Letty Lynton (1932) User Reviews

Just Release it Already!

[Maleejandra · 8/10 · 24 March 2006]

Letty Lynton is unfortunately barred from being formally released due to a lawsuit, a shame because it is a good early Crawford film. The story revolves around Letty Lynton (Joan Crawford), a woman whose past with Emile (Nils Asther) makes her a less than desirable woman. She falls in love with Jerry (Robert Montgomery) who loves her in return and intends to make her his wife. But he doesn't know of her past and that Emile has come to claim her.

Crawford looked best in these early talkies with fabulous wardrobes by Adrian and a gorgeous face. As an actress, she is natural and enthusiastic. She has chemistry with both the seductive Asther and the charismatic Montgomery, making for a more interesting story.

There are several funny scenes in the film as well as plenty of drama, making it accessible by wider audiences, that is, if one can find a copy.

Well, after all, he was a brute....

[overseer-3 · 8/10 · 14 November 2005]

Other reviewers here have given away the plot to this controversial precode, so I won't repeat any details. I'll just mention new details omitted by everyone else. :)

Nils Asther's character Emile is a bully and slaps people around and behaves threateningly towards a sweet old lady who takes care of Joan Crawford's character Letty. He slugs Letty twice in the face before the crucial scene with the poisoned drink, after she had begged him repeatedly and nicely to let her go, so she can marry Bob Montgomery's character Hale. So if Letty were to pull out a gun and kill Emile after being slugged like that it would be in self defense and justified. He was intimidating her and blackmailing her as well. So why should there be a big problem because she uses poison instead? We are RELIEVED when Emile gets his, the dirty brute! He deserved to be taken out. There was no reasoning with the animal.

This film is about sexual addiction, and breaking away from its evil web. It's about true love too, not just passion. Note that Hale doesn't kiss or embrace Letty for two weeks on the boat, they only kiss after he proposes marriage. This is all new for Letty and she finds it refreshing and wonderful. Hale is a gentleman and helps her to break free of the brute Emile.

I think this film tells a universal tale and the performances are all top notch. It is a crying shame one has to go the bootleg route to see this film, and let me tell anyone who is thinking of buying that bootleg that's been floating around out there, it's really terrible. The picture is deformed and ghostly, you'll be squinting like mad. I solved much of this by re-encoding the film on my computer with corrections and now it looks 100% improved! I created my own DVD cover with vintage photos from the film, and now I have my own disc of this film to enjoy and share with friends for years to come. However I'd be more than happy to buy an official DVD if they ever get around to it (not likely in my lifetime).

The hype is true...

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 11 March 2012]

... unlike so many lost or unavailable films. The plot initially seems not so unusual, especially for a Joan Crawford MGM vehicle of the 1930's. Joan plays a fabulously wealthy playgirl living in South America who decides to return home for a multitude of reasons - she wants to turn over a new leaf, she wants to make up with the mother (May Robson) who has been pushing her away all her life, but most of all she wants to get out of the grasp of a possessive lover (Nils Asther) that is smothering her and objectifying her to the point that she is frightened. She takes a ship home to New York, and on the way there falls in love with the charming heir Hale Darrow (Robert Montgomery). The two become engaged with the press waiting to snap their pictures as the boat docks, but as the picture is snapped, what does Letty see but the possessive lover she thought she left in South America, literally licking his chops for her and waiting for her to land.

Young Darrow knows nothing of Letty's past, Letty's mom still wants nothing to do with her, and as for her old lover, he's demanding she continue the affair or else he will publicize some torrid love letters she wrote. How does this all turn out? Quite unexpectedly, I'll tell you that much and I'll also tell you, thank goodness for precode where justice in the movies - as in life - didn't always have the predictable nature of a form letter like it did after 1934.

