The Lady in Question *** (1940, Brian Aherne, Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, Irene Rich, Evelyn Keyes) – Classic Movie Review 10,927

The amusing 1940 American black and white comedy drama film The Lady in Question, starring Brian Aherne, Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford, is a remake of the 1937 French film classic Gribouille.

Director Charles Vidor’s amusing 1940 American Columbia Pictures black and white comedy drama film The Lady in Question, starring Brian Aherne, Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford, is a remake of the 1937 French film classic Gribouille.

The Lady in Question is the first of five films teaming Ford and Hayworth appeared together, followed by Gilda (1946), The Loves of Carmen (1948), Affair in Trinidad (1952) and The Money Trap (1965). Their liaison developed into a lifelong friendship.

While serving on a Paris jury, André Morestan (Brian Aherne) persuades the others to vote for the acquittal of Natalie Roguin (Rita Hayworth), on trial for the death of her boyfriend.

Morestan invites her to live and work at his bicycle and music shop when no one else will give her a job and, despite her bad reputation, his son Pierre (Glenn Ford) soon falls in love with her.

Marcel Achard’s good story stands up well in this amusing transatlantic transfer, less dour and thoughtful than the original, and happily kept in the original French setting.

The cast are Brian Aherne as André Morestan, Rita Hayworth as Natalie Roguin, Glenn Ford as Pierre Morestan, Irene Rich as Michèle Morestan, Evelyn Keyes as Françoise Morestan, George Coulouris as defence attorney, Edward Norris as Robert LaCoste, Curt Bois as Henri Lurette, Frank Reicher as President, Sumner Getchell as Fat Boy and Nicholas Bela as Nicholas Farkas.

Evelyn Keyes, who plays Françoise Morestan, married the director Charles Vidor in 1943 but they divorced in 1945.

Charles Vidor went on to direct Ford and Hayworth in Gilda (1946).

Marc Allégret’s 1937 French film classic Gribouille [Heart of Paris] is a minor classic from the French golden age, with Raimu starring as Camille Morestan, the juror who takes pity on a woe-begone innocent acquitted of murder.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 10,927

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