Letty Lynton
Encyclopedia
Letty Lynton is a 1932 MGM
drama film
starring Joan Crawford
, Robert Montgomery
and Nils Asther
. The film was directed by Clarence Brown
, and based on the 1931 novel of the same name by Marie Adelaide Belloc Lowndes
. Crawford plays the title character, in a tale of love and blackmail
.
The film has since become famous due to its unavailability. It is also remembered for the "Letty Lynton dress", designed by Adrian
: a white cotton organdy
gown with large ruffled sleeves, puffed at the shoulder. Macy's
department store copied the dress in 1932, and it sold over 500,000 replicas nationwide. Letty, the character played by Crawford, also gets away with murder, in a classic example of a Pre-Code
Hollywood movie.
socialite Letty Lynton has been living in Montevideo, Uruguay and wants to end her affair with Emile Renaul. On a steamship to the United States, Letty sees wealthy American Jerry Darrow and is immediately attracted to him. At dinner, their attraction increases, and after two weeks at sea, they have fallen in love.
On Christmas Eve, a worried Letty tells her maid that they must leave the boat in Havana
because she doesn't want Jerry to know about her wild past, but when Jerry comes to her room to propose, she accepts. In New York, Letty is shocked to see Emile waiting for her on the dock. Making an excuse to Jerry, she leaves the boat before him and learns from Emile that he flew from South America to see her and plans to take her back with him. After she leaves Emile in the customs office, Letty goes home, accompanied by Jerry, who tells her that they have been invited to the home of his parents in Upstate New York
and will leave that night, after Letty tells her mother about the engagement. Letty's mother, Mrs. Lynton, is an embittered woman who shows no affection for Letty, whom she regards as irresponsible. Soon Emile arrives, having read about the engagement in the newspapers, and warns her to meet him in his hotel room that night or he will show Jerry her explicit love letters. Letty is revolted and resolves to commit suicide rather than spend her life with Emile. She calls Jerry to change their departure to the next day, then goes to Emile's hotel, taking a bottle of poison with her. Letty begs for her letters, but he refuses and tells her that their affair will only be over when he says so. While Emile goes to the door to talk to a waiter, Letty puts the poison in her champagne glass, planning to drink it herself.
When Emile returns, however, he strikes her, then picks up her glass by mistake and drinks the poison, as Letty mutely watches. Letty then lets him carry her to the bedroom, and waits until he starts to feel the poison's effects. As he dies, she screams that she's glad she did it, even if she hangs. She then cleans up the room and leaves.
The next day, soon after Letty and Jerry have arrived at the home of his parents, a detective from New York arrives looking for Letty and demanding that she come with him. Jerry, Mrs. Lynton and Letty's maid accompany her to see District Attorney John J. Haney, who produces the letters and accuses Letty of murder. After she admits that she went to see Emile, Jerry lies by saying that he and Letty spent the night together at his apartment after she left Emile's, and that he knew all about the letters. Mrs. Lynton corroborates Jerry's story by saying that she followed Letty to Jerry's apartment. She also says that she overheard Emile say he would kill himself if Letty did not return to him. Letty's maid, Miranda, also corroborates the story, after which Haney says that the case is closed and Letty is free to go.
magazine commented, "The gripping, simple manner in which this picture unfolds stands it squarely among the best of the month....Joan Crawford as Letty is at her best. Nils Asther is a fascinating villain. Robert Montgomery gives a skillful performance....The direction, plus a strong cast, make Letty Lynton well worth seeing."
Motion Picture Herald
noted, "Almost everything one can wish for in entertainment has been injected into this superbly acted and directed production. The gowns which Miss Crawford wears will be the talk of your town for weeks after...and how she wears them!"
and Margaret Ayer Barnes
without acquiring the rights to the play or giving credit. On July 28, 1939, the US Second Court of Appeals awarded one-fifth of the net of Letty Lynton to plaintiffs Sheldon and Ayer Barnes in their plagiarism
action against MGM. This case was said to be the first copyright decision ever to direct the apportionment of profits on the relative basis as in patent suits where a patent has been appropriated.
On November 7, 1939, MGM petitioned the United States Supreme Court to overturn the Court of Appeals ruling, stating that the questions arising in the suit were predicated solely upon the copyright laws of the U.S., and not the patent laws. However, MGM did not prevail in this latter action, and the film is unavailable even to this day save for some bootlegged copies.