MGM threw its A-list talent at this one including Joan's gowns by Adrian, Lewis Stone with a short but important part at the end, and some first class character actors. The only thing that doesn't ring quite true is May Robson as Joan's mother. Robson's acting and characterization are perfect, but she was almost 50 years older than Joan, looks it, and it just doesn't seem plausible that they could be mother and daughter with that age difference staring you in the face. Still it's a minor quibble and I'd highly recommend watching it if you ever get the opportunity.

At last "Letty Lynton"...

[fsilva · 11 June 2005]

This is one of those "mythic" films, the 1932 Joan Crawford vehicle not available anywhere, not even for TV broadcasting, because it's been in a legal tangle for decades and decades; the film in which Crawford wore one of the most famous outfits ever displayed on screen, a beautiful Adrian creation, a white evening dress which was copied in its time and sold to eager female fans in Department Stores along the United States.

In this glossy film, Crawford plays the title role, a rich and spoiled heiress, who's been living the "wild life" in Montevideo, the capital city of Uruguay with debonair man-of-the-world Emile Rénaul, played by Nils Asther only to regret it when clean-cut Jerry Darrow (Robert Montgomery) comes into her life.

This is a star-vehicle all the way, with Crawford being photographed in the most ravishing poses, positions, from the best angles; much care was put in the in the lighting and her make-up & wardrobe. Perhaps this is one of the films in which I've seen Crawford at her prettiest and sexiest, wearing a chain of exquisite, sophisticated Adrian designed evening dresses and suits, furs et al, all carefully designed to conceal her broad shoulders, which later became a trademark of hers. At this time she had not fully developed into the dramatic actress she later became, but in spite of some heavy melodramatics, her performance is good.

Her co-star Robert Montgomery has little to do in comparison but being well-bred and nice and he is good, as usual, at it. Nils Asther is the "heavy" here and being a Swedish, believably interprets an European, evil, magnate who doesn't want Letty let go; maybe his style of playing the continental lover (sometimes displaying heavy emoting) may seem somewhat artificial to modern audiences, but in all he's OK as the villain, considering it was filmed in 1932.

One of the greatest rewards of the films is watching seasoned pros as Lewis Stone, May Robson, Louise Closser-Hale and Emma Dunn playing expertly their secondary roles. Robson is magnificent as Crawford's long-suffering dowager mother; Closser-Hale endearing as Crawford's loving personal traveling companion and maid; Emma Dunn, very sweet as Montgomery's mother and Lewis Stone at his usual "knows-best" as a D.A.

It is a shame that this film is not available for everybody to see, because it's good and part of America's Cinematic inheritance and history and should not be prevented from airing because of some 70 years-old legal entanglement. I'm grateful of having had the chance of buying a fair-quality copy from a private collector, but I would like to have the chance of seeing a sharp, clear, pristine transfer of the notorious "Letty Lynton".

Superior classic glamour & class.... and that magnificent gown!

[zeula · 6/10 · 15 January 2003]

The drop-dead gorgeous gown, (you all know, which one I'm talking about) that Joan Crawford wears in this film, is probably the best gown ever designed in Hollywood..... (really the greatest trend in hollywood history) Joan Crawford wears it with such class, and elegance...... Hollywood could never make such a film nowadays....... (everything has gone from tasteless, to trash) Now, about the movie itself...... I would say, that it's an above average movie, although nothing really outstanding about the story...... Evidently, the high fashion display outshine the movie itself....... (at times, I felt the movie was a fashion showcase)Nevertheless, Crawford & Montgomery, are the great team duo...... Crawford chic, and beautiful never looked lovelier, and Montgomery his usual handsome, dashing self....... Recommended for both Crawford & Montgomery fans.

The "lost" Joan Crawford film

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 2 August 2018]

Long unreleased (and it's still hard to find a decent print), and thus notorious, "Letty Lynton" does not quite live up to this notoriety. It does have a great ending, the kind of pre-code ending that makes you want to sit up and clap, and a hard-to-watch scene of Joan Crawford being slapped around by a man, but otherwise it's an undistinguished story, unimaginatively presented. **1/2 out of 4.

