The Trial of Madame X | |
---|---|
Directed by | Paul England |
Written by | Paul England |
Based on | play by Alexandre Bisson (uncredited) |
Produced by | F. W. Kilner |
Starring | Mara Russell-Tavernan Paul England |
Cinematography | Ernest Palmer |
Production companies | Viking Film Studios London |
Release date |
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Running time | 54 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
The Trial of Madame X, also known as Jacqueline, is a 1948 British drama film written and directed by Paul England and starring England and Mara Russell-Tavernan. [1] [2] It was written by England based (uncredited) on the 1908 play Madame X by the French playwright Alexandre Bisson.
The film was made in 1948 but not released until 1955. [1]
A woman is thrown out of her home by her jealous husband and sinks into depravity. Twenty years later, she finds herself accused of murder for saving her son, who does not know who she is. He finds himself defending her without knowing her background.
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Old-fashioned novelette of the crudest order, weakly realised and played in such a theatrical fashion that, if the sound were cut off, one might be prepared to believe one was watching a film of the twenties. In a general atmosphere of fervent over-acting or wooden amateurism, only Paul England, as the blackmailing detective, manages to bring any degree of conviction to his part." [3]
Kine Weekly wrote: "It strikes an unhappy note at the start, clumsily piles on the agony and slowly sinks into bathos. Only the very unsophisticated will find the outmoded shenanigans to their liking. ... The picture, poorly dialogued, as well as crudely acted, teems with incongruities." [4]
Madame X is a 1908 play by French playwright Alexandre Bisson (1848–1912). It was novelized in English and adapted for the American stage; it was also adapted for the screen twelve times over sixty-five years, including versions in Tagalog, Greek, and Spanish as well as English. The play has been cited as an example of the literary tradition of portraying the mother figure as being "excessively punished for slight deviation from her maternal role".
Alexandre Bisson was a French playwright, vaudeville creator, and novelist. Born in Briouze, Orne in Lower Normandy, he was successful in his native France as well as in the United States. Remembered as a significant creator of Parisian vaudeville, in collaboration with Edmond Gondinet, Bisson's 1881 three-act comedy Un Voyage d'agrément was performed at the Théâtre du Vaudeville in Paris.
The Blood Beast Terror is a 1968 British horror film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Peter Cushing, Robert Flemyng and Wanda Ventham. It was written by Peter Bryan. It was released in the UK by Tigon in February 1968, and in the United States by Pacemaker Pictures on a double-bill with Slaughter of the Vampires (1962).
Madame X is a lost 1916 American silent drama film directed by George F. Marion that was based on the 1908 play of the same name by French playwright Alexandre Bisson. Dorothy Donnelly, star of the 1910 Broadway production of the play, which was also directed by Marion, reprised her starring role for the film.
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