The Imperfect Lady | |
---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Lewis Allen |
Written by | Karl Tunberg (adaptation) Ladislas Fodor (story) |
Produced by | Karl Tunberg |
Starring | Ray Milland Teresa Wright Cedric Hardwicke |
Cinematography | John Seitz |
Edited by | Duncan Mansfield |
Music by | Victor Young |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 97 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $1.8 million [1] |
The Imperfect Lady is a 1947 American historical drama film directed by Lewis Allen and starring Ray Milland, Teresa Wright and Cedric Hardwicke, filmed in 1945 and not released until 1947. In the late Victorian Britain an aristocratic politician falls in love with a showgirl. The film is also known by the alternative title Mrs. Loring's Secret.
In 1892, showgirls Millie and Rose have a chance encounter with Clive Loring, a politician who invites them to tea. Millie falls for Clive and vows to give up the stage, but his brother Lord Belmont nevertheless disapproves.
Going out in public in stage makeup, Millie and Rose are mistaken for prostitutes. And a man Millie spends a few innocent hours with, Jose Martinez, is arrested for a murder. His only chance of being proven innocent is if Millie will provide an alibi, but she denies knowing him, fearing it will reflect poorly on Clive.
Lord Belmont's suspicions are confirmed when he attends the trial. Martinez is convicted, but it's obvious he was telling the truth in identifying Millie as the woman he'd been with at the time.
Millie is coerced into testifying as a public outcry begins for Clive to resign from Parliament. But despite the uproar, Clive decides to remain true to his love.
Edward Cedric Hardwicke was an English actor, who had a distinguished career on the stage and on-screen. He was best known for playing Captain Pat Grant in Colditz (1972–73), and Dr. Watson in Granada Television's Sherlock Holmes (1986–94).
Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned over 50 years. His theatre work included notable performances in productions of the plays of Shakespeare and Shaw, and his film work included leading roles in several adapted literary classics.
Climax! is an American television anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS programs of that era to be broadcast in color, using the massive TK-40A color cameras pioneered and manufactured by RCA, and used primarily by CBS's rival network, NBC. Many of the episodes were performed and broadcast live, but, although the series was transmitted in color, only black-and-white kinescope copies of some episodes survive to the present day. The series finished at #22 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1955–1956 season and #26 for 1956–1957.
National Velvet is a 1944 American Technicolor sports film directed by Clarence Brown and based on the 1935 novel of the same name by Enid Bagnold. It stars Mickey Rooney, Donald Crisp, Angela Lansbury, Anne Revere, Reginald Owen, and an adolescent Elizabeth Taylor.
Hessy Doris Lloyd was a British actress. She appeared in The Time Machine (1960) and The Sound of Music (1965).
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is a 1947 British drama film directed by Alberto Cavalcanti and starring Cedric Hardwicke, with Derek Bond in the title role. The screenplay by John Dighton is based on the Charles Dickens novel The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1839). This first sound screen adaptation of the book followed silent films released in 1903 and 1912.
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is a 1949 American comedy musical film directed by Tay Garnett and starring Bing Crosby, Rhonda Fleming, Sir Cedric Hardwicke and William Bendix.
Little Lord Fauntleroy is a 1936 American drama film based on the 1886 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The film stars Freddie Bartholomew, Dolores Costello, and C. Aubrey Smith. The first film produced by David O. Selznick's Selznick International Pictures, it was the studio's most profitable film until Gone with the Wind. The film is directed by John Cromwell.
Jane Eyre is a 1934 American romantic drama film directed by Christy Cabanne, starring Virginia Bruce and Colin Clive. It is based on the 1847 novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, and is the first adaptation to use sound.
The Safecracker is a 1958 British crime film noir directed by Ray Milland and starring Milland, Barry Jones and Victor Maddern.
Little Lord Fauntleroy is a 1921 American silent drama film directed by Alfred E. Green and Jack Pickford and starring the latter's elder sister Mary Pickford as both Cedric Errol and Widow Errol. The film is based on the 1886 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. A statue depicting Pickford's role exists today on the facade of New York City's landmarked I. Miller Building.
Francis Lumsden Hare was an Irish-born American film and theatre actor. He was also a theatre director and theatrical producer.
The Power and the Prize is a 1956 American drama film directed by Henry Koster and starring Robert Taylor, Elisabeth Muller, Burl Ives, Mary Astor and Cedric Hardwicke. It was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay was written by Robert Ardrey, adapted from the 1954 novel The Power and the Prize by Howard Swiggett. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1957 for costume design.
Merle Tottenham was a British stage and film actress. Her stage work included the original West End production of Noël Coward's Cavalcade in 1931; and she reprised her role as Annie the servant in the subsequent Hollywood film, in 1933. She also appeared as Dora, the maid in Night Must Fall (1937) with Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell, and the film version of Coward's This Happy Breed (1944), as Edie, the maid.
Peg of Old Drury is a 1935 British historical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Cedric Hardwicke and Margaretta Scott. The film is a biopic of 18th century Irish actress Peg Woffington. It was based on the play Masks and Faces by Charles Reade and Tom Taylor. It contains passages of 18th century Shakespearian performance, from The Merchant of Venice, Richard III and As You Like It.
Lewis Allen was a British-born director whose credits included classic television series and a diverse range of films. Allen worked mainly in the United States, working on Broadway and directing 18 feature films between 1944 and 1959. From the mid-1950s he moved increasingly into television and worked on a number of the most popular shows of the time in the US.
Fay Helm was an American film actress. Born in Bakersfield, California, she appeared in about 65 films between 1936 and 1946. She is perhaps better known for films like A Child is Born (1939), Phantom Lady (1944), Lady in the Dark (1944) and Sister Kenny (1946).
The Trouble with Women is a 1947 American comedy film directed by Sidney Lanfield and starring Ray Milland, Teresa Wright, Brian Donlevy. It was produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was produced in 1945 but was held back from release for two years.
The Golden Cocoon is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Millard Webb and written by Louis D. Lighton, and Hope Loring. It is based on the 1924 novel The Golden Cocoon by Ruth Cross. The film stars Huntley Gordon, Helene Chadwick, Richard Tucker, Frank Campeau, Margaret Seddon, and Carrie Clark Ward. The film was released by Warner Bros. on January 30, 1926.
Gordon Richards was an English actor who had an active international career on the stage and in television and film for more than 50 years.