Letty Lynton's Legal Limbo.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 10/10 · 13 September 2014]

Talking to a fellow IMDber about how much I had enjoyed the forgotten Jean Harlow Pre-Code title Goldie,I was caught completely by surprised,when he very kindly revealed that he had recently tracked down a Pre-Code starring Joan Crawford,which has been locked in legal limbo since the 1930's.

The plot:

Desperate to get away from boyfriend Emile Renaul and to also see her mum for the first time in a year, Letty Lynton and her maid Miranda decide to go on a 3 week cruise to New York,which will allow Letty plenty of time to figure out her new goals.Relaxing on the ship,Lynton is caught by surprise,when a fellow passenger walks into her cabin.

Taking a fancy to the stranger,Lynton gets Miranda to arrange a secret dinner between her and the fellow guest (unknown to both of them "the stranger" Hale Darrow goes to the captain of the ship,and gets him to arrange a secret dinner with Lynton!)Hitting it off straight away,Lynton and Darrow soon fall for each other,with both of them agreeing to meet each other's families once they are off the ship.Walking off the ship with her new lover,Lynton begins to fear that her worst nightmare is about to become a reality,when Lynton sees Emile Renaul waiting for her,at the docks.

View on the film:

For the first hour director Clarence Brown gives the film a breezy elegant appearance,with Brown lighting every scene with shining lights,which allows for all the glamorous items of Lynton to be fully shown (which includes a stylish dress,that sold over a million copies in the US.)Coming face to face with her former flame,Brown subtly dims the lighting and allows for a wonderful dark undercurrent to bubble over,with Brown deepening the depth of darkness,as Lynton sets her sights on dealing with the "trouble" once and for all in a tremendously vicious final.

Unofficially based on Edward Sheldon and Margaret Ayer Barnes play Dishonored Lady to such a great extent that a Federal court ruled on 17th January 1936 that the film could not be seen again unless Sheldon and Barnes are given credit,or until the copyright of the play runs out…in 2050! Writers Marie Belloc Lowndes, John Meehan and Wanda Tuchock transfer the real Letty Lynton (Madeleine Smith) from darkest 1850s Glasgow to the glitz & glamour world of 1930s New York,with Lynton's time on the cruise ship allowing the writers to show the high-life that Lynton is living-from her own maid,to private dinners with her dream boy.

Stepping off the ship,the writers superbly pull Lynton out of the flashing lights,and into the poisonous night,with Lynton's high-life being shown as a brittle object that cracks into a 1000 pieces.As Lynton's desperation to rid of Renaul increases, the writers give the film a striking Horror element,as Lynton discovers that she is trapped in a "family" which she can never get out of.

Shimmering across the screen,the exquisite Joan Crawford gives a fantastic performance as Lynton,thanks to Crawford matching Brown's expert directing by taking Lynton from being light & bubbly into being as cold as ice.Given the role by MGM as a way to punish Clark Gabel for having an affair with Crawford, Robert Montgomery rises above the studio politics and delivers an excellent performance as Hale Darrow,as Montgomery shows Darrow change from being a straight-lace gentlemen to sinking into the poison darkness with Letty Lynton.

This is the beginning of the legend that is Crawford.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 11 April 2014]

Going from "the personification of youth and beauty and joy and happiness" (to quote her introduction in "Hollywood Revue"), Joan Crawford moved into the glamorous stage of her career from a series of young flapper roles that seemed destined to typecast her. While she had played wealthy young women before, she hadn't settled into that mold, but with the rarely seen "Letty Lynton" (pulled from circulation because of copyright infringements the original author charged against MGM), she moved into the "clothes horse" stage of her career, playing lavishly clad young women suffering in sequins, crying into their Dom Perignon and rising above all with make-up intact and hair beautifully coiffed.

As Letty Lynton, Crawford has an affair with a hot-tempered Spainard (Nils Asther), a possessive type who eventually becomes physically abusive towards her and threatens to send copies of letters he's written to the nice young man (Robert Montgomery) she wants to marry. Determined to get out of this mess, she pleas with him to give back the letters, but of course he refuses. The only way out, she sees, is death, and that is exactly what transpires, but not as she expects.

