The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1929)
Movie | |
---|---|
Original title | The Last of Mrs. Cheyney |
Country of production | United States |
original language | English |
Publishing year | 1929 |
length | 94 minutes |
Rod | |
Director | Sidney Franklin |
script |
Hans Kraly , Claudine West |
production | Irving Thalberg for MGM |
music | William ax |
camera | Lee Garmes |
occupation | |
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The Last of Mrs. Cheyney is an American film adaptation of the 1929 play of the same name by Frederick Lonsdale starring Norma Shearer and Basil Rathbone and directed by Sidney Franklin .
action
Playboy Lord Arthur Dilling meets the mysterious Fay Cheyney, a rich widow from America, at the manorial country estate of Lord Francis Kelton. Mrs. Cheyney is a welcome guest in the highest social circles, who is able to charm everyone with her wit, charm and esprit. At the invitation of the fabulously wealthy Duchess of Ebely, Lord Arthur's aunt, Mrs. Cheyney spends the weekend with Arthur. What he doesn't know, however, is that Fay is actually a con artist who is after the Duchess's jewels. During the weekend, however, Mrs. Cheyney's plan goes completely wrong and she ends up confronted with an amorous Arthur who wants to marry her.
Things are made even more complicated by the appearance of Charles, Fay Cheyney's confidante. Finally, Arthur surprises Fay with his aunt's jewelry in hand. He blackmailed Fay with his knowledge and asked her to have a romantic night of love. Fay refuses indignantly. Instead, she goes on the offensive and confesses her secret to the other guests. At the end of the still numerous entanglements, those involved agree not to pursue the incident any further. In the meantime, Fay has also discovered that she loves Lord Arthur, not Charles. The film ends with the wedding of the two.
background
The studio filmed the material twice more. 1937 with Joan Crawford , William Powell and Robert Montgomery also as The Last of Mrs. Cheyney and in 1952 under the title The Law and the Lady with Greer Garson . Both versions were financial failures. In 1961, with Mrs. Cheneys Ende, a German-language film adaptation of the literary material was made.
Theatrical release
Production costs ended up being $ 569,000, making the film an expensive one, but that matched the prestige of Norma Shearer as the wife of the head of production. At the box office, the film was moderately successful, grossing less than the actress's previous films at $ 644,000. With relatively high foreign revenues of $ 477,000 and a cumulative total result of $ 1,121,000, the studio ended up with a comparatively meager $ 126,000 in profit.
Awards
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney received a nomination in the category at the 1930 Academy Awards (April)
- Best Screenplay (Hans Kraly)
Web links
- The Last of Mrs. Cheyney in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Synopsis and set photos
- detailed background information ( memento of October 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- complete review in the New York Times