want to hire anyone else, Morestan offers her his help. She is allowed to work in his shop and finds accommodation in his house. In front of his family, he passes her off as the daughter of a former classmate. However, his son Pierre recognizes the pretty Natalie he had seen in the courtroom. Believing that she and his father are having an affair, he treats her unflatteringly. However, after Natalie has managed to dispel Pierre's doubts about her intentions with her gentle and loving manner, they feel more and more drawn to each other.

Meanwhile, Robert LaCoste, the fiancé of Pierre's sister Françoise, also discovers Natalie's true identity. Under threat of revealing her secret, he tries to make the sensitive girl submissive. To escape the delicate situation and avoid further trouble, Natalie decides to leave the Morestans. However, Pierre does not want to lose her and therefore does everything in his power to change her mind. When he realizes that he cannot persuade her to stay, he suggests that they run away together. To do this, he steals money from his father's cash register. But before they can leave the shop, they are discovered by Morestan. This gives Natalie the sole blame for her foolish plan. He also now doubts his own judgment and concludes that Natalie could well have committed the murder. He is determined to bring her case back to court and see that she receives an appropriate sentence. However, when he wants to submit his new findings to the judge, the judge reports that new evidence was found that clearly exonerates Natalie. Ashamed of his mistake, Morestan apologizes to Natalie and welcomes her as the future daughter-in-law to his family.

background

The Lady in Question , also known as It Happened in Paris , was the Hollywood remake of the French film The Fifth Juror ( Gribouille , 1937), starring Michèle Morgan in the role of Natalie Roguin. The project was initiated by director Charles Vidor after seeing the French original and was so excited about it that he persuaded Harry Cohn , boss of Columbia Pictures , to secure the rights to a remake for him. Then the British actor Brian Aherne asked specifically for the role of André Morestan. It would become his favorite role in his career. Years later, he told the American newspaper Saturday Evening Post : “After I had my bourgeois father on it, lived his nature and worked him out on the tortuous path of the plot, the role turned out to be the most delightful that ever crossed my path Has."

The Lady in Question was also to be the first of a total of five films by Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford. This was followed by the film noir Gilda (1946), the Carmen adaptation, Love Nights in Seville (1948), Affair in Trinidad (1952) and Goldfalle (1965).

Reviews

At the time, the critics were consistently praising the film and the actors' performance. Edward Greif of Motion Picture Daily described The Lady in Question as "a domestic comedy of rare charm" that could boast "actors of exceptional understanding". The film is characterized by "an excellent portrayal of the casual habits of normal people".

According to Showman's Trade Review , Brian Aherne and Rita Hayworth had "excellent performances". Aherne was "never seen more advantageous", while the "lovely" Rita Hayworth "proves once again that she is a talented actress". Photoplay stated that “in this beautifully staged film” “not much seems to happen”, but “the excellent performances of the cast and the purely bourgeois background” would make the film “worth seeing”.

Bosley Crowther of the New York Times found that the viewer would be rewarded with a film "full of pleasantly familiar fare", "which is sometimes funny, just plain funny and also somewhat dramatic, but always cheerful". Director Charles Vidor managed to "keep his characters in believable situations and to give the whole thing a pleasant atmosphere of home and hearth". Brian Aherne contributed "as a raging, but kind-hearted owner of a Paris bicycle shop, one of his best character drawings". In the title role, Rita Hayworth reveals "a winning personality and talent that will soon make her recognized as one of Hollywood's more capable young actresses." Overall, The Lady in Question is "an unusually good, if not a great film".

Web links

The Lady in Question in the Internet Movie Database (English)
The Lady in Question at Turner Classic Movies (English)

Individual evidence

↑ cf. Jay S. Steinberg on tcm.com
↑ "After I got into the swing of creating that bourgeois father, living his nature and working it out through the tortuous path of the story, it proved more stimulating than any other role that ever came my way." Brian Aherne in Saturday Evening Post quoted. after Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 113.
↑ “A domestic comedy of rare charm and graced with performances of unusual understanding. [...] the film is distinguished by a fine portrait of casual habits of ordinary people. " Edward Greif quoted in Motion Picture Daily . after Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 113.
^ "Distinguished performances are turned in by Brian Aherne and Rita Hayworth. Aherne has never been seen to better advantage while the lovely Miss Hayworth again proves she is a talented actress. " Showman's Trade Review cited. after Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 113.
↑ "Although nothing much seems to happen in this beautifully directed picture, the fine performances of its cast and its purely middle-class background make it well worth your while." Photoplay quot. after Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 113.
↑ “You will be rewarded with an hour and twenty minutes of delectable domestic fare that is by turn droll, down-right funny and slightly dramatic, but always irresistibly humorous. Charles Vidor, the director, has managed to keep his characters in situations that are plausible and has imparted to the whole the infectious atmosphere of home and hearth. […] Brian Aherne contributes one of his finest characterizations as the blustering, good-natured owner of a Parisian bicycle shop […]. As the lady in question Rita Hayworth reveals a winsome personality and a talent which should soon bring her recognition as one of Hollywood's more capable younger players. [...] All in all, The Lady in Question is an uncommonly good, if not a great, photoplay. " Bosley Crowther : The Lady in Question (1940) . In: The New York Times , December 10, 1940.

[1] . Jay S. Steinberg on tcm.com

[2] "After I got into the swing of creating that bourgeois father, living his nature and working it out through the tortuous path of the story, it proved more stimulating than any other role that ever came my way." Brian Aherne in Saturday Evening Post quoted. after Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 113.

[3] “A domestic comedy of rare charm and graced with performances of unusual understanding. [...] the film is distinguished by a fine portrait of casual habits of ordinary people. " Edward Greif quoted in Motion Picture Daily . after Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 113.

[4] "Distinguished performances are turned in by Brian Aherne and Rita Hayworth. Aherne has never been seen to better advantage while the lovely Miss Hayworth again proves she is a talented actress. " Showman's Trade Review cited. after Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 113.

[5] "Although nothing much seems to happen in this beautifully directed picture, the fine performances of its cast and its purely middle-class background make it well worth your while." Photoplay quot. after Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 113.

[6] “You will be rewarded with an hour and twenty minutes of delectable domestic fare that is by turn droll, down-right funny and slightly dramatic, but always irresistibly humorous. Charles Vidor, the director, has managed to keep his characters in situations that are plausible and has imparted to the whole the infectious atmosphere of home and hearth. […] Brian Aherne contributes one of his finest characterizations as the blustering, good-natured owner of a Parisian bicycle shop […]. As the lady in question Rita Hayworth reveals a winsome personality and a talent which should soon bring her recognition as one of Hollywood's more capable younger players. [...] All in all, The Lady in Question is an uncommonly good, if not a great, photoplay. " Bosley Crowther : The Lady in Question (1940) . In: The New York Times , December 10, 1940.