The Sin of Madelon Claudet
Encyclopedia
The Sin of Madelon Claudet is a 1931 American drama film
directed by Edgar Selwyn
and starring Helen Hayes
. The screenplay
by Charles MacArthur
and Ben Hecht
was adapted from the play
The Lullaby by Edward Knoblock
. It tells the story of a wrongly imprisoned woman who turns to theft and prostitution
in order to support her son.
) decides to leave her doctor husband Lawrence (Robert Young
), his friend Dr. Dulac (Jean Hersholt
) stops her and tells her the life story of another woman, naive French farmer's daughter Madelon Claudet (Helen Hayes
). She is persuaded by her American boyfriend, artist Larry Maynard (Neil Hamilton), to run away with him. Eventually, he has to return to the U.S. because his father is sick. Once there however, he betrays her and marries a woman approved of by his parents.
Unbeknownst to him, Madelon gives birth to a son. When her lover does not come back, her father (Russ Powell
) gets her to agree to marry Hubert (Alan Hale
), a farmer. However, when she refuses to give up her illegitimate son, Hubert and her father abandon her. She becomes the mistress of an older acquaintance, Count Carlo Boretti (Lewis Stone
), while her friends Rosalie (Marie Prevost
) and Victor Lebeau (Cliff Edwards
) care for the boy.
After a while, Carlo proposes marriage and Madelon accepts. However, when they go out to celebrate, he is arrested as a jewel thief. He manages to commit suicide
, but Madelon is sentenced to ten years in prison as his accomplice, even though she is innocent.
When she finally is released in 1919, she goes to see her teenage son Lawrence, now living at a state boarding school. A conversation with the school's doctor proves crucial. Dr. Dulac reveals that because his father was a criminal, he cannot get better work elsewhere. Determined not to become a similar burden to her own child, she tells her son his mother is dead.
Madelon is determined to finance Lawrence's medical education, but with the end of World War I
, millions of Frenchmen are released from the army and jobs are scarce. When a man mistakes her for a prostitute, she takes up the profession. As she ages and loses her looks, she is forced to steal as well, but finally, her goal is realized, and Lawrence receives his degree.
Aged and destitute, she decides to give up her freedom and commit herself to state charity, but visits her son one last time, pretending to be a patient. When she leaves, she encounters Dr. Dulac, who recognizes her and persuades his friend Dr. Claudet, still unaware of her true identity, to provide for her. After hearing of the woman's self-sacrifice, Alice Claudet suggests to Lawrence he invite Madelon to live with them.
called in playwright Charles MacArthur
, who was Hayes' husband, to doctor the script. He thoroughly revised it, omitting inconsequential characters and framing the story as a flashback
.
Hayes had begun filming Arrowsmith
for Samuel Goldwyn
and had to complete that project before shooting her new scenes for the Thalberg film. It was retitled The Sin of Madelon Claudet and opened to widespread acclaim for both Hayes and the film itself.
The film was voted one of the ten best pictures of the year by a Film Daily
nationwide poll.
Time
said the film was "remarkable because in it Helen Hayes appears in cinema for the first time and because it succeeds in its intention — to make audiences weep . . . By ceasing entirely to be Helen Hayes and becoming instead the woman whose life story she portrays, Cinemactress Hayes makes the familiarity of the story double its sadness . . . The picture is well directed by Edgar Selwyn [and] splendidly acted by the rest of the cast."
TV Guide
rates the film four stars and calls it a "well-acted soaper
."
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...
directed by Edgar Selwyn
Edgar Selwyn
Edgar Selwyn was a prominent figure in American theater and film in the first half of the 20th Century.Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Selwyn flourished in the Broadway theater as an actor, playwright, director, and producer from 1899 to 1942...
and starring Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes Brown was an American actress whose career spanned almost 70 years. She eventually garnered the nickname "First Lady of the American Theatre" and was one of twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award...
. The screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Charles MacArthur
Charles MacArthur
Charles Gordon MacArthur was an American playwright and screenwriter.-Biography:Charles MacArthur was the second youngest of seven children born to stern evangelist William Telfer MacArthur and Georgiana Welsted MacArthur. He early developed a passion for reading...
and Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, and novelist. Called "the Shakespeare of Hollywood", he received screen credits, alone or in collaboration, for the stories or screenplays of some 70 films and as a prolific storyteller, authored 35 books and created some of...
was adapted from the play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
The Lullaby by Edward Knoblock
Edward Knoblock
Edward Knoblock was an American-born British playwright and novelist most remembered for the often revived 1911 play, Kismet-Biography:...