At times, Crawford seems to go a bit overboard in the emoting department, seen her laughing hysterically but all of sudden reduced to tears. She is definitely afraid of Asther, very much in love with Montgomery, and much to her glee, his family accepts her with open arms. She tries to get through to her emotionally distant mother (May Robson in a rare change of place role, playing cold and almost heartless) to no avail. Every aspect of this women's film is done with typical MGM style, with the legendary Clarence Brown behind the director's chair. Crawford looks radiant, her clothes are something out of a depression era woman's dream, and she makes you really care about her character.

In smaller but important roles are Louise Closser Hale as Robson's wise housekeeper, Emma Dunn and Walter Walker as Montgomery's loving parents, and Lewis Stone as the prosecutor digging for the truth. There's an amusing scene with a shipboard waiter who comes across the corpse, whom he assumes is drunk, then steals a glass of remaining champagne, toasting the dead with "To your health..."

At long last, "Letty"!

[melvelvit-1 · 10/10 · 29 August 2006]

After searching for the elusive LETTY LYNTON for years, I finally nailed her ...and now I'm scared to death-

It's all crimson lips and scarlet passion as the Joan plays a sexually dissolute society gal who falls in love with blue-blood Robert Montgomery aboard an Art Deco luxury liner the rest of us on planet earth will never see the likes of (that's where she wears the "Letty Lynton dress"). Bob asks her if she loves him and, wide-eyed, she replies "I'd black your boots for the rest of my life!" When the ship docks in New York trouble awaits in the shape of Nils Asther as a former Latin lover of Joan's who threatens to send some incriminating love letters to Bob and the tabloids unless she returns with him to Montevideo. Joan agrees to meet him in his hotel room later that night and runs upstairs to fetch a bottle of poison from her medicine cabinet.

***STOP!***

Up until this point it was the usual "MGM Joan" of the early 30's, but from now on you'll feel like you're watching a combination of QUEEN BEE and STRAIGHT-JACKET.

***SPOILER WARNING***(but you need to know)***

Joan goes to Nils' hotel room and poisons his champagne, and as he sits dying she hisses malevolently in his face "I did it and I'm glad, GLAD, you mongrel!!" Just then there's a knock on the door and Joan hides behind a curtain -but it's only the bellboy. He comes in and, figuring Nils is merely passed out drunk, pours himself a glass of bubbly (using the poison glass) and downs it. At this point I really felt Joan would bolt from behind the curtain and knock the glass out of his hand, but noooo, the weasel couldn't care less! Later, at Bob's estate, the police pay a call and Joan lies through her teeth, denying any involvement to them, Bob and his mother. The Manhattan DA (Lewis Stone) calls Bob, Joan, her mother & maid down for a talk. Again Joan lies like a rug until Stone shows her a garment she left in Nils' hotel room. At this point Bob jumps up and starts lying. He says that he knew of Nils' blackmail attempt and waited in the hotel foyer while Joan pleaded for the letters but they left well before the cad's estimated time of death. When Stone doubts that, Joan's mother jumps up and lies for both of them. Mom (May Robson) says that she followed them to Nils' hotel, waited, and then later followed them to Bob's townhouse where he and Joan spent the night. When Stone asks if she can prove that, Joan's maid pops up and lies, saying she saw Robson follow Bob follow Joan to Nils' hotel. Whew! At this point Stone says he won't waste the taxpayers money trying to prosecute this bunch and they are free to go. Back at Joan's townhouse she says to Bob "I hope you know why I did it" as they all lock arms and go in to dinner while the maid hums "here comes the bride"! I haven't seen anything like this since THE TEXASCHAINSAW MASSACRE. The family that slays together stays together...

