''Charming Sinners'' is a 1929 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Robert Milton Robert A. Milton (born July 30, 1960) is the chairman of the board of directors of United Airlines Holdings, which is the parent company of United Airlines. He also serves as the lead independent director of Air Lease Corporation. He was the chairm ...

and

Dorothy Arzner Dorothy Emma Arzner (January 3, 1897 – October 1, 1979) was an American film director whose career in Feature films, Hollywood spanned from the silent era of the 1920s into the early 1940s. With the exception of longtime silent film director Lo ...

(who was uncredited), with a screenplay by

Doris Anderson Doris Hilda Anderson, (November 10, 1921 – March 2, 2007) was a Canadian author, journalist and women's rights activist. She is best known as the editor of the women's magazine ''Chatelaine'', mixing traditional content (recipes, décor) w ...

adapted from the 1926 play ''

The Constant Wife ''The Constant Wife'', a play written in 1926 by W. Somerset Maugham, is a comedy whose modern and amusing take on marriage and infidelity gives a quick-witted, alternative view on how to deal with an extramarital affair. A “sparkling comedy o ...

'' written by

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

. The film stars

Ruth Chatterton Ruth Chatterton (December 24, 1892 – November 24, 1961) was an American stage, film, and television actress, aviator and novelist. She was at her most popular in the early to mid-1930s, and in the same era gained prominence as an aviator, ...

Clive Brook Clifford Hardman "Clive" Brook (1 June 1887 – 17 November 1974) was an English film actor. After making his first screen appearance in 1920, Brook emerged as a leading British actor in the early 1920s. After moving to the United States ...

Mary Nolan Mary Nolan (born Mariam Imogene Robertson; December 18, 1902 – October 31, 1948) was an American stage and film actress, singer and dancer. She began her career as a Ziegfeld girl in the 1920s performing under the stage name Imogene "Bubbles ...

William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the ''The Thin Man (film), Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Cha ...

Laura Hope Crews Laura Hope Crews (December 12, 1879 – November 12, 1942) was an American actress who is best remembered today for her later work as a character actress in motion pictures of the 1930s. Her best-known film role was Aunt Pittypat in ''Gone ...

and

Florence Eldridge Florence Eldridge (born Florence McKechnie, September 5, 1901 – August 1, 1988) was an American actress. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play in 1957 for her performance in '' Long Day's Journey into Night''. Ea ...

. The film was released on August 17, 1929, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. It has been described as a "splendid example of the early talkie period" with use of static camera and dialogue-heavy scenes.Bryant p.61

Plot

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, aware of her husband's longstanding affair and feeling neglected, Kathryn Miles flirts with a former flame in a plot to teach her husband a lesson without endangering their marriage.

Cast

as Kathryn Miles *

as Robert Miles *

as Anne-Marie Whitley *

as Karl Kraley *

as Mrs. Carr *

as Helen Carr *

Montagu Love Montagu Love (15 March 1877 – 17 May 1943) was an English screen, stage and vaudeville actor. Early years Born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, Love was the son of Harry Love and Fanny Louisa Love, née Poad; his father was listed as accountant ...

as George Whitley *

Juliette Crosby Juliette Crosby (September 14, 1895 – May 1, 1969) was an American actress and debutante. She is perhaps best remembered for originating the role of Velma Kelly in ''Chicago'' in 1926. Early life Crosby was born in Washington, D.C., the da ...

as Margaret *Lorraine MacLean as Alice *

Claud Allister Claud Allister (born William Claud Michael Palmer, 3 October 1888 – 26 July 1970) was an English actor with an extensive film career in both Britain and Hollywood, where he appeared in more than 70 films between 1929 and 1955. Life and ...

as Gregson

References

Bibliography

* Bryant, Roger. ''William Powell: The Life and Films''. McFarland, 2014. * Mayne, Judith. ''Directed by Dorothy Arzner''. Indiana University Press, 1995

External links

* 1929 films American comedy films 1929 comedy films Paramount Pictures films American black-and-white films Films directed by Dorothy Arzner Films set in London American films based on plays Films based on works by W. Somerset Maugham 1929 drama films Films scored by Karl Hajos 1920s English-language films 1920s American films {{1920s-drama-film-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

References

Bibliography

External links