“A
comedy of manners and errors, The Divorce Of Lady X was filmed in
the 1930s and is a smart piece of
light-hearted screwball comedy that
should be viewed as a tantalising
period movie and an enjoyable farce...”
STARRING THE MAGNIFICENT Laurence Olivier and the delightful Merle Oberon
at her mischievous best, The Divorce Of Lady X begins in London in the
fog — at one time the capital was well-known for its 'smog',
giving it the nickname of 'The Smoke'. This 'real pea-souper'
is such that those who have attended a costume ball at The Royal Park Hotel
are forced to stay the night.
As the hotel is overflowing, the guests who have booked suites are asked to
give up one of their rooms to the ladies who need them. But Everard Logan (Laurence
Olivier), a top barrister who specialises in divorce, refuses to share his rooms
and so the fun begins.
The beautiful Leslie Steele (Merle Oberon) is determined that she shall spend
a comfortable night and having persuaded Everard to allow her to sleep on his
floor, she ends up stealing his bed, forcing him to sleep on the floor
instead!
Leslie does everything she can to perplex Everard — who erroneously believes
her to be married — and in the morning when he attends Court, she goes
along only to hear him being disparaging about women. Angry and incredulous,
she sees an opportunity to get back at him when Lord Mere (Ralph Richardson)
asks Everard to handle his divorce from Lady Mere (Binnie Barnes) whom he believes
spent the night with a man at The Park Hotel after the Costume Ball.
Leslie had refused to give Everard her name and he dubbed her 'Lady X', and
he mistakenly assumes that the woman he has now fallen in love with is Lord
Mere's errant wife — a mistake that leads to some hilarious antics, especially
when Leslie ropes in Lady Mere herself.
But will Leslie's ruse backfire on her? And will Leslie be able to persuade
Everard that her deception was nothing more than a harmless jape? The Divorce
Of Lady X is a funny, deliciously moral tale of the times. The excellent
lead actors play light-heartedly and the dialogue comes fast and easy. Merle
Oberon, Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson excel in this late-Thirties Technicolour
feature adapted by Lajos Biro from the stage play title Counsel's Opinion.
The Divorce Of Lady X also features: Morton Selton as Lord Steele; J
H Roberts as Slade; Gertrude Musgrove as Saunders; Gus McNaughton as The Waiter;
H B Hall as Jefferies and Eileen Peal as Mrs Johnson. Adaptation by Lajos Bird;
Scenario and Dialogue by Ian Dalrymple and Arthur Wimperis; Directed by Tim
Whelan; Based on the story Counsel's Opinion by Gilbert Wakefield; Originally
Presented By Arrangement with Leslie Henson and Firth Shepherd; special Effects
Directed by Ned Mann; Costume Designer is Rene Hubert; Musical Director is Muir
Matheson and Musical Score is by Miklos Rozsa. The film was made at the London
Film Production Studios at Denham, England.
• Network Releasing is delighted to announce
the DVD release of the light-hearted comedy, The Divorce of Lady X. Available
from all good retailers on 5 April (2010). Certificate: U | Available from Network
Releasing | RRP: £12.99 | Total Running Time: 88 Minutes | Catalogue number:
7953138.
"The Divorce Of Lady X is a funny, deliciously moral tale of the times"
— Maggie Woods, MotorBar
“A
comedy of manners and errors,