The Lady Refuses
Brief Synopsis
A millionaire hires an out-of-work girl to lure his son from a gold digger.
Cast & Crew
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George Archainbaud
Director
Betty Compson
June
John Darrow
Russell Courtney
Gilbert Emery
Sir Gerald Courtney
Margaret Livingston
Berthine Waller
Ivan Lebedeff
Nikolai Rabinoff
Film Details
Also Known As
A Lady for Hire, Children of the Streets, Forgotten Women, Ladies for Hire
Genre
Drama
Release Date
Mar
8,
1931
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 12m
Sound
Mono (RCA Photophone System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
6,449ft
(8 reels)
Synopsis
On a foggy London night, Sir Gerald Courtney saves June, a prostitute, from being arrested on his doorstep by telling the police that she is his niece. In need of money, June agrees to use her charms to help Gerald rescue his son Russell from the clutches of Berthine Waller, a gold digger. After buying a lavish wardrobe on Gerald's expense account, June shows up at Russell's apartment building and, as a drunken Russell watches, pretends to be locked out of the apartment that she has just rented below his. While maintaining a ladylike facade, June lures him into her apartment and cajoles him into passing out on her bed. The next morning Russell wakes up in June's bed, having stood up Berthine the night before, and is mortified. After June assures him that he is still a gentleman, Russell begins to date her, then stops drinking and going out with Berthine and starts a promising career as an architect. Satisfied that Russell has reformed, Gerald and June declare their love for each other, and June, sure that he will understand, vows to tell Russell the truth. When June confesses that she is in love with his father, a heartbroken Russell denounces both her and Gerald and telephones Berthine. To prevent Russell from seeing Berthine upstairs, June pulls him into her apartment and pretends to be the callous "lady for hire" he believes her to be. Drunk, Russell passes out on June's bed again, unaware that Berthine has been murdered in his apartment by her jealous fortune-hunting partner, Nikolai Rabinoff. When Russell wakes up, he finds a farewell note from June, which admonishes him to forgive his father. Now the police's main murder suspect, Russell hides in his father's house but refuses to name June in his alibi. Eventually, June reveals that Russell spent the night in her place and is rejected by Gerald. Devastated by Gerald's lack of trust, June exits into the fog before Russell can explain that he was alone in June's apartment. A shamed Gerald then vows to follow June "wherever" she goes.
Director
George Archainbaud
Director
Cast
Betty Compson
June
John Darrow
Russell Courtney
Gilbert Emery
Sir Gerald Courtney
Margaret Livingston
Berthine Waller
Ivan Lebedeff
Nikolai Rabinoff
Edgar Norton
Dobbs
Daphne Pollard
Milly
Reginald Sharland
Freddy
Crew
Videos
Movie Clip
Film Details
Also Known As
A Lady for Hire, Children of the Streets, Forgotten Women, Ladies for Hire
Genre
Drama
Release Date
Mar
8,
1931
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 12m
Sound
Mono (RCA Photophone System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
6,449ft
(8 reels)
Articles
The Lady Refuses
Betty Compson had lots of screen appeal, but its flavor was hard to pin down. She was neither an ingenue nor a maneater, neither high-class nor common, was unwilting without being tough, and her animal sensuality sparkled with a savvy intelligence. Her elusive je ne sais quoi may be why she's forgotten today amidst a pantheon of more distillable actors, but it's what animates the hard-to-swallow plot of The Lady Refuses (1931): A British nobleman (Gilbert Emery) takes in a streetwalker (Compson) who lands on his doorstep and engages her to woo his ne'er-do-well son (John Darrow) away from his golddigger fiancee (Margaret Livingston, most famous as the vampy "Woman From The City" in Sunrise: A Tale Of Two Humans (1927)). Seeing Compson in action, it's easy to understand why both father and son fall for the fallen woman -- or why one smitten Photoplay reviewer raved: "I have never seen a creature more gloriously physical."
The Lady Refuses
Betty Compson had lots of screen appeal, but its flavor was hard to pin down. She was neither an ingenue nor a maneater, neither high-class nor common, was unwilting without being tough, and her animal sensuality sparkled with a savvy intelligence. Her elusive je ne sais quoi may be why she's forgotten today amidst a pantheon of more distillable actors, but it's what animates the hard-to-swallow plot of The Lady Refuses (1931): A British nobleman (Gilbert Emery) takes in a streetwalker (Compson) who lands on his doorstep and engages her to woo his ne'er-do-well son (John Darrow) away from his golddigger fiancee (Margaret Livingston, most famous as the vampy "Woman From The City" in Sunrise: A Tale Of Two Humans (1927)). Seeing Compson in action, it's easy to understand why both father and son fall for the fallen woman -- or why one smitten Photoplay reviewer raved: "I have never seen a creature more gloriously physical."
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working titles of this film were Children of the Streets, Ladies for Hire, A Lady for Hire and Forgotten Women. Motion Picture Herald reviewed the picture under both Lady for Hire and Forgotten Women. A Film Daily release chart claims that the screenplay was taken from Robert Milton and Guy Bolton's "A Lady for Hire," but it is not clear whether this title refers to a screen story or a literary work. All other sources refer to the story as a screen "original." An October 1930 Film Daily news item announced that Jane Murfin was adapting the story, but her contribution to the final film has not been determined. A Film Daily pre-production news item announced H. B. Warner as Compson's co-star, but that actor did not appear in the final film.
