The Law and the Lady

The Law and the Lady

The Law and the Lady

source: The Law and the Lady

MGM made its third sound version of The Last Of Mrs. Cheyney now entitled The Law And The Lady and the very British Greer Garson starred in the the last of the last. Retitiled The Law And The Lady her co- stars are the equally British Michael Wilding and the very Argentine Fernando Lamas. I was always amazed how many properties MGM found for both Lamas and Ricardo Montalban during their time at the studio that were not necessarily Hispanic per se. Unlike the other two versions The Law And The Lady give the origin of the partnership of the two society crooks. Greer is a maid accused of stealing Phyllis Stanley's earrings, but her scapegrace of a brother-in-law Michael Wilding saves her from Scotland Yard. Wilding is a twin brother younger by five minutes. The two team up and go into the fleecing and thieving business. Which brings them to Marjorie Main in San Francisco where they board and attempt to fleece. But Marjorie's also hosting Fernando Lamas whose got a distant connection to Spanish royalty. So it's a choice between Wilding, Lamas, the con artist life, or jail if Inspector Rhys Williams of Scotland Yard ever catches up with them. Maybe some of more than one choice. This English comedy of manners is a great example of how MGM fit Lamas into non-Hispanic subjects with a bit of rewriting. Wilding and Garson do their lines well, I can't imagine original author Frederic Lonsdale having any objections or even someone like Oscar Wilde if he ever heard it. This version holds up well compared to the other two, perhaps we'll see more remakes yet.

In turn of the century London, Nigel Duxbury (Michael Wilding) steals a pair of earrings from his sister-in-law Lady Sybil Minden who immediately accuses her maid Jane Hoskins (Greer Garson). Nigel casually returns the earrings and Jane demands an apology. She quits and aspires to be a Lady herself. Nigel is completely taken with her. The two of them start coning the upper class. Eventually, she falls for Juan Dinas (Fernando Lamas) and abandons her partnership with Nigel. I really like the start and the initial chemistry of the thieving duo. It should turn into a caper where they steal from some snotty rich folks. It would help if the high society people are actually evil. The con jobs are not that fun and the couple chemistry stagnates. I don't like the Juan detour and the return trip ending is oddly upbeat. It's a small loss after a promising start.

There are several types of films that I generally don't like, and stories about con men (and women) is one type of film I generally avoid. But, I also have always liked Greer Garson, so this time I made an exception...and I'm glad I did. The film doesn't start out strongly, but as it proceeds it builds to...well...the conclusion was actually a bit of a let down. Part of the problem is that this film can't quite decide if it's a comedy or a drama. Either way could have worked, and this does work, but I would rather that it would have been one or the other. Particularly at the end, when it seems to lean heavily toward comedy. The cast here comes together nicely. Garson is pretty good as a con woman with a conscience. Michael Wilding is excellent as the male half of the con team. Fernando Lamas adds flair to the film, as well as some sentimentality. And this has to be one of Marjorie Main's best roles as a rich woman with little class. Certainly not one of Garson's better films, but it is entertaining...at least after the introductory scenes, which I felt didn't really work well.

Greer Garson is a maid to Phyllis Stanley. When jewelry goes missing, Miss Stanley accuses Miss Garson. It turns out her scapegrace brother-in-law, Michael Wilding took them. Miss Garson is released with a character and two hundred pounds. She and Wilding go into partnership fleecing wealthy men from Monte Carlo to Hong Kong in a perfectly respectable way. Finally, having been asked to leave everyplace else, they land in San Francisco. While Miss Garson masquerades as member of the peerage, Wilding pretends to be a butler, and they wind up in Marjorie Main's menage. MGM's third version of THE LAST OF MRS CHENEY suffers from excessive length and the Production Code, which insists that all lawbreakers must be punished. Miss Garson is, as always, very charming. Among her suitors, Fernando Lamas is quite dashing, and Hayden Rorke is a drip. Miss Main steals everything in sight. I was occasionally annoyed by William Gulick & James E. Newcom 's editing. Not only does Carmen Dragon's score tend to mickey-mouse the action, but so does the pace of the cutting!

