A Lost Lady (Warner Bros.) (1934)

(Review) Barbara Stanwyck Scores Triumph as “‘A Lost Lady”’ First National’s Dramatic Romance Has Local Premicve At. i Theatre NEW Barbara Stanwyck, displaying an artistry that astonished even those whose favorite actress she has always been, portrayed ‘‘A Lost Lady,’’ at the premier of the First National dramatic romance of the same name MO ere th Sen Gee théatre yesterday. There was no trace of the drab heroine of ‘‘So Big’’ and ‘The Purchase Price.’’ The ‘‘bad’’ girl of ‘“Baby Face’’ had vanished as had the sporty girl of ‘‘Gambling Lady.’’ In their place appeared a society girl of cultural background, resplendent in the latest and most fashionable gowns. The new Miss Stanwyck was entirely satisfactory, particularly as her role gave her an unusual opportunity to display her great dramatic ability. She portrayed a girl with a highly sensitive and emotional nature, whose several misplaced loves tore her heart to shreds. Miss Stanwyck can show suppressed emotion as can -few film stars. A look, a gesture, a quietly spoken word, and the audience feels the tenseness of the situation. It was a remarkable tribute to a mighty fine actress. The picture, based on a story by Willa Cather, winner of the Pulitizer prize, combines sequences of gayety and laughter with scenes of dire tragedy. There are episodes when a woman’s heart is laid bare, torn by conflict between duty to. a husband who Joves her and her mad infatuation for an impetuous lover. There are four leading men in support of Miss Stanwyck, all her lovers, with Frank Morgan heading the list as the one who marries her on a basis of trust and friendship rather than love. Morgan, who made such a hit in ‘‘ The World Moves on,’’ ‘‘The Affairs of Cellini’’ and ‘‘Sisters Under the Skin,’’ gives a fine interpretation as the great corporation lawyer whose unselfish love for his girl wife finally triumphs over that of her more volatile lovers. Ricardo Cortez has the role of the bold and debonaire lover whose dashing, imperious lovemaking sets the feminine heart aflutter as he sweeps the object of his desire from her feet into his arms. Cortez gives a splendid portrayal as also do the other two lovers, Lyle Talbot as the unsuccessful suitor, and Phillip Reed, as the first lover in Miss Stanwyck’s life, who is slain at her feet on her wedding eve by the husband of one of the many women with whom he has been trifling. The entire cast is a talented one, all contributing their share in making this one of the most powerful and fascinating dramas of the screen. They include Hobart Cavanaugh, Henry Kolker, Rafaela Ottiano, Edward McWade, Walter Walker, Samuel Hinds and Jameson Thomas. Gene Markey and Kathryn Scola, whd~ dramatized Miss Cather’s story for the screen, succeeded in catching the spirit of the novel and presenting it in dynamie form. Alfred E. Green, First National ace director, has handled the picture with his usual fine sense of dramatic values. Those discriminating patrons of motion picture theatres who demand entertainment that appeals equally to the intelligence as to the emotions and expect to have a finely written story portrayed by capable ‘players, will delight in CcA-LostsWady ee ee Phillip Reed Gets Terrific Fall In Making ‘Lost Lady’ Phillip Reed, young leading man in Barbara Stanwyck’s eurrent First National production, “A Lost Lady,” which comes to CHO river Geeay ate Theatre on cuca, , discovered how painful realism in motion pictures can be, when he took a header and rolled the full length of the grand staircase in a big hotel set built for the production. It was no accidental fall that bruised and shook up the young actor. Reed’s sensational plunge down the stairs, before a hundred horrified guests of the hotel, is the climax of the opening sequence of “A Lost Lady,” in which Reed is shot, as he is leaving the hotel with his fiancee, played by Miss Stanwyck, by the husband of the woman who has secretly been his sweetheart. In spite of Director Alfred E. Green’s suggestion that a double be used for the fall, Reed insisted upon doing it himself. He did it so well that only one take of the scene was necessary, but the actor was black and blue in a dozen places for a week afterward. “A Lost Lady” is a most unusual romance in which a beautiful young girl is lost in the maze of her own inscrutable love emotions. It is based on Willa Cather’s novel and adapted to the screen by Gene Markey and Kathryn Scola. In the supporting cast are Frank Morgan, Ricardo Cortez, Lyle Talbot. The ShadowWaltz As interpreted by lovely Barbara Stanwyck and handsome Phillip Reed in First National’s production “A Lost Lady,” the new drama at the Strand. Ricardo Cortez, Frank Morgan and Lyle Talbot are. included in Miss Stanwyck’s powerful supporting ~ tntale.cast. * ~*~ ee Wat Nol 2-ide toe Barbara Stanwyck in “‘Lost Lady’’ At ..... Theatre Today “A Lost Lady,” the First National production with Barbara Stanwyck in the stellar role, opersnat then... Theatre LOGAY Tf Oe 8 hese ae day run. Based on the popular novel by the internationally famous, Willa Cather, the plot of which combines dynamic drama with a most unusual romance, the picture is said to give Miss Stan wyck the strongest and most colorful role of her _ picture career. The picture is filled with thrills and excitement in addition to its tense dramatic moments in which Miss Stanwyck portrays the emotions of a beautiful young girl torn between her love for a man with whom she is madly infatuated and her loyalty to her