. It tells the story of a wrongly imprisoned woman who turns to theft and prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
in order to support her son.
Plot
When neglected wife Alice (Karen MorleyKaren Morley
-Life and career:Born Mildred Linton in Ottumwa, Iowa, Morley lived there until she was thirteen years old. When she came to Hollywood, she attended Hollywood High School, and she later graduated from UCLA....
) decides to leave her doctor husband Lawrence (Robert Young
Robert Young (actor)
Robert George Young was an American television, film, and radio actor, best known for his leading roles as Jim Anderson, the father of Father Knows Best and as physician Marcus Welby in Marcus Welby, M.D. .-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Young was the son of an Irish immigrant father...
), his friend Dr. Dulac (Jean Hersholt
Jean Hersholt
Jean Pierre Hersholt was a Danish-born actor who lived in the United States, where he was a leading film and radio talent, best known for his 17 years starring on radio in Dr. Christian and for playing Shirley Temple's grandfather in Heidi...
) stops her and tells her the life story of another woman, naive French farmer's daughter Madelon Claudet (Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes Brown was an American actress whose career spanned almost 70 years. She eventually garnered the nickname "First Lady of the American Theatre" and was one of twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award...
). She is persuaded by her American boyfriend, artist Larry Maynard (Neil Hamilton), to run away with him. Eventually, he has to return to the U.S. because his father is sick. Once there however, he betrays her and marries a woman approved of by his parents.
Unbeknownst to him, Madelon gives birth to a son. When her lover does not come back, her father (Russ Powell
Russ Powell
Russ Powell was an American film actor. He appeared in 186 films between 1915 and 1943.He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:* Kindled Courage...
) gets her to agree to marry Hubert (Alan Hale
Alan Hale, Sr.
Alan Hale, Sr. was an American movie actor and director, most widely remembered for his many supporting character roles, in particular as frequent sidekick of Errol Flynn. His wife of over thirty years was Gretchen Hartman , a child actress and silent film player and mother of their three children...
), a farmer. However, when she refuses to give up her illegitimate son, Hubert and her father abandon her. She becomes the mistress of an older acquaintance, Count Carlo Boretti (Lewis Stone
Lewis Stone
Lewis 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...
), while her friends Rosalie (Marie Prevost
Marie Prevost
Marie Prevost was a Canadian-born actress of the early days of cinema. During her twenty year career, she made 121 silent and talking pictures.-Early life:...
) and Victor Lebeau (Cliff Edwards
Cliff Edwards
Cliff Edwards , also known as "Ukelele Ike", was an American singer and voice actor who enjoyed considerable popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s, specializing in jazzy renditions of pop standards and novelty tunes. He had a number-one hit with "Singin' in the Rain" in 1929...
) care for the boy.
After a while, Carlo proposes marriage and Madelon accepts. However, when they go out to celebrate, he is arrested as a jewel thief. He manages to commit suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, but Madelon is sentenced to ten years in prison as his accomplice, even though she is innocent.
When she finally is released in 1919, she goes to see her teenage son Lawrence, now living at a state boarding school. A conversation with the school's doctor proves crucial. Dr. Dulac reveals that because his father was a criminal, he cannot get better work elsewhere. Determined not to become a similar burden to her own child, she tells her son his mother is dead.
Madelon is determined to finance Lawrence's medical education, but with the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, millions of Frenchmen are released from the army and jobs are scarce. When a man mistakes her for a prostitute, she takes up the profession. As she ages and loses her looks, she is forced to steal as well, but finally, her goal is realized, and Lawrence receives his degree.
Aged and destitute, she decides to give up her freedom and commit herself to state charity, but visits her son one last time, pretending to be a patient. When she leaves, she encounters Dr. Dulac, who recognizes her and persuades his friend Dr. Claudet, still unaware of her true identity, to provide for her. After hearing of the woman's self-sacrifice, Alice Claudet suggests to Lawrence he invite Madelon to live with them.
