Thu 2 Sep 2010
MADAME X. MGM, 1937. Gladys George, Warren William, John Beal, Reginald Owen, Henry Daniell, Phillip Reed, Jonathan Hale, George Zucco. Based on a play by Alexandre Bisson. Director: Sam Wood.
I don’t know which Lana Turner movie I was thinking of when I started to watch this one, but it obviously wasn’t Madame X (1966), which equally obviously I have never seen. What I was expecting to see was a murder mystery, but while there was a murder, and Jacqueline Fleuriot, a wayward wife played to perfection by Gladys George, is suspected of the crime, there is little or no effort onscreen to solve the crime.
POSSIBLE PLOT ALERT: Some of what follows will tell you more than I knew when I started to watch this film, and to tell you the truth, more than I personally wanted to know, so take the next few paragraphs off, if you feel the same way.
The shooting death of Mme Fleuriot’s lover by another rival is instead the first step in an nightmarish series of events in her life, leading her ever downward into poverty (pawning first her jewelry, then her clothes) and prostitution (all but assuredly, but the film of course never quite says so).
It seems that while Mme Fleuriot was having her fling — out of boredom rather than real desire — her son unexpectedly fell seriously ill, and her husband (Warren William), a highly respected and influential attorney, throws her out of his house and his life.
When the husband relents, it is too late, and his wife cannot be found. This was Gladys George’s only starring role, and I do not pretend to understand why.
She plays the world weary Mme Fleuriot perfectly — and more and more weary at each step of the way, on her downward path of self-inflicted destruction. Frowzy and embittered, and yet innately likable throughout the movie, she is no stranger to either men or the bottle – semi-adept in warding off the first but not the latter.
The final blow comes when a cheap con-man named Lerocle (Henry Daniell) comes to her rescue – a man to whom she inadvertently reveals her real identity, initialing a series of events that leads to a courtroom scene in which she is on trial for murder, an accusation for which she cannot defend herself, else it will ruin her reason for being accused in the first place.
The histrionics run high in these final scenes, all but the calm and mostly controlled performance by Gladys George, who was relegated to small and bit parts for the rest of her career, and unfairly so. Warren William also allows his character’s stony facade to crumble in the end, to good effect. If this is pure soap opera, then so be it. It’s also highly effective, and I enjoyed the movie immensely.
COMMENTS: This version of the movie is easily available on DVD. Warner Archives has, for example, released on a double bill with the 1929 version. For a clip on YouTube of the tavern scene shown above, go here.
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September 3rd, 2010 at 5:34 am
This was made before in 29 with Lionel Barrymore and Ruth Chatterton, and of course the Turner version with John Forsythe, Ricardo Montalbon, Keir Dullea, and Burgess Meredith (her pusher and fellow absynthe addict — watch out for the green genie).
The Turner version spends a good deal more time on the trial than this one, though if you are thinking of a murder mystery per se starring Lana you might be thinking of PORTRAIT IN BLACK with Anthony Quinn and Richard Basehart.
This was made again in 1971 with Tuesday Weld. Turner also did the glossy remake of IMITATION OF LIFE, but no murder in that one at all.
Some of these old weepies hold up pretty well, and this one has some nice performances. There is a bit more emphasis in the Turner version on her son, Dullea, who is defending her, finding the real killer, but still not a mystery by any means.
September 3rd, 2010 at 6:50 am
I still can vividly recall Judith Crist’s review of the Lana Turner version: “She’s not Madame X, she’s Brand X.”
She also called her performance in IMITATION OF LIFE “imitation of movie acting.”
September 3rd, 2010 at 7:05 pm
George had a fine, almost-starring part in the 1939 film “The Roaring Twenties”.
September 3rd, 2010 at 7:26 pm
David
I’m sure that PORTRAIT IN BLACK is the movie I was thinking of. I have a double feature of it on DVD combined with MADAME X, hence my confusion?
Jeff
With all due respect to Judith Crist, I think those are cheap shots. I think Lana Turner was a better actress than many critics gave her credit for.
SteveHL
Gladys George is billed fourth in THE ROARING TWENTIES, after James Cagney, Priscilla Lane and Humphrey Bogart, but if you’d asked me before you brought it up, I wouldn’t have remembered her in it.
Her career, until now, has gone all but unnoticed by me. She was in THE MALTESE FALCON, for example, where she’s listed third on IMDB (if that means anything) and I had to look it up to find that out.
— Steve
September 4th, 2010 at 1:25 am
Gladys George maybe fourth billed in THE ROARING TWENTIES, but she has the last line, and one of the most memorable in Hollywood history. Cagney has shot it out with Bogart and his gang, and stumbles, wounded and dying, out onto the street in the snow. He staggers into George who tries to help him, but by now the cops are behind them, and as he climbs the steps of a church (can’t recall if it is supposed to be St. Patrick’s or not), he falls and dies in her arms sprawled on the steps (never let it be said they were subltle about these things).
The cops arrive and one of them makes the comment that Cagney (who once ran the gangs in the city) looks familar and wonders aloud who he is. George, cradling her dead lover looks up and eyes shining says: “He used to be a big shot.”
Fade to big Warner Brothers ending.
Her career could have been bigger, but having one of the most iconic scenes in film history ain’t bad.
Re Turner as an actress, she was perfectly good in most films and a bit better in some. If you have ever seen her debut scene in THEY WON’T FORGET, you just take one look and think star.
As for Judith Crist, I appreciate all the great writing she did on film at a time when no one else was making that kind of effort, but over the years I find I’m less and less able to read her snide elitist sniping at anything that was vaguely entertaining.
I swear most film critics leave the theater thinking ‘Well, that one can’t be a great film because I was entertained.’
Lana Turner wasn’t a great actress, but she was a movie star, and frankly, I kind of miss movie stars and knowing when you went to a movie with certain ‘names’ you were likely going to get a certain kind of movie that was more often than not, exactly what you wanted it to be.
May 27th, 2013 at 11:35 pm
5-27-2013
I wish people would stop disparaging Lana Turner’s acting! She was so under-rated in her lifetime. Her portrayal of Holly in Madame X is one of the most splendid feats of acting I’ve ever seen. She was not only beautiful, she was also superb in the Madame X role, and all of her acting in the film was very believable, as if she actually lived through the character. I have watched the movie many, many times and never fail to be impressed by her. I had the privilege of seeing her in a stage play in San Antonio, TX, during the early 1980 and found her beautiful to see and very gracious to her audience. My hat is off to her. She was glamorous, beautiful, and had a wonderful voice that emoted all emotions and made every bit of dialog believable and genuine. I did like Imitation of Life and Peyton Place, but her Madame X role is superior to many. I truly wish she had received credit during her lifetime for her craft. Sincerely, NTM
May 28th, 2013 at 12:31 am
Noel
Thanks for stopping by and giving such a sterling defense of Lana Turner’s ability as an actress!
— Steve
September 1st, 2014 at 1:44 am
I love the 1966 version of Madame X. Just because Lana turner was blonde, beautiful, and a kind of a floozy did not mean she could not act. In the Holly role, this probably helped. The storyline is the same as the 1929 and 1937 versions but the script is different and better. The chapters of the the title characters life are well documented and contain much more expository dialog.And there is a tremendous build to the courtroom and tearjerking scenes at the end. BTW, does anyone see some similarities to the dynasty series and this version of Madame X?