husband. Miss Stanwyck, as a wealthy society girl, is gorgeously arrayed in the very latest of fashionable costumes. The settings are unusually lavish, with the backgrounds of the costly estates of Chicago’s Gold Coast and the picturesque Canadian Rockies. There is an unusually talented supporting cast which includes four leading men, Frank Morgan, Ricardo Cortez, Lyle Talbot and Phillip Reed. Others in the east include Hobart Cavanaugh, Henry Kolker, Rafaela Ottiano, Edward McWade, Walter Walker, Samuel Hinds, Willie Fung and Jameson Thomas. Alfred E. Green directed the picture from the sereen play by Gene Markey and Kathryn Scola. Lyle Talbot Has Had Wide Variety Of Theatre Work If variety of experience broadens and matures an actor, Lyle. Talbot, who has the role of one of the four lovers of Barbara Stanwyck in the First National production, “A Lost Lady,” which comes to the Nay ee UBCAtRe ON ain... has a rich store upon which to draw in his screen portrayals. Before: coming to Hollywood, Lyle had dipped into every branch of the show business except the circus. He had been a magician, a hypnotist’s assistant, a vaudeville performer, a sideshow barker in a earnival, a stock company actor and manager. He had ‘smashed’ baggage in a railroad station, had worked in a civil engineer’s office and had taken a fling at farming, besides distinguishing himself as a candy butcher in a theatre. As one of the juniors in the law firm of which Barbara Stanwyck’s screen husband, is the head, Talbot has one of the most sympathetic roles he has been called upon to portray. Frank Morgan, Ricardo Cortez, Phillip Reed and Hobart Cavanaugh are other important members of the cast. The picture is based upon Willa Cather’s celebrated novel, which is a dynamie drama in which a beautiful society girl is lost in the maze of her own conflicting love emotions. Alfred E. Green directed the production from’ the ‘screen play by Gene Markey and Kathryn Scola. FREAK FACS... . £5007 HM Favorites RSS \ SSS ~ WSS “ A WAS A SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER BN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK. USE RICARD FOREE AS A 15 YEAR OLD WALL STREET MESSENGER SPECULATION. HE LOST IT ALL THE NExT WEEK- ONCE A RANCHER) WAS LITERALLY DRAGGED FRom THE SADDLE To THE STAGE By HIS BROTHER, RALPH / MADE $50,000 BY A LUCKY ANB QuiIT FINANCE FOR THE screen ./ These stars are appearing in “‘A Lost Lady,” First National’; dramatic picture now playing at the Strand Theatre. Mat No. 31—20c. Barbara Stanwyck Relaxes By Going Swimming In Pool A daily dip in her swimming pool is a fixed part of Barbara Stanwyck’s scheme of life. She never misses it except for the best of reasons. While working in the First National picture, “A Lost Lady,” now showin? at 2...::.. 2.2... Theatre, it was her invariable daily antidote for the strain and fatigue of a day’s work in front of the cameras. Half a dozen brisk turns up and down the pool which is a dazzling feature of her Brentwood Heights estate and all the irritation and exhaustion inevitable as a result of hours’ of concentrated dramatic effort in an exacting part are washed away from both her body and spirit. In “A Lost Lady” Miss Stanwyck has the title role, that of a beautiful girl entangled in the meshes of a strange love net. Others in the cast include Frank Morgan, Ricardo Cortez, Lyle Talbot, Phillip Reed, Hobart Cavanaugh and Henry Kolker. The picture is based on the novel by Willa Cather and adapted. to the screen by Gene Markey and Kathryn Scola. Alfred EK. Green directed. “Lost Lady” Written By Famous Author “A Lost Lady,’’ Barbara Stanwyck’s latest First National production which comes to the .......... UheatresOn =n scr ee , is regarded by many critics as the finest work from the gifted pen of Willa Cather. A Pulitzer Prize winner with an earlier story, ‘‘One of Ours,’’ Miss Cather ranks among the four or five foremost women novelists in America. ‘‘My Antonia,’’ ‘‘Death Comes For. The Arehbishop’’ and ‘‘Shadows on the Rock’’ are other works of hers. Boe Green Now Raises Racing Colts Alfred E. Green, who directed Barbara Stanwyck in her latest First National production, ‘‘A Lost Lady,’’ now showing at the rats a eee Theatre, has recently succumbed to a new hobby. On his new ranch in the San Fernando Valley not far from the First National studio, Al is oecupying his spare moments raising thoroughbred horses. A keenly discriminating lover of horseflesh for years, Al hopes eventual ly to be the proud owner of colts who will ultimately make their mark on the racetracks of the country. Cortez Connoisseur On Pipe Tobaccos Ricardo Cortez, who plays the debonaire villain in Barbara Stanwyck’s latest starring vehicle for Warner Bros., ‘‘A Lost Lady,’’ now showimg: at =the -...<...0.%... Theatre, is a connoisseur on pipe tobaccos. He has blended successful mixtures for several of his friends. Bees Hold Up Work On “A Lost Lady” Production was held up for an hour during the making of ‘‘A Lost Lady’’ at the First National studios, while the property men coaxed a small aggregation of bees that had gathered among the flowers in the garden of the set representing Barbara Stanwyck’s home in the picture, to return to their open-air haunts. The bees made so much noise, buzzing among the flower beds in front of the movie mansion, that the din was picked up by the microphone and ruined the scenes that were being made that morning. “A Lost Lady,’’ based on Willa Cather’s famous novel will be Shows atthe gree Theatre Oise ss eye Page Nineteen