''Counsel's Opinion'' is a 1933 British romantic comedy film starring Henry Kendall and

Binnie Barnes Gertrude Maud Barnes (25 March 1903 – 27 July 1998), known professionally as Binnie Barnes, was an English actress whose career in films spanned from 1923 to 1973. She was known for as a leading lady in films such as ''The Private Life of He ...

. It was one of three films directed in Britain in the early 1930s by Canadian-American

Allan Dwan Allan Dwan (born Joseph Aloysius Dwan; April 3, 1885 – December 28, 1981) was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter. Early life Born Joseph Aloysius Dwan in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Dwan was ...

and was an early production from

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; ; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)

London Films London Films Productions is a British film and television production company founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda and from 1936 based at Denham Film Studios in Buckinghamshire, near London. The company's productions included '' The Private Li ...

. ''Counsel's Opinion'' was based on a 1931 Gilbert Wakefield play and was remade, again by London Films, in 1938 as ''

The Divorce of Lady X ''The Divorce of Lady X'' is a 1938 British Technicolor romantic comedy film produced by London Films; it stars Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson and Binnie Barnes. It was film director, directed by Tim Whelan and produced by Alex ...

'' starring

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

and Merle Oberon.

Plot

Divorce barrister Logan arrives back in London from a trip overseas to find the whole city fogbound. Unable to reach his flat, he books into the exclusive Royal Parks Hotel, where a costume ball is taking place. Many of the partygoers are also stranded by the fog and while some are happy to bed down for the night in the hotel lounge, Leslie sweet-talks Logan into letting her stay in his suite. Although the pair are attracted to each other, the night passes innocently with Leslie in the bedroom and Logan in the sitting-room. As he leaves the suite for work the next morning, Logan barrels into a lady's maid in the corridor outside the room. On arriving at chambers, Logan is asked to act as counsel for Lord Rockburn, who is seeking a divorce from his wife. Logan accepts the brief, but then discovers to his horror that Lady Rockburn was a guest at the Royal Parks Hotel ball the previous night, and a cornerstone of the case is alleged impropriety after a maid observed a man leaving her room that morning. Convinced that Lady Rockburn can only be Leslie, Logan tries to back out from the case, until Lord Rockburn produces his chief witness the maid, who shows no sign of recognising Logan after their brief encounter in the hotel corridor. When Leslie calls to return a dressing gown Logan lent her, he invites her to dine with him that evening, still believing her to be Lady Rockburn and intending to inform her of the situation. At the restaurant he lays his cards on the table and Leslie reassures him that she reciprocates his feelings. The romantic evening comes to an abrupt end when Lord Rockburn shows up at the same restaurant accompanied by another woman, and Logan and Leslie are forced to make an unobtrusive early exit to avoid a potentially scandalous public scene. They go back to Logan's flat, where he assures Leslie that he has fallen in love with her and will if necessary sacrifice his legal career for her. Meanwhile, Lord Rockburn is informed that a private detective he has on the case has uncovered the identity of his wife's lover. He decides to visit Logan immediately to tell him the good news, and is baffled by Logan's horrified reaction when he opens the door. Logan admits him to the flat where Leslie is sitting, throwing himself on Lord Rockburn's mercy by confessing that he loves her and is prepared to face the consequences. To his astonishment, the bewildered Lord Rockburn informs him that he has never seen Leslie before in his life. Leslie then confesses that she has gone along with Logan's incorrect assumption as a means of seeing how much he would be prepared to give up for her. She tells him that she is in fact a widow, and that he has passed the test with flying colours.

Cast

* Henry Kendall as Logan *

as Leslie * Lawrence Grossmith as Lord Rockburn * Cyril Maude as Willock * Francis Lister as James Gowan *

Harry Tate Ronald Macdonald Hutchison (4 July 1872 – 14 February 1940), professionally known as Harry Tate, was an English comedian, who performed in the music halls, in variety shows, and in films. Career Born in Lambeth, the son of a Scottish tea m ...

as Taxi Driver * C. Denier Warren as Hotel Manager * Mary Charles as Stella Marston * Margaret Baird as Saunders * J. Fisher White as Judge * Stanley Lathbury as George

Reception and later history

Surviving evidence suggests that ''Counsel's Opinion'' had a generous budget and relatively high production values for a British film of the early 1930s, with careful attention being paid to elegant and expensive-looking costuming and set design, and special permission being obtained for location filming in London's

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

. Extant reviews indicate a generally favourable critical reception. '' Kine Weekly'' praised "clever dialogue, fine team work by an experienced cast, and good production qualities", while ''The Cinema'' appreciated "fluent direction...first-class team work...effective backgrounds...beautiful photography, flawless recording" and suggested the film's appeal to the more sophisticated end of the market as "attractive general entertainment, especially for better-class halls". After its original cinema run, there is no indication of the film ever having been seen again. The

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

does not hold a print in its National Archive and classes the film as "missing, believed lost". As what would appear to have been a well-received prestige production of its day, with the involvement of names such as Korda and Dwan, ''Counsel's Opinion'' is included on the BFI's " 75 Most Wanted" list of missing British feature films.

Notes

References

External links

* *
''Counsel's Opinion''
at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Counsel's Opinion 1933 films 1933 lost films 1933 romantic comedy films 1930s British films 1930s English-language films British black-and-white films British films based on plays British romantic comedy films English-language romantic comedy films Films about divorce Films directed by Allan Dwan Films produced by Alexander Korda Films set in London Films shot at Imperial Studios, Elstree London Films films Lost British comedy films Lost romantic comedy films