The Flirting Widow

Last updated

The Flirting Widow
The Flirting Widow 1930 LC.jpg
Theatrical poster; Austin to the left, Mackaill in Fitzroy's lap (pretending to be overcome by the news of the "death" of her character's fiancé)
Directed by William A. Seiter
Screenplay by John F. Goodrich
Based onGreen Stockings
1911 play
by A.E.W. Mason
Produced byWilliam A. Seiter
Starring Dorothy Mackaill
Basil Rathbone
Leila Hyams
William Austin
Claude Gillingwater
Cinematography Sidney Hickox
Edited by John F. Goodrich
Music by Alois Reiser
Production
company
Distributed byFirst National Pictures
Release date
  • May 11, 1930 (1930-05-11)
Running time
72 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$179,000 [1]
Box office$348,000 [1]

The Flirting Widow is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Dorothy Mackaill, Basil Rathbone, Leila Hyams and Claude Gillingwater. It was produced and released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. [2]

Contents

The film's plot is based on the story Green Stockings by A. E. W. Mason. The film was remade in 1933 as Her Imaginary Lover at the Teddington Studios, the British branch of Warner Bros.-First National Productions. [3]

Plot

William Faraday refuses to let his youngest daughter, Evelyn, get married before her older sister, Celia. Celia, who has no interest in getting married, takes pity on Evelyn and her suitor Bobby and pretends to have gotten engaged to Colonel John Smith during a short vacation away from home. To avoid difficulties, she states that Smith has sailed to join the British Field Force in Arabia. When her father receives this news, he consents to Evelyn's marriage.

At Evelyn's insistence, Celia writes a love letter to her fiancé, never intending to send it. She later burns the magazine in which she hid the letter, unaware someone has posted it already. The letter is received by a real Colonel Smith stationed in Arabia. He is amused and curious.

After Evelyn's marriage, Celia publishes a death notice in the London Daily Times for her Colonel Smith. The real Smith decides to pay a visit to Celia, pretending to be a close friend of the deceased bringing some mementos. When he gives them to Celia, she is uncomfortable. She eventually realizes "Colonel Vaughan" is not who he says he is, but over the course of a single night, they fall in love.

Cast

Box office

According to Warner Bros., the film earned $234,000 domestically and $114,000 from foreign showings. [1]

Preservation

The film survives intact and has been broadcast on both television and cable. It is also preserved in the Library of Congress collection. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Captain Blood</i> (1935 film) 1935 film by Michael Curtiz

Captain Blood is a 1935 American black-and-white swashbuckling pirate film from First National Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, produced by Harry Joe Brown and Gordon Hollingshead, directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone and Ross Alexander.

<i>A Tale of Two Cities</i> (1935 film) 1935 film by Robert Zigler Leonard, Jack Conway

A Tale of Two Cities is a 1935 film based upon Charles Dickens' 1859 historical novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris. The film stars Ronald Colman as Sydney Carton and Elizabeth Allan as Lucie Manette. The supporting players include Edna May Oliver, Reginald Owen, Basil Rathbone, Lucille La Verne, Blanche Yurka, Henry B. Walthall and Donald Woods. It was directed by Jack Conway from a screenplay by W. P. Lipscomb and S. N. Behrman. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Film Editing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leila Hyams</span> American actress

Leila Hyams was an American film and stage actress, model, and vaudevillian, who came from a show business family. Her relatively short film career began in 1924 during the era of silent films and ended in 1936. She started out her career as a vaudevillian, stage performer and model, before embarking on a career in film, and although her career in this genre only lasted around twelve years, the blonde blue-eyed ingenue and leading lady appeared in more than 50 film roles and remained a press favourite, with numerous magazine covers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evelyn Ankers</span> British-American actress

Evelyn Felisa Ankers was a British-American actress who often played variations on the role of the cultured young leading lady in many American horror films during the 1940s, most notably The Wolf Man (1941) opposite Lon Chaney Jr., a frequent screen partner.

<i>The Life of the Party</i> (1930 film) 1930 American film

The Life of the Party is a 1930 American Pre-Code musical comedy filmed entirely in Technicolor. The musical numbers of this film were cut out before general release in the United States because the public had grown tired of musicals by late 1930. Only one song was left in the picture. The complete film was released intact in countries outside the United States where a backlash against musicals never occurred.

<i>Gold Dust Gertie</i> 1931 film

Gold Dust Gertie is a 1931 American Pre-Code musical comedy produced and released by Warner Brothers. It was originally completed as a full musical. Due to the backlash against musicals, however, all the songs were cut from the film in all release prints in the United States. The film was originally known as Red Hot Sinners, but was released as Gold Dust Gertie after the musical numbers had been cut. The film was based on the play The Wife of the Party by Len D. Hollister. The film stars Winnie Lightner, Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson and Claude Gillingwater.

<i>Bright Lights</i> (1930 film) 1930 film

Bright Lights, later retitled Adventures in Africa, is a 1930 American pre-Code musical comedy film photographed entirely in Technicolor and produced and released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. It premiered in Los Angeles in July 1930 but was edited and rereleased in early 1931.

