Review of Lilly Turner

Before Bette Davis made it big at Warner Bros., they had RUTH CHATTERTON suffering as the wronged heroine in melodramas that were supposed to bring fans of the actress to the theaters to watch the actress suffer for her sins. They also had KAY FRANCIS sharing the same sort of vehicles.

This one is a mess. As The N.Y. Times pointed out: "A drab, uninspired story," that has Chatterton, a lady with a past, falling for strongman GEORGE BRENT, who works in a medicine carnival with her and her husband, FRANK McHUGH. The plot has so many elements that it could have been made into a much longer film, but all of it has been squeezed into little more than an hour. She also has an ex-husband (ROBERT BARRAT) in the local insane asylum who went to pieces after their break-up. His escape from the asylum causes further plot complications, especially since he's intent on tossing her current husband (McHugh) out the window during a violent confrontation.

It's incredibly melodramatic but sluggishly directed despite all the sub-plots, with the over-aged Chatterton making the central character about as unbelievable as the plot contrivances.

Definitely a film you can afford to miss.