In 1947, United Artists
released the film Dishonored Lady
, starring Hedy Lamarr
and directed by Robert Stevenson
, based on the play by Sheldon and Ayer Barnes.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
starring Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
, Robert Montgomery
Robert Montgomery (actor)
Robert Montgomery was an American actor and director.- Early life :Montgomery was born Henry Montgomery, Jr. in Beacon, New York, then known as "Fishkill Landing", the son of Mary Weed and Henry Montgomery, Sr. His early childhood was one of privilege, since his father was president of the New...
and Nils Asther
Nils Asther
Nils Anton Alfhild Asther was a Danish-born Swedish actor active in Hollywood from 1926 to the mid 1950s, known for his beautiful face and often called "the male Greta Garbo"...
. The film was directed by Clarence Brown
Clarence Brown
Clarence Brown was an American film director.-Early life:Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, to a cotton manufacturer, Brown moved to the South when he was 11. He attended Knoxville High School and the University of Tennessee, both in Knoxville, Tennessee, graduating from the university at the age of...
, and based on the 1931 novel of the same name by Marie Adelaide Belloc Lowndes
Marie Adelaide Belloc Lowndes
Marie Adelaïde Lowndes, née Belloc , was a prolific English novelist.Active from 1904 until her death, she had a literary reputation for combining exciting incident with psychological interest...
. Crawford plays the title character, in a tale of love and blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
.
The film has since become famous due to its unavailability. It is also remembered for the "Letty Lynton dress", designed by Adrian
Adrian (costume designer)
Adrian Adolph Greenberg , most widely known as Adrian, was an American costume designer whose most famous costumes were for The Wizard of Oz and other Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films of the 1930s and 1940s. During his career, he designed costumes for over 250 films and his screen credits usually read as...
: a white cotton organdy
Organdy
Organdy or organdie is the sheerest and crispest cotton cloth made. Combed yarns contribute to its appearance.-Description:Organdy is a balanced plain weave. Because of its stiffness and fiber content, it is very prone to wrinkling...
gown with large ruffled sleeves, puffed at the shoulder. Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
department store copied the dress in 1932, and it sold over 500,000 replicas nationwide. Letty, the character played by Crawford, also gets away with murder, in a classic example of a Pre-Code
Pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood refers to the era in the American film industry between the introduction of sound in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines. Although the Code was adopted in 1930, oversight was poor and it did not become rigorously...
Hollywood movie.
Synopsis
New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
socialite Letty Lynton has been living in Montevideo, Uruguay and wants to end her affair with Emile Renaul. On a steamship to the United States, Letty sees wealthy American Jerry Darrow and is immediately attracted to him. At dinner, their attraction increases, and after two weeks at sea, they have fallen in love.
On Christmas Eve, a worried Letty tells her maid that they must leave the boat in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
because she doesn't want Jerry to know about her wild past, but when Jerry comes to her room to propose, she accepts. In New York, Letty is shocked to see Emile waiting for her on the dock. Making an excuse to Jerry, she leaves the boat before him and learns from Emile that he flew from South America to see her and plans to take her back with him. After she leaves Emile in the customs office, Letty goes home, accompanied by Jerry, who tells her that they have been invited to the home of his parents in Upstate New York
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...
and will leave that night, after Letty tells her mother about the engagement. Letty's mother, Mrs. Lynton, is an embittered woman who shows no affection for Letty, whom she regards as irresponsible. Soon Emile arrives, having read about the engagement in the newspapers, and warns her to meet him in his hotel room that night or he will show Jerry her explicit love letters. Letty is revolted and resolves to commit suicide rather than spend her life with Emile. She calls Jerry to change their departure to the next day, then goes to Emile's hotel, taking a bottle of poison with her. Letty begs for her letters, but he refuses and tells her that their affair will only be over when he says so. While Emile goes to the door to talk to a waiter, Letty puts the poison in her champagne glass, planning to drink it herself.
When Emile returns, however, he strikes her, then picks up her glass by mistake and drinks the poison, as Letty mutely watches. Letty then lets him carry her to the bedroom, and waits until he starts to feel the poison's effects. As he dies, she screams that she's glad she did it, even if she hangs. She then cleans up the room and leaves.
The next day, soon after Letty and Jerry have arrived at the home of his parents, a detective from New York arrives looking for Letty and demanding that she come with him. Jerry, Mrs. Lynton and Letty's maid accompany her to see District Attorney John J. Haney, who produces the letters and accuses Letty of murder. After she admits that she went to see Emile, Jerry lies by saying that he and Letty spent the night together at his apartment after she left Emile's, and that he knew all about the letters. Mrs. Lynton corroborates Jerry's story by saying that she followed Letty to Jerry's apartment. She also says that she overheard Emile say he would kill himself if Letty did not return to him. Letty's maid, Miranda, also corroborates the story, after which Haney says that the case is closed and Letty is free to go.