Cast
- Helen HayesHelen HayesHelen Hayes Brown was an American actress whose career spanned almost 70 years. She eventually garnered the nickname "First Lady of the American Theatre" and was one of twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award...
as Madelon Claudet - 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 Carlo Boretti - Neil Hamilton as Larry Maynard
- Cliff EdwardsCliff EdwardsCliff Edwards , also known as "Ukelele Ike", was an American singer and voice actor who enjoyed considerable popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s, specializing in jazzy renditions of pop standards and novelty tunes. He had a number-one hit with "Singin' in the Rain" in 1929...
as Victor Lebeau - Jean HersholtJean HersholtJean Pierre Hersholt was a Danish-born actor who lived in the United States, where he was a leading film and radio talent, best known for his 17 years starring on radio in Dr. Christian and for playing Shirley Temple's grandfather in Heidi...
as Dr Dulac - Marie PrevostMarie PrevostMarie Prevost was a Canadian-born actress of the early days of cinema. During her twenty year career, she made 121 silent and talking pictures.-Early life:...
as Rosalie Lebeau - Robert YoungRobert Young (actor)Robert George Young was an American television, film, and radio actor, best known for his leading roles as Jim Anderson, the father of Father Knows Best and as physician Marcus Welby in Marcus Welby, M.D. .-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Young was the son of an Irish immigrant father...
as Dr Lawrence Claudet - Karen MorleyKaren Morley-Life and career:Born Mildred Linton in Ottumwa, Iowa, Morley lived there until she was thirteen years old. When she came to Hollywood, she attended Hollywood High School, and she later graduated from UCLA....
as Alice Claudet - Charles WinningerCharles WinningerCharles Winninger was an American stage and film actor, most often cast in comedies or musicals, but equally at home in drama.-Biography:He began as a vaudeville actor...
as M. Novella - Photographer - Alan HaleAlan Hale, Sr.Alan Hale, Sr. was an American movie actor and director, most widely remembered for his many supporting character roles, in particular as frequent sidekick of Errol Flynn. His wife of over thirty years was Gretchen Hartman , a child actress and silent film player and mother of their three children...
as Hubert - Halliwell HobbesHalliwell HobbesHalliwell Hobbes was an English actor.-Life:His stage debut was in Sir Frank Benson's company in 1898, playing in Shakespearean rep alongside actors such as Ellen Terry and Mrs Patrick Campbell...
as Roget - Boretti's Butler - Lennox Pawle as Felix St. Jacques
- Russ PowellRuss PowellRuss Powell was an American film actor. He appeared in 186 films between 1915 and 1943.He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:* Kindled Courage...
as Monsieur Claudet
Production
The film originally was titled The Lullaby. Following its first preview, it was panned by critics, who were impressed by Hayes in her film debut, but thought the plot was conventional and sappy. Producer Irving ThalbergIrving Thalberg
Irving Grant Thalberg was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and his extraordinary ability to select the right scripts, choose the right actors, gather the best production staff and make very profitable films.-Life and...
called in playwright Charles MacArthur
Charles MacArthur
Charles Gordon MacArthur was an American playwright and screenwriter.-Biography:Charles MacArthur was the second youngest of seven children born to stern evangelist William Telfer MacArthur and Georgiana Welsted MacArthur. He early developed a passion for reading...
, who was Hayes' husband, to doctor the script. He thoroughly revised it, omitting inconsequential characters and framing the story as a flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
.
Hayes had begun filming Arrowsmith
Arrowsmith (film)
Arrowsmith is a 1931 film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. It was written by Sidney Howard from the Sinclair Lewis novel Arrowsmith, and directed by John Ford.-Plot:...
for Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...
and had to complete that project before shooting her new scenes for the Thalberg film. It was retitled The Sin of Madelon Claudet and opened to widespread acclaim for both Hayes and the film itself.
The film was voted one of the ten best pictures of the year by a Film Daily
Film Daily
The Film Daily was a daily publication that existed from 1915 to 1970 in the United States.For 55 years, Film Daily was the main source of news on the film and television industries...
nationwide poll.
Reception
In his review in the New York Times, Mordaunt Hall said, "[Helen Hayes'] superb portrayal in a difficult role leaves only the regret that the powers that be did not see fit to have her make her screen début in a more cheerful study . . . The Sin of Madelon Claudet is a sorrowful chronicle which will undoubtedly have a strong popular appeal. It is endowed with other commendable impersonations . . . [and] also has the benefit of Edgar Selwyn's expert direction."Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
said the film was "remarkable because in it Helen Hayes appears in cinema for the first time and because it succeeds in its intention — to make audiences weep . . . By ceasing entirely to be Helen Hayes and becoming instead the woman whose life story she portrays, Cinemactress Hayes makes the familiarity of the story double its sadness . . . The picture is well directed by Edgar Selwyn [and] splendidly acted by the rest of the cast."
TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
rates the film four stars and calls it a "well-acted soaper
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
."
Awards
- Academy Award for Best ActressAcademy Award for Best ActressPerformance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
- Helen Hayes - Venice Film FestivalVenice Film FestivalThe Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
Audience Referendum for Favorite Actress - Helen Hayes - Venice Film Festival Audience Referendum for Most Touching Film - Edgar Selwyn