Forget what you've heard about plagiarized plays, fictitious resemblances to real life folk and all that. I did. I now believe it was moth-balled because it did more to bring about a Production Code crackdown than Stanwyck's BABY FACE and the Mae West comedies combined. Behind studio executive's mahogany doors, Breen & Co. had their say and their way about this one. Amoral and remorseless characters getting away with murder and laughing all the way to supper. Hmmm...

By all means SEE THIS FILM... and be very afraid...

Lives of the very rich

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 20 April 2018]

In Letty Lynton Joan Crawford in the title role abandons the shopgirl roles she was famous for. Here she's quite the rich heiress and as the story opens she's sailing home to New York after giving Nils Asther the air.

Half of Letty Lynton takes place aboard ship and it is there that she meets and falls for the equally rich Robert Montgomery. By the time the boat arrives in New York these two are ready to be wed and they break the news to the parents.

But Asther is persistent and he wants her back because no woman gives him the brush. It leads to some real trouble for Crawford.

It's always been of interest to me how the movie going public just ate up stories like this of the very rich for whom the Great Depression was not touching in the slightest. The only relatively poor people among the main players are District Attorney Lewis Stone and Crawford's maid Louise Closser Hale who is more of a confidante than her stern mother May Robson.

Sex was not the only thing censored by The Code when it was promulgated for the film industry. The actions of several people would not be tolerated when Crawford does get herself into a nice jackpot as she does in and as Letty Lynton.

Joan Crawford's legion of fans will approve of this Depression Era romantic melodrama.

Dated plotline

[HotToastyRag · 2/10 · 30 May 2019]

In Letty Lynton, Joan Crawford gets involved in a dangerous gangster, Nils Asther while in South America. Then, on the boat sailing home, she falls in love with clean, noble Robert Montgomery. They get engaged but Joan lives in constant fear that someone from her past will surface and Bob won't want her anymore if he learns she's had other men in her life. It's a theme that was common in many other 1930s films but it doesn't carry over in modern audiences. In this movie, it's supposed to be believable that Robert Montgomery thinks a woman who fell head over heels for him while on a cruise ship is respectable and completely innocent.

Because of the dated plot, which was carried out far more effectively in other films, this movie didn't make it to my favorites list. I'm not really a Joan Crawford fan anyway, and it's hard to believe anyone would be stupid enough to think she was innocent. If someone was that stupid, then chances are if he heard a rumor or personal testament to the contrary, he still wouldn't believe it.

There's a parallel from Letty Lynton to the same year's Faithless, in the scene where the heroine feels helpless as the villain carries her to the bedroom. Both Joan Crawford and Tallulah Bankhead laugh hysterically in their sorrow, but where Tallulah's outburst feels genuine, Joan's feels like it's the tenth take and she's trying to laugh loud enough for the entire studio to hear her. This movie was very obviously made in 1932 and could even be imagined as a silent movie. If you are a stickler for very good quality films, look elsewhere tonight.

Lost and found

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 22 May 2020]

As others have said, 'Letty Lynton' for a long time was a lost, or at least an unavailable, film and banned at the time for legal reasons. At long last it was re-discovered and is now available, though deserving of a much better print than it has and it is easy to see why it became notorious and also why others have become fond of it. 'Letty Lynton' had so much going for it, especially the cast and also that it was directed by Clarence Brown who did direct some great films.

It also did not deserve to be made unavailable for so long and even though it has been positively received since it deserves to be better known. Absolutely agree with others about 'Letty Lynton' being surprisingly very good, considering that quite a lot of lost but then re-discovered are not particularly good this film actually surprised me pleasantly at how good it was. Although it is not perfect, 'Letty Lynton' is among the better lost then found films seen and is a great representation of all involved.

'Letty Lynton' may have some soapy dialogue in places.

Some of it is also not always realistic, although the premise was very interesting and very intriguingly and entertainingly executed on the most part it is not always easy to follow as in real life it would not always realistically happen (though it can do).

