''The Lady Refuses'' is a 1931 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 ...

melodrama film A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

, directed by

George Archainbaud George Archainbaud (May 7, 1890 – February 20, 1959) was a French-American film and television director. Biography In the beginning of his career he worked on stage as an actor and manager. He came to the United States in January 1914, and s ...

, from a screenplay by Wallace Smith, based on an original story by

Guy Bolton Guy Reginald Bolton (23 November 1884 – 4 September 1979) was an Anglo-American playwright and writer of musical comedies. Born in England and educated in France and the US, he trained as an architect but turned to writing. Bolton preferred w ...

and

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 ...

. It stars

Betty Compson Betty Compson (born Eleanor Luicime Compson; March 19, 1897 – April 18, 1974) was an American actress and film producer who got her start during Hollywood's silent era. She is best known for her performances in ''The Docks of New York'' and ...

as a destitute young woman on the verge of becoming a prostitute, who is hired by a wealthy man to woo his ne'er-do-well son away from the clutches of a gold-digger (

Margaret Livingston Margaret Livingston (born Marguerite Livingston; November 25, 1895 – December 13, 1984), sometimes credited as Marguerite Livingstone or Margaret Livingstone, was an American film actress and businesswoman during the silent film era. She is ...

). The plot is regarded as risqué enough to appear in at least one collection of pre-Code Hollywood films.

Plot

Sir Gerald Courtney (

Gilbert Emery Gilbert Emery Bensley Pottle (June 11, 1875 – October 28, 1945), known professionally as Gilbert Emery, was an American actor who appeared in over 80 movies from 1921 to his death in 1945. He was also a playwright, author of seven Broadway play ...

) is an aristocrat whose son, Russell (

John Darrow John Darrow (born Harry Simpson; 17 July 1907 – 24 February 1980) was an American actor of the late silent and early talking film eras. Biography Born in Leonia, New Jersey in 1907, Darrow began acting in theater with a stock company, right ...

), prefers to spend his time partying with young women rather than focusing on the promising career he has in architecture. When Russell leaves one evening to revel with the gold-digging Berthine Waller (

) rather than spending it dining with his father, Sir Gerald is a bit despondent. As he ponders what to do about his wayward son, providence takes a hand. A beautiful destitute young woman, June (

), on the verge of entering into the oldest of professions due to her desperation, is being pursued by the London police. Sir Gerald, who was at the window on the first floor watching his son leaving with Berthine Waller, observes how June leaves a taxi on the other side of the street, and is being cornered by the police. As she comes over to his house to knock, he opens the door and welcomes her as a niece he was expecting, reassuring the Policemen that she is a respectable citizen. After they leave, Sir Gerald invites her to dinner, after she tells him of her situation. He then proposes to hire June for 1000 Pounds to prevent his son from falling into the clutches of Berthine. BettyCompsonTheLadyRefuses

June does her job beautifully, as Russell leaves Berthine and begins to concentrate on his architectural career, much to his father’s delight. There’s a slight hitch, however: June has fallen in love with Sir Gerald, rather than Russell. Devastated, Russell calls Berthine to meet him at his apartment (which is upstairs in the same building where June lives). Seeing all of her work being unwound in a single evening, June lures Russell down to her apartment where she gets him so drunk that he passes out and spends the night. Berthine arrives at Russell’s apartment where she has been followed by an ex-lover, Nikolai Rabinoff (

Ivan Lebedeff Ivan Lebedeff (born Ivan Vasilyevich Lebedev ( rus, Иван Васильевич Лебедев), 18 June 1894 – 31 March 1953) was a Russian film actor, lecturer and writer. He appeared in 66 films between 1926 and 1953. In 1940, his no ...

). In a jealous rage, Nikolai kills Berthine. The following morning Russell awakes to find June gone, having vowed to not come between the son and the father. Russell is also the main suspect in Berthine's murder. Seeking shelter from his father, Russell refuses to invoke June as his alibi. In order to save him, June steps forward and admits that Russell spent the night in her apartment. Sir Gerald, thinking the worst, renounces his devotion for June, which devastates her, but confirmed what she always feared: That Sir Gerald would never rely on her. June leaves his house, but when Sir Gerald, shortly thereafter, discovers the innocence of Russell’s night spent in her apartment, he realizes his own mistake and vows to track her down and spend the rest of his life with her.

Cast

Ivan Lebedeff-Margaret Livingston in The Lady Refuses

as June *

as Russell Courtney *

as Sir Gerald Courtney *

as Berthine Waller *

as Nikolai Rabinoff *

Edgar Norton Edgar Norton (born Harry Edgar Mills; August 11, 1868 – February 6, 1953) was an English-born American character actor. Early years Norton was born in Islington in London, England, on August 11, 1868, as Harry Edgar Mills, one of eight child ...

as Sir Gerald's Butler *

Daphne Pollard Daphne Pollard (born Daphne Trott; October 19, 1891 – February 22, 1978) was an Australian-born vaudeville performer and dancer, active on stage and later in US films, mostly short comedies. Diminutive stage star Born Daphne Trott, in the in ...

as Apartment House Maid (cast list as per

AFI AFI may refer to: * ''Address-family identifier'', a 16 bit field of the Routing Information Protocol * Ashton Fletcher Irwin, an Australian drummer * AFI (band), an American rock band ** ''AFI'' (2004 album), a retrospective album by AFI rele ...

database)

Notes

In 1959, the film entered the

public domain in the United States Works are in the public domain if they are not covered by intellectual property rights (such as copyright) at all, or if the intellectual property rights to the works have expired. All works first published or released in the United States b ...

because the claimants did not renew its

copyright registration The purpose of copyright registration is to place on record a verifiable account of the date and content of the work in question, so that in the event of a legal claim, or case of infringement or plagiarism, the copyright owner can produce a cop ...

in the 28th year after publication. During production, this film was known by several titles, including ''Children of the Streets'', ''Ladies for Hire'', ''A Lady for Hire'' and ''Forgotten Women''. According to several sources at the time, the noted screenwriter,

Jane Murfin Jane Murfin (October 27, 1884 – August 10, 1955) was an American playwright and screenwriter. The author of several successful plays, she wrote some of them with actress Jane Cowl—most notably '' Smilin' Through'' (1919), which was adapted ...

was supposed to have done work in the adaptation of the Milton/Bolton story for the screen, however, no sources give her credit for any writing work on the film.

References

External links

* *
The Lady Refuses
available for free download a
Internet Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lady Refuses 1931 films 1931 romantic drama films American romantic drama films American black-and-white films Films directed by George Archainbaud RKO Pictures films Films set in London Melodrama films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films