Main Cast: Gladys George, John Beal, Warren William, Reginald Owen, William Henry
Release Year: 1937
Country: US
Run Time: 71 minutes
Plot
Sam Wood directed this fourth version of the Alexandre Bisson weeper, buffed to a high gloss by shimmering M.G.M. production values. Gladys George plays Jacqueline Fleuriot this time around, the wife of a diplomat who has an affair and is compelled to leave her husband and son. After abandoning her family, she sinks into a sea of debauchery, becoming involved in prostitution, blackmail, and eventually murder. After the murder, her son Raymond (John Beal), now a grown man and a famous lawyer, is called upon to defend her. Unaware that the woman he is defending is his long lost mother, Jacqueline tries to hide her past from her successful son. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Review
Gladys George enjoyed some reputation in the legitimate theater and it is a shame that MGM didn't offer the lady something better than Alexandre Bisson's ancient tearjerker Madame X. George is fine in the self-sacrificing title role and Warren William is his usual stalwart self as Fleuriot. But John Beal lacks the oomph to carry the ill-defined role of the son and the entire production appears to have been something of a rush job despite the usual Metro polish. So, when all is said and done, most modern viewers probably will prefer Lana Turner's heart-tugging turn at bat in the glossy 1966 remake. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
Cedric Gibbons - Art Director, Urie McCleary - Art Director, Edwin B. Willis - Art Director, Dolly Tree - Costume Designer, Sam Wood - Director, Frank E. Hull - Editor, David Snell - Composer (Music Score), John F. Seitz - Cinematographer, James K. McGuinness - Producer, John Meehan - Screenwriter, Alexandre Bisson - Play Author
A woman is thrown out of her home by her jealous husband and sinks into depravity. Twenty years later, she finds herself accused of murder for saving her son, who does not know who she is.[clarification needed] He finds himself defending her without knowing her background.
Cast
Gladys George as Jacqueline Fleuriot, aka Miss Pran and Madame X
