Joan Enters Society

On his return cruise to England, Francis, Lord Kelton (Frank Morgan) finds a woman asleep in his stateroom. Mrs. Fay Cheyney (Joan Crawford) has mistaken his cabin for hers. As she leaves, she meets Arthur, Lord Dilling (Robert Montgomery). Both men are intrigued with the attractive Mrs. Cheyney, and spend the trip vyng for her attentions. We turn our attentions this week to The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937)

It's hard to go wrong when you have the stellar cast of lead and character actors present in this movie. Joan Crawford is convincing, though she plays Fay with more seriousness than did Ms. Shearer in the 1929 version. Ms. Shearer very much had her tongue firmly in her cheek, whereas Ms. Crawford makes Fay more conflicted. The addition of a fairly nasty gang (Sara Haden (Anna), Melville Cooper (William), & Leonard Carey (Ames)) makes the stakes in this version a lot higher. Myrna Loy had originally been cast as Fay (TCM article), but Mrs. Crawford was so adamant in her refusal to play the lead in Parnell (she'd sworn off costume parts after The Gorgeous Hussy) that MGM decided to switch the actresses.

William Powell is splendid as Charles. Though his part is relatively small, he makes good use of the screen time provided. We speculated on the benefits of casting him as Lord Dilling - his chemistry with Ms. Crawford is better, and he has the charm and gravitas that we found a bit lacking in Robert Montgomery. Mr. Montgomery is not bad, he just doesn't have the savoir faire of either Mr. Rathbone or Mr. Powell. In comparison to these two gentlemen, Mr. Montgomery comes across as a touch callow.  It's been said that Mr. Montgomery and Ms. Crawford were not particularly fond of one another, (Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography by Lawrence J. Quirk & William Schoell) which might be part of the problem. Truth to tell, had we not seen Mr. Rathbone, we might not have given Mr. Montgomery lower marks.

Frank Morgan is a vast improvement over Herbert Bunston. Now Lord Kelton, he is no where near as boring and pedantic as the original. He's a tad naive (just WHY is Fay in his room, wearing nothing but her undergarments??)  and he is clearly older and less dashing than Lord Dilling. But, he's no buffoon, and one could see Fay agreeing to marry him. He's rather a nice man, he's quite wealthy, and he is clearly head over heels about her. 

Nigel Bruce (Willie) is cast in a role in which he, like his friend Kelton, is somewhat innocent (he really doesn't know that Cousin John (Ralph Forbes) is NOT his wife Joan's (Colleen Clare) blood relation), but he's also a decent and not silly man. He doesn't do the fubsy Englishman that we are used to in his appearances as Dr. Watson; he is a too trusting soul, but a good friend with a sense of humor.

We also enjoyed Jessie Ralph as the Duchess of Ebley. This version gives the Duchess a bit of a past, which makes her even more attractive (and makes Fay's reluctance to rob her even more pointed).  A Broadway actress with experience in silent films, she was 63 when she made her sound film debut in Child of Manhattan (1933). She had 50 sound film credits to her name (including such gems as Enchanted April (1935), David Copperfield (1935), and After the Thin Man (1936). Married once (and together until his death), she was forced to retire in 1941 after diabetes complications resulted in the amputation of her leg. She died three years later, age 73, of a heart attack. 

A few new scenes are added to the film - the opening scene with Lord Kelton, a late scene with Mr. Powell (obviously inserted to satisfy the Hays Office), and fund-raising auction scene, with little dolls of our lead character auctioned for charity. Here's a photo of Mr. Montgomery with the Crawford doll. We thought the dolls were absolutely adorable, and wondered if the actors got to keep them.

The New York Times review by Frank Nugent was not exactly glowing, though he did express admiration for William Powell saying that "Mr. Powell is equally fascinating, either side of the pale."  Following the release of this version, the Lux Radio Theatre aired a version with Miriam Hopkins, Walter Pidgeon, and Adolph Menjou in May of 1942. In 1953, Broadway Television Theatre broadcast an adaptation with Vicki Cummings in the lead (AFI catalog). 

Each film has its own merits, and we liked both of them for different reasons. We always enjoy seeing William Powell; we liked the rapport between Shearer and Rathbone. With the changes in film technology between 1929 and 1937, the movies are different enough that it is entertaining to see them both.

We'll leave you with a scene from the film: