Scarlet Pages (1930)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Ray Enright

Writers:

Samuel Shipman (play) &
John B. Hymer (play) ...

Release Date:

28 September 1930 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Fate tuned the tables on the country's greatest woman lawyer...and sent her kneeling at the feet of America's most notorious gun-girl. (original ad)

Plot:

Nora Mason becomes entangled in a family mix-up of murder and scandal that threatens to ruin her career and entire future; Unless the mother she does not know can find a way to save her. |

Plot Keywords:

Scandal | Murder | Musician | Lawyer | 1920s

Cast

Elsie Ferguson	...	Mary Bancroft
Marian Nixon	...	Nora Mason
John Halliday	...	Dist. Atty. John Remington
Grant Withers	...	Robert 'Bob' Lawrence
Daisy Belmore	...	Miss Isobel Kennedy (orphange matron)
William B. Davidson	...	Gregory Jackson (as William Davidson)
Jean Laverty	...	Carlotta Cortez (as Jean Bary)
Wilbur Mack	...	Mr. Henry Mason
Charlotte Walker	...	Mrs. Mason
Neely Edwards	...	Barnes
Helen Ferguson	...	Miss Hutchinson (Mary's secretary)
Fred Kelsey	...	James Murphy (nightclub bouncer)

Runtime:

66 min | USA:63 min (Turner library print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The play originally opened in New York on 9 Sepember 1929 and had 72 performances.

The underbelly of the Jazz Age

Considering this is an early talkie directed by journeyman Warner Brothers director Ray Enright who learned his trade at Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios mainly as a gag writer, this is not a bad little programmer. There are several intriguing camera shots from unusual angles. The story is interesting. A brilliant defense attorney on her way up takes a difficult case not to enhance her career but because she empathizes with the young chorus girl accused of killing her father. The reason for the bonding between attorney and client becomes obvious as the plot unfolds. The lady barrister is played with flair and dignity by distinguished silent screen actress Elsie Ferguson, who reprises her role from the Broadway production of the show. This apparently is Elsie Ferguson's only surviving film. The only one she made with sound. That her father was a famous lawyer helped Ferguson in adding authenticity to the role. In some ways, her performance reminds one of a certain lawyer Senator from New York, late of Arkansas, who may be the next President of the United States. There is even a throwaway line by Feguson to the effect that it's legal for women to be successful attorneys, a subtle attack on the sexism that was rampant in Hollywood and the nation at the time. Similar artificial barriers now confront that certain Senator mentioned above.

Since it is based on a play, the film moves at a snail's pace even at 66 minutes. The murder is not shown, which would have been a big plus, catching the audience's attention near the beginning of the movie. There is way too much talk which the studios encouraged to show off the new media of sound cinema believing that audiences wanted as much chatter as possible for their money.

Overall, with the exception of Ferguson the acting is weak. The pivotal role of Nora Mason is damaged by the histrionics of Marian Nixon who was also making the transition from silent to sound. She ultimately retired from films at an early age which may have been a blessing for the industry. At the time character actor Grant Withers was making a grab for the big times and does an adequate job as Bob Lawrence. The rest are blown away by Ferguson who basically has the film to herself.

The speakeasy part of the film is one of the highlights. The Jazz Age is evoked with all its glamor and tinsel. In the precode days, more leg could be shown. So the viewer gets an eye-full. The flappers are flapping as never before, the Jazz trumpets blasting out in a carefree era that was winding down as Old Man Depression snipped away at the fluff.