Kind Lady(1935).Mary Herries is a rich woman with a habit of contributing to those less fortunate than her. On her way home from a concert on Christmas Eve she discovers a poor, would-be artist outside her estate. Mary takes pity on this artist, Henry Abbott, and gives him some food and money. After taking him in, she finds herself somewhat attracted to this artist; he is handsome, and quite knowledgeable of fine art, especially the paintings in Mary's extensive collection. However, when she discovers that Henry has both a wife and a small child that he is struggling to support, she gives him some money and hand-me downs, and sends him on his way. A few days later he shows up with some of his own paintings (which are absolutely awful) as well as some items he stole from Mary's house on Christmas Eve. Henry demands a large amount of money for his paintings, which Mary eventually pays. She then discovers that Henry has left his wife and baby outside, in the rain. His wife collapses and Mary, out of ... Written byJonathan Broxton <j.w.broxton@sheffield.ac.uk>... Synopsis Kind Lady(1935)
Movie Title: Kind Lady(1935)
Run Time: 76 min
Rating: 6.5 / 10
Genres: Thriller |Drama
Release Date: 6 December 1935 (USA)
Director: George B. Seitz
Writer: Edward Chodorov (play),Bernard Schubert, more credit ... and other credits
Actor: Aline MacMahon,Basil Rathbone,Mary Carlisle
What an odd little movie from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Plot-rich but very stagey, almost as if it might have originally been a play, KIND LADY tells the story of a wealthy woman (McMahon) who takes in a starving artist (Rathbone) and his wife and daughter. Soon enough,she finds the artist is no artist, but a grifter with an extended family of grifters who soon move in on her. What they are after is her extensive collection of paintings, which are worth a fortune. The bogus artist and his crew hold the old lady captive, and only an 11th-hour intervention by a suspicious relative saves the day. A young Rathbone is suitably sinister and suave as the head of this pack of thieves and cutthroats, and McMahon is thoroughly convincing as the wealthy old woman who is much too generous. The marvelous character actor Dudley Digges plays Rathbone's main confederate. There is a doctor among this group of thugs, but it is never explained why he is part of the group. A little back story couldn't have hurt, like maybe he was peddling drugs and lost his license to practice medicine. Also, Rathbone is so elegant, one has to wonder why he has thrown in with this mostly ragtag lot, other than to assume these are the best people he could find to aid and abet him with his scam. Or perhaps he just acts and looks elegant, and is as sleazy as the rest of the crew when not working one of his deals. Who knows? A real curio with a top-notch cast, perfect for lovers of creaky old melodramas..