Reception
PhotoplayPhotoplay
Photoplay was one of the first American film fan magazines. It was founded in 1911 in Chicago, the same year that J. Stuart Blackton founded a similar magazine entitled Motion Picture Story...
magazine commented, "The gripping, simple manner in which this picture unfolds stands it squarely among the best of the month....Joan Crawford as Letty is at her best. Nils Asther is a fascinating villain. Robert Montgomery gives a skillful performance....The direction, plus a strong cast, make Letty Lynton well worth seeing."
Motion Picture Herald
Motion Picture Herald
The Motion Picture Herald was an American film industry trade paper published from 1931 to December 1972. It was replaced by the QP Herald, which only lasted until May 1973.In 1915, Martin Quigley founded the Exhibitors Herald...
noted, "Almost everything one can wish for in entertainment has been injected into this superbly acted and directed production. The gowns which Miss Crawford wears will be the talk of your town for weeks after...and how she wears them!"
Legal status
Letty Lynton has been unavailable since a US Federal court ruled on January 17, 1936 that the script used by MGM followed too closely the play Dishonored Lady (1930) by Edward SheldonEdward Sheldon
Edward Brewster Sheldon was an American dramatist. His plays include Salvation Nell and Romance , which was made into a motion picture with Greta Garbo....
and Margaret Ayer Barnes
Margaret Ayer Barnes
Margaret Ayer Barnes was an American playwright, novelist, and short-story writer....
without acquiring the rights to the play or giving credit. On July 28, 1939, the US Second Court of Appeals awarded one-fifth of the net of Letty Lynton to plaintiffs Sheldon and Ayer Barnes in their plagiarism
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
action against MGM. This case was said to be the first copyright decision ever to direct the apportionment of profits on the relative basis as in patent suits where a patent has been appropriated.
On November 7, 1939, MGM petitioned the United States Supreme Court to overturn the Court of Appeals ruling, stating that the questions arising in the suit were predicated solely upon the copyright laws of the U.S., and not the patent laws. However, MGM did not prevail in this latter action, and the film is unavailable even to this day save for some bootlegged copies.
In 1947, United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
released the film Dishonored Lady
Dishonored Lady
Dishonored Lady is a film starring Hedy Lamarr, Dennis O'Keefe, John Loder, William Lundigan, and Natalie Schafer, directed by Robert Stevenson, and released by United Artists...
, starring Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-American actress celebrated for her great beauty who was a major contract star of MGM's "Golden Age".Lamarr also co-invented – with composer George Antheil – an early technique for spread spectrum communications and frequency hopping, necessary to wireless...
and directed by Robert Stevenson
Robert Stevenson (director)
Robert Stevenson was an English film writer and director. He was educated at Cambridge University where he became the president of both the Liberal Club and the Cambridge Union Society....
, based on the play by Sheldon and Ayer Barnes.
Cast
- Joan CrawfordJoan CrawfordJoan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
as Letty Lynton - Robert MontgomeryRobert Montgomery (actor)Robert Montgomery was an American actor and director.- Early life :Montgomery was born Henry Montgomery, Jr. in Beacon, New York, then known as "Fishkill Landing", the son of Mary Weed and Henry Montgomery, Sr. His early childhood was one of privilege, since his father was president of the New...
as Jerry Darrow - Nils AstherNils AstherNils Anton Alfhild Asther was a Danish-born Swedish actor active in Hollywood from 1926 to the mid 1950s, known for his beautiful face and often called "the male Greta Garbo"...
as Emile Renaul - Lewis StoneLewis StoneLewis Shepard Stone was an American actor.Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, son of Bertrand Stone and Philena Heald Ball. Stone's hair grew gray by the time he was twenty. He fought in the Spanish-American War, then returned to a career as a writer. He soon began acting...
as District Attorney Haney - May RobsonMay RobsonMay Robson was an actress and playwright. A major stage actress of the late 19th and early 20th century, Robson is best known today for the dozens of 1930s motion pictures she appeared in when she was well into her seventies, usually playing cross old ladies with hearts of gold.- Biography :Born...
as Mrs. Lynton, Letty's Mother - Louise Closser HaleLouise Closser HaleLouise Closser Hale was an American actress, playwright and novelist.Louise Closser was born either in Springfield, Massachusetts or Chicago, Illinois . Her father was Joseph A. Closser, a wealthy grain dealer and her mother was Louise M. Closser...
as Miranda, Letty's Maid - Emma DunnEmma DunnEmma Dunn was an English-born American film actress. She appeared in 108 films between 1914 and 1948....
as Mrs. Darrow, Jerry's Mother - Walter Walker as Mr. Darrow, Jerry's Father
- William Pawley as Hennessey