<i>The Office Wife</i> (1930 film) 1930 film

The Office Wife is a 1930 American pre-Code romantic drama film directed by Lloyd Bacon, released by Warner Bros., and based on the novel of the same name by Faith Baldwin. It was the talkie debut for Joan Blondell who would become one of the major Warner Bros. stars for the following nine years.

<i>Glad Rag Doll</i> (film) 1929 film by Michael Curtiz

Glad Rag Doll is a 1929 American Pre-Code drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Dolores Costello, Ralph Graves and Audrey Ferris. This is one of many lost films of the 1920s, no prints or Vitaphone discs survive, but the song with the same title and the trailer survives. The film's working title was Alimony Annie, but was changed match the title song. The song is both played and sung throughout the soundtrack.

<i>Safe in Hell</i> 1931 film

Safe in Hell is a 1931 American pre-Code thriller film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Dorothy Mackaill and Donald Cook, with featured performances by Morgan Wallace, Ralf Harolde, Nina Mae McKinney, Clarence Muse, and Noble Johnson. The screenplay by Joseph Jackson and Maude Fulton is based on a play by Houston Branch.

<i>The Great Divide</i> (1929 film) 1929 film

The Great Divide is a 1929 American pre-Code Western film directed by Reginald Barker and starring Dorothy Mackaill. Released in both silent and sound versions, it was produced and distributed by First National Pictures. The film is a remake of The Great Divide, made at MGM in 1925. There was another remake in 1931 as the full sound film Woman Hungry. All three films are based on the 1906 Broadway play The Great Divide by William Vaughn Moody.

<i>The Reckless Hour</i> 1931 film

The Reckless Hour is a 1931 pre-Code film directed by John Francis Dillon and produced and distributed by First National Pictures.

<i>Party Husband</i> 1931 film

Party Husband is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy film produced by First National Pictures and released through their parent company Warner Bros. It was directed by Clarence G. Badger and stars Dorothy Mackaill. It is preserved at the Library of Congress.

<i>Strictly Modern</i> 1930 film

Strictly Modern is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Dorothy Mackaill and Sidney Blackmer. It was produced and released by First National Pictures and was based on the play, entitled Cousin Kate, written by Hubert Henry Davies.

<i>Illicit</i> (film) 1931 film

Illicit is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by Archie Mayo and starring Barbara Stanwyck, James Rennie, Ricardo Cortez, and Natalie Moorhead. Based on a play by Edith Fitzgerald and Robert Riskin, the film is about a young couple living together out of wedlock because the woman does not believe in marriage. When they finally get married, both become unfaithful to each other. Illicit was produced and distributed by Warner Bros.

<i>The Bush Leaguer</i> 1927 film

The Bush Leaguer is a lost 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Howard Bretherton and starring Monte Blue and Leila Hyams. It was produced and distributed by the Warner Bros. and had a Vitaphone soundtrack of music and sound effects.

<i>Land of the Silver Fox</i> 1928 film

Land of the Silver Fox is a 1928 American adventure film directed by Ray Enright and written by Howard Smith and Joseph Jackson. The film stars Rin Tin Tin, Leila Hyams, John Miljan, Carroll Nye, Tom Santschi, and Neola May. The film was released by Warner Bros. on October 18, 1928. As was common that year, Land of the Silver Fox was released in both silent and sound versions.

<i>His Captive Woman</i> 1929 film

His Captive Woman is a 1929 American part-talking drama film directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Milton Sills and Dorothy Mackaill. This film is "based on the short story "Changeling" by Donn Byrne in Changeling and Other Stories ." It was produced and distributed by First National Pictures which was already a subsidiary of the Warner Brothers studios. The Vitaphone sound system was also a subsidiary of Warners. Both Mackaill and Sills as well as director Fitzmaurice had worked together on the previous year's The Barker.

<i>The Bridge of Sighs</i> (1925 film) 1925 film

The Bridge of Sighs is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Phil Rosen and written by Louis D. Lighton and Hope Loring. The film stars Dorothy Mackaill, Creighton Hale, Richard Tucker, Alec B. Francis, Ralph Lewis, and Cliff Saum. The film was released by Warner Bros. on January 1, 1925.

<i>The Making of OMalley</i> 1925 film

The Making of O'Malley is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Lambert Hillyer and written by Eugene Clifford. The film stars Milton Sills, Dorothy Mackaill, Helen Rowland, Warner Richmond, Thomas Carrigan and Julia Hurley. The film was released on June 28, 1925, by First National Pictures. The Gerald Beaumont short story was also the basis of the 1937 Warner Bros. film The Great O'Malley, directed by William Dieterle and starring Pat O'Brien and Humphrey Bogart.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Warner Bros financial information in The William Shaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 10 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551
  2. The Flirting Widow details, ftvdb.bfi.org.uk; accessed September 23, 2015.
  3. The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:The Flirting Widow details, afi.com; accessed September 23, 2015. Archived September 20, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress, p. 59, c. 1978, The American Film Institute.