Main Cast: