The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
Directed by Sidney Franklin
Written by Frederick Lonsdale from his play
1929/US
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
IMDb page
First viewing/Amazon Prime rental
Fay Cheyney: I know too much about you. And you know too little about me.
Oh, how this movie cried out for the Lubitsch touch!
New widow Fay Cheyney has burst on the London social scene and let it be known she is looking for a husband. The “smart set” adopt her and invite her to their homes. Finally she snags a invite to a very wealthy woman’s home for a country weekend. While there she takes turns flirting with her two suitors, elderly dunderhead Lord Elton and debonair confirmed bachelor Lord Arthur Dilling (Basil Rathbone). Fay manipulates both men, playing very hard to get with Arthur and patronizing Lord Elton.
Half-way through the movie we learn Fay’s secret. Arthur isn’t far behind and takes charge of her. With Hedda Hopper as one of Fay’s new friends.
This could have been a rather funny and sophisticated farce in the hands of Lubitsch. Unfortunately, we get actors must who have been coached to speak their lines in as affected and wry manner as possible. This got on my nerves and by the end of the film I didn’t care what happened to anyone.
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