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Plot:
- by Zoë Shaw
Glenda and Jeffrey's romance, is
threatened by the return of Leo (Glenda's Ex). Glenda kills Leo, after he
threatens to murder Jeffrey. Glenda, Jeffrey and some friends go on a
cruise, where Leo's partner (Stephen) tries to get Glenda to confess to the
murder. She doesn't.
Review:
- Debbie Dunlap
A very young Cary Grant has one of his first starring roles
in 'Woman Accused.' Of some interest to the Warbrides might be that this was written by 10
writers, one segment at a time. Like our fan-fiction!
Jeffrey (CG) and Glenda (Nancy Carroll) play two lovers
about to embark on a three- day cruise to nowhere. Their plan is to be married on board by
the ship's captain. As Glenda is packing to leave, she receives a threatening phone call
from her obsessed, former lover who has taken residence just two floors above her
apartment. Glenda sneaks upstairs to confront Leo and tell him that it's over. Leo, a
high-powered attorney calls a hit-man to have Jeffrey eliminated. Glenda knocks Leo over
the head before he can give the hit man a name. Leo is dead.
Glenda sneaks back into her apartment, goes off on the
cruise with Jeffrey and pretends that all is swell. Leo's partner, Stephen Bessemer,
suspects Glenda and follows her to the ship. Bessemer stages a mock trial aboard the ship
and cleverly draws a confession from Glenda. Jeffrey, also an attorney, represents Glenda
when she is arrested upon arriving on shore. A skeptical district attorney, and the fact
that Jeffrey horsewhips the star witness (the hit-man), combine to get Glenda completely
off the hook.
Some interesting bits: 1) The snuggle scene in
Jeffrey's cabin. Mmmm. Wouldn't I have loved to be the one in Cary's lap suggesting the
naughty things that Glenda was suggesting! 2) In the pool, Cary was floating on an Asta
dog floatie! 3) Cary horse- whipping the hit-man was really a shocker. If the opening
scene of 'The Philadelphia Story' bothered you, stay away from 'Woman Accused'!
VARIETY
Film Review - March 14, 1933
- by "Char"
- submitted by Barry Martin
It took 10 pretty well-known
authors to turn out this story for 'Liberty' and Bayard Veiller, vet
playwright-scenarist, to put it in screen form. Result as
reflected by the picture may convince producers and exhibitors that
new writing talent should be encouraged.
Undoubtedly Paramount
brought rights to the 10-author story rather because of the
exploitation possibilities than the worth of the script for
filming. While of some sales value, depending on how
theatres smoke it up, it's doubtful. 'Woman Accused'
looks better for 'B' than 'A' dating.
Nancy Carroll, Cary
Grant and John Halliday, co-featured, are not singly or together
anything more than of spring warmth as box office. Here Miss
Carroll and Grant carry out a questionable love romance under the
tension of melodramatics that hearken back to a forgotten day.
The murder comes early when Miss Carroll kills the man who's
threatening to have her boy friend loaded with lead if she doesn't
return his embraces. From there on story concerns itself with
the efforts of the slain man's friend to pin the guilt on the girl
by following her on a boat excursion. It is the methods rather
than the purpose which bring in welcome laughs in these
sequences. Most absurd is the mock trial suggested as a means
of embarrassing the girl into possible hysteria and a
confession. It's all very theatrical and banal.
Final reel, after
confession has surreptitiously been obtained, deals with the boy
friend's thrashing of a gangster witness whose retractions clear the
girl.
NEW
YORK TIMES Film Review - March
11, 1933
- by Mordaunt
Hall
- submitted by Barry Martin
Ten well-known authors, among them
being Irvin S. Cobb, Vicki Baum, Rupert Hughes, Gertrude Atherton
and Zane Grey, are credited with the story of "The Woman
Accused," the screen script of which was written by Bayard
Veiller. Notwithstanding the array of literary talent, the pictorial
result is rather disappointing, even though the players do their
utmost to lend credibility to the implausible incidents.