Guess the butler got left out of the title, but he was so spot-on with his many graces and polish. That cape in the early segment was quite dashing, along with the top hat and stick. Did not like Ms. Garson's dark hair in this or in "Mrs. Parkington." It just doesn't suit her, but she is still quite lovely. Her voice alone is ample attraction. "When Thieves Fall Out" would be a good title, maybe adding, "… And Make Up." Lots of irony there at the rancho, with everyone's righteous indignation fizzling out when their dirty linen got a genteel airing. Then, just when everything was all smiles again, along comes the extradition agent, all over a measly hundred pounds. What a bore. Oh well, maybe time off for good behavior will come sooner than expected, what with all the repository of charm brought to bear from the respective parties. Then, tally ho, off to the country house, manor house, town house and/or shooting box. This is so changed around, one needn't compare with previous editions. Certainly an interesting group of scenarios. Fun picture.

"I am going to become a lady, which requires no character", well-spoken upstairs maid Greer Garson tells her female employer who has falsely accused her of stealing her earings. Garson teams up with her employer's brother-in-law (Michael Wilding) after telling him he looks like a gentleman while acting like the Artful Dodger. From there, Garson, who doesn't need the Pygmallion transformation like Eliza Doolittle, becomes a lady with Wilding's assistance. Even more than Audrey Hepburn in "My Fair Lady", there is no doubt from the beginning that Garson is already a lady, even in her servant clothes. She somewhat resembles a young Rosalind Russell more than she does her classic role of Mrs. Miniver in her short-dark wig. Garson then disguises herself as European royalty on holiday in Europe. After being kicked out of Monte Carlo when their con game is discovered, Garson and Wilding head to several elaborate destinations where the same thing happens. They end up in San Francisco where their aristocratic ways fool the local wealth, lead by well-dressed but rough and tough Marjorie Main, playing a role similar to the one played by Jessie Ralph in "San Francisco". With such high-society folks as "I Dream of Jeanie's" Hayden Rourke and "Gilligan's Island" Natalie Schaefer in Main's circle, Garson's presence is soon considered to be the social event of the year. This leads to a comedy of manners with Garson fooling the general population, although she definitely seems too gentile for the role. As Garson gains Main's trust, she plans to steal her jewels, but doesn't count on falling in love with a handsome Latin Lothario (Fernando Lamas). And with Wilding breathing down Garson's neck (while posing as Main's butler), Garson is in great danger of being exposed. This is light comedy at MGM's most sophisticated, perhaps not as polished as the two previous versions ("The Last of Mrs. Cheyney", 1929 with Norma Shearer, 1937 with Joan Crawford), but still fast moving and entertaining. The conclusion, however, is totally preposterous and seems entirely forced.

This poor knock-off, starring a past-her-prime Greer Garson looks like what it is: a conflation of all the MGM contract players squeezed into roles they weren't necessarily congruent with. Garson, unfortunately, for the time, was not well accepted in coquettish female roles because of her age. Her heyday came and went with the stirring Mrs. Miniver when she was head of a family. Now, she needed a family to mother and MGM has thrown her out to be a jewel thief. MGM, in fact, did her much injustice during the 1950s as they miscast her over and over again in search for that second Mrs. Miniver, which was never to come. Other actors, like Myrna Loy, got out of their contracts with the studio and negotiated independently for roles. Loy smartly chose motherly roles as she grew older and did not try to hold on to her youth: "The Best Years of Our Lives", "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House", the sixth and final "Thin Man" and "Cheaper by the Dozen" (a big box office hit in 1950 that is not owned by TCM and is subsequently never aired). Garson remained with MGM and they kept the movies coming. Someone in management must have really liked her.