The cast though are exemplary. Joan Crawford, my primary reason for seeing it, never resorts to histrionics in my opinion yet also seems to be fully immersed in the drama, nothing is going through the motions like. Robert Montgomery's character is underwritten but he is charismatic and dashing, making the most of what he has. Nils Asther is a seductive but sinister villain that one loves to hate. And there are great supporting turns from the likes of May Robson and Lewis Stone, Robson is especially wonderful (fully embodying a type of role that she excelled in) and Stone gives his usual reserved and sympathetic performance. Brown's direction is sophisticated, sympathetic and graceful, he understands Crawford's strengths and accomodated them just as well as he did with Greta Garbo.

Moreover, 'Letty Lynton' looks fantastic. Absolutely loved the glossy glamour of the photography, clearly loving Crawford (without being self-indulgent) who in this stage of her career is possibly at her loveliest visually. Crawford's gowns are stunning and how she wears them also makes a big impact, there is a reason as to why one in particular is famous making for some very striking imagery. On the most part, 'Letty Lynton' is thoughtfully scripted and flows more naturally than most dialogue in lost then found films. The story never felt dull, and has a good deal of thrills, as well as having entertainment value and emotional investment. The ending is a vivid one and stays with you.

Overall, surprisingly very good and well worth tracking down. 8/10

Image is Everything

[view_and_review · 5/10 · 6 July 2023]

Letty Lynton (Joan Crawford) had men coming out of her ears. Everywhere she went men were clambering for her. One particular man, Emile Renaul (Nils Asther), whom she met abroad, was determined to possess her at all costs. She was once madly in love with him, then his veneer finish slowly faded and she was no longer in love with him, yet he was certainly still in love with (or infatuated with) her.

Letty peeled free of Emile in Rio de Janeiro and headed home for New York. On the ship she met Jerry (Robert Montgomery) who'd also fall in love with her. By the end of their two week voyage they were engaged to be married. Things got dicey for Letty when Emile was waiting at the dock for her in New York. Now she had to figure out a way to push Emile away for good while not letting on to Jerry she had such a relationship.

In this movie Letty was painted as the sympathetic character. She'd had a fling and was now indefinitely tied to this man whom she loved no more. The drama and suspense wasn't that of a "Fatal Attraction" or "Sleeping with the Enemy" in that Emile was going to do her bodily harm, the drama and suspense was in his ability to expose Letty. She was from a wealthy upstanding family and in the 30's, as I have learned, image is everything to high society. Letty's image would've been indelibly tarnished if Emile revealed to the world their tryst.

The problem I had with the "drama" was that I didn't see it as that big of a deal. Letty didn't want to lose Jerry, hence she wanted to keep Emile a secret. We, as the viewers, were supposed to feel the pain, angst, and desperation Letty had as she sought to free herself from Emile. I just couldn't feel it. I agree, it sucked to be in her position, but a big part of me was thinking, "Cut him off and deal with whatever he decides to reveal." I thought that because A.) I'm sure that the embarrassment would only be temporary B.) I believed Jerry would stick around and C.) Letty and Jerry's relationship never moved me. They met on a boat, had some good times, and decided to marry. The relationship was too simple for me to have any strong feelings about its survival.

Letty would deal with things her own way and find out just how much love she had, or didn't have, from Jerry.

High fashions, hairstyles, glamor photography (Sigh!)

[fordraff · 21 June 2001]

Spoilers below.

"Letty Lynton" isn't about plot. It's about costumes designed by Adrian. Motion Picture Herald wrote, "The gowns which Miss Crawford wears will be the talk of your town for weeks after...and how she wears them!" Most famous of all is a white dress that Crawford wears in a scene that takes place on board ship on Christmas Eve. But it's not just this famous dress that catches one's eye; it's an entire series of dresses and gowns. The most fabulous one has an elaborate high fur collar that envelops Crawford's head, continues over her broad shoulders down to her waist.

And the film is about Crawford's makeup and hairstyles, for her hairstyles in particular undergo several changes, which is unusual for a star in a single movie, whose period covers just a few weeks.