Paul Sloane directed this film, which
is now at the Paramount. It looks as though he had slipped up now
and again in the handling of some of the episodes. Nancy Carroll
impersonates Glenda O'Brien, an attractive but somewhat
reprehensible young woman who kills a former lover named Leo Young.
She strikes him with a bronze ornament, but the force of the blow
hardly seems sufficient to render Young unconscious, let alone cause
his death. Evidently this must have occurred to Mr. Sloane, for when
the surgeon examines the victim, what he says gives one the
impression that Young had a skull the thickness of an eggshell.
Prior to the struggle which ends in
Young's death, Glenda endeavors to persuade him not to interfere
with her, as she is in love with one Jeffrey Baxter. She is in
Young's penthouse, on a building in which she has an apartment. He
locks the door and maliciously shows her the key. When Glenda
decides to escape by the fire-escape, Young tells her that she may
fall. He tempts her to return by throwing the key on a table, but as
everybody suspects, he picks it up as soon as she re-enters the
room. Glenda might easily have risked climbing down the fire-escape
again, but this idea does not again occur to her. Then Young calls
up a gunman referred to as Maxie, who has no qualms about snuffing
out a life for a pal, and asks him to attend to "rubbing
out" Baxter.
John Halliday portrays Stephen
Bessemer, who is convinced that Glenda is responsible for Young's
death. By that time Glenda is on a ship which has just started on a
three-day cruise. Bessemer, being a resourceful individual,
commandeers a police patrol boat, catches up with the big vessel and
climbs aboard.
With good luck at a mock trial, he
succeeds, by playing upon Glenda's nervous condition, in eliciting a
confession from her. These scenes are more amusing than exciting,
but later, when Glenda, Baxter and Bessemer return to New York,
Maxie virtually holds Glenda's fate in his hands. Baxter, however,
after listening to the gangster's damaging testimony undertakes to
make Maxie tell the truth by thrashing him with a blacksnake whip.
It is, of course, impossible to say
which episodes were penned by the different writers. It is one
continuous narrative and rather a shallow one, especially
considering all the brains employed in its telling. The stagins is
quite pleasing and the photography and vocal recording are
excellent.
Miss Carroll acts commendably. Mr.
Halliday also gives a praise-worthy performance. Louis Calhern makes
the most of his opportunities in the thankless role of Young. Jack
LaRue is quite convincing as Maxie. Irving Pichel is dignified as
the District Attorney and Cary Grant is ingratiating as Jeffrey
Baxter.
CHICAGO
DAILY TRIBUNE Film Review - February 18, 1933
- by Mae Tinée
- submitted by Renee Klish
Nancy Carroll is on
Top of the Heap Again
Good Morning!
It's always an immense satisfaction
to gaze upon a human being who "comes back." So - get a
good, round eyeful of Miss Nancy Carroll, who scored high for a
time, hit the skids and whizzed into brief oblivion and is NOW atop
the pile waving a flag!
She did a magnificent piece of work
recently in "Child of Manhattan." In "Woman
Accused" she gives a repeat performance. Here is a fine
emotional actress as well as a little beauty. May the gods
continue kindly in the matter of handling her proper vehicles!
"Woman Accused" is adapted
from a magazine serial. The script was authorized by ten
writers, including Rupert Hughes, Vicki Baum, Zane Grey, Vina
Delmar, Irvin S. Cobb, and Gertrude Atherton. It is a
many-faceted melodrama full of suspense and alive with "love
interest." It boasts a fine cast - with Cary Grant
playing the male lead in a manner to start feminine pulses bounding,
Louis Calhern villaining as Louis Calhern can, John Halliday
cleverly depicting the latter's brainy lawyer friend, and Jack La
Rue giving a most colorful and convincing picture of a gangster rat.
The action is speedy.
Situations are surprising. Dialogue is crisply potent.
There's a lavish, showy glamourousness about the whole thing that
will cause the film to appeal to sensation lovers of all classes.
Note: [you won't be able to HELP
noting!] the scene in which Little Maxie gets his at the hands of
the 'andsome 'ero, Mister Jeffrey Baxter. There, my hearties,
is a bit that even old arena-blase Nero would have licked his chops
over!
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