Lilly Turner (1933)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Ruth Chatterton plays the title role, a woman who gets married but then loses her husband when it turns out he is already married to another woman. She loses her baby and then joins a traveling medicine show where she meets another man (George Brent) but her pass might catch up with her. Here's another Pre-Code from William A. Wellman but the screenplay doesn't do anyone justice. The performances are all very good with Chatterton really stealing the show as the tough as nails woman. Brent also turns in a fine performance as does Frank McHugh, Robert Barrat and Ruth Donnelly. The screenplay is full of cliché material from the wrong men falling for Lilly up to the ending, which anyone will see coming from a mile away. The bigamy plot twist might have been shocking for the day but it too is pretty watered down even for the era.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Ruth Chatterton plays the title role, a woman who gets married but then loses her husband when it turns out he is already married to another woman. She loses her baby and then joins a traveling medicine show where she meets another man (George Brent) but her pass might catch up with her. Here's another Pre-Code from William A. Wellman but the screenplay doesn't do anyone justice. The performances are all very good with Chatterton really stealing the show as the tough as nails woman. Brent also turns in a fine performance as does Frank McHugh, Robert Barrat and Ruth Donnelly. The screenplay is full of cliché material from the wrong men falling for Lilly up to the ending, which anyone will see coming from a mile away. The bigamy plot twist might have been shocking for the day but it too is pretty watered down even for the era.