And the film is about glamour photography. To best appreciate this, one should see the film in a nitrate print. There are glamour close-ups of Crawford, Robert Montgomery, and Nils Asther. And let's not forget Nils, for he had rather unusual looks. Here he plays a South American playboy villain with full wavy black hair, pronounced black eyebrows, beautiful long lashes, and a pencil-thin moustache. In some of the close-ups with Crawford, he's clinching her in poses stereotypically associated with the mad, passionate love of a south-of-the-border type, laugh inducing today, but wildly romantic in 1932.

Since this film hasn't been in circulation for decades and probably won't soon be, one can best see the clothing, hairstyles, and close-ups by looking at stills in various books about Crawford's career.

The plot is most startling in its conclusion. Letty gets away with murder! In a meeting between Letty and Emile (Asther), she intends to commit suicide by putting poison in her drink--rather than marry the cad. But Emile accidentally downs that poison-laced drink.

When Letty is brought into the police station for questioning, her mother, her boyfriend, and a maid all perjure themselves to give Letty an alibi which frees her of murder charges, allowing Letty and her boyfriend Jerry Darrow to marry and go off to a happy-ever-after. This was a pre-Code film, and if one explores these films in detail, he will discover a number in which women get away with murder. Still, this ending was shocking to me today.

Crawford turned 28 during the filming of "Letty Lynton." In 1932, Crawford appeared in this film, "Grand Hotel," and "Rain"--a banner year for her.

Note: Details of why "Letty Lynton" has been withdrawn from circulation are to be found in The American Film Institute Catalogue, Feature Films, 1931-1940. This material is available on line now at Turner Classic Movie Database--www.tcmdb.com. Search for the title and then click on "Notes."

1850s Glasgow moved to 1930s Gotham

[theowinthrop · 31 May 2004]

So many films of great movie stars are out of circulation for one reason of another. LETTY LYTTON is one of them. I have never seen it, although (from the sound of it it sounds interesting). I can though illuminate something of the background.

Marie Belloc Lowndes is recalled today for one novel (from a short story) entitled "THE LODGER". She was fascinated by crime and wrote books based on famous cases (like a younger contemporary, "Joseph Shearing"). THE LODGER was about the Jack the Ripper murders. Other novels of hers were turned into movies. THE STORY OF IVY became a film with Joan Fontaine as an unscrupulous poisoner (of her husband) - supposedly based on the Maybrick Murder Case of 1889.

LETTY LYTTON was based on the Madeleine Smith poisoning case of 1857 in Glasgow, Scotland. Madeleine was supposed to marry a Mr. William Minnoch, in a marriage approved by her very strict father (a leading architect). But she had been having very close relations with an Emile L'Angelier (foreign sounding for Scotland, but L'Angelier was from the Channel Islands of Great Britain). L'Angelier may have loved Madeleine, but he was also socially attracted to her position in Glasgow. He would not let her drop the relationship. Several times he visited her, and came home ill. The last time he died. Subsequently arsenic was found on his corpse. Love letters written by Madeleine led to her arrest. She was tried, but the jury (despite good reason) was not willing to find her guilty. They did not acquit either. Instead, she was found "Not Proven", which is a verdict on Scotland has. Madeleine eventually married an artist, George Wardle, until their divorce in the 1880s. She became a socialist (one of her friends in London was George Bernard Shaw). She married a second time, emigrated to America, and died in New York City (in the Bronx) in 1926 when in her nineties. She is buried there.

Certainly, in her later years, she did not have the wonderful wardrobe that was Ms Crawford's courtesy of MGM, but she had a reasonably quiet life. She fought a motion picture studio in the 1920s which wanted to make him a film about her career (it wasn't made). A woman of spirit (even if you do not think her innocent of murder). She did not know that LETTY LYTTON would appear in a film suggested by her story within a decade, nor that (in 1950) David Lean would make the definitive film about the case: MADELEINE.