The Lady in Scarlet

Customer Reviews:

The only thing missing is Asta.......2004-07-03

THE LADY IN SCARLET stars Reginald Denny as playboy slash private eye Oliver Keith and Patricia Farr as girl Friday slash Saturday night fallback Ella Carey. The dvd jacket blurb coyly calls this a "thriller reminiscent of THE THIN MAN." They're being much too modest. For all the filching the makers of this movie did they might have well called it The Purloined Leitmotif. It's probably a coincidence that Barbara Stanwyck's THE WOMAN IN RED was released shortly before THE LADY IN SCARLET. It would be terrible if audiences got the two confused. Well, as the old saying goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery -- but just try telling that to a copyright lawyer.
Still, you have to hand it to them. The film makers were able to write what would have been a decent first draft for a real Thin Man movie, find credible stand-ins for William Powell and Myrna Loy, and deliver it to theaters in less than a year.
Old man Albert Sayres and young and beautiful trophy wife Julia are a bit on the outs. Antiques dealer Sayres is jealous of any man who looks at his bride, and goes as far as hiring a private eye to tail her and catch her in a comprising situation. Sayres is murdered before Denny's Keith has had a chance to down his third cocktail. Being an old friend of Julia Sayres, he is soon in the middle of the investigation. What follows is an effective little plot involving a disputed will, a clutch of believable suspects and some delightfully unexpected light comedic moments.
To its advantage, THE LADY IN SCARLET also appropriated THE THIN MAN'S relaxed, wise-cracking ambiance. Oliver's and Ella's repartee may lack the charm and sparkle of Nick and Nora's banterings, but that's probably the fault of an inferior script and a rushed production schedule. It's a pleasure to see one of these old Poverty Row products and not feel like the actors are auditioning for the part of cigar store indians.
If you're a fan of the Thin Man series and are in the mood of a variation on the theme, THE LADY IN SCARLET is your ticket.

Drama Movie Marathon Volume 3: 8 Movie Pack

Average customer rating:

Drama Movie Marathon Volume 3: 8 Movie Pack

Manufacturer: RightNow Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
Product Features:

BONUS: Each movie comes with a portable-media friendly version that can be downloaded to your Apple iPod!
Eight feature films on four DVDs
The Phantom of the Opera;The Scarlet Letter;A Life at Stake;The Torch;Affair in Monte Carlo;Herod the Great;Lady Windermeres Fan;A Tale of Two Cities;

ASIN: B000GW77XU

Product Description

The legends of Drama are gathered here for you in this definitive DVD collection of some of the greatest Drama classics to ever come out of Hollywood. This 8 DVD collection is sure to provide you with countless hours of entertainment. Drama Movie Marathon Volume 3: 8 Movie Pack includes: The Phantom of the Opera directed by Rupert Julian and starring Lon Chaney,Sr; The Scarlet Letter directed by Robert Vignola and starring Coleen Moore; A Life at Stake directed by Paul Guilfoyle and starring Angela Lansbury; The Torch directed by Emilio Fernandez and starring Paulette Goddard; Affair in Monte Carlo directed by Victor Saville and starring Merle Oberon; Herod the Great directed by Viktor Tourjansky and starring Edmund Purdom; Lady Windermeres Fan directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starring Ronald Coleman; A Tale of Two Cities directed by and starring Wendell Corey;

DVD:

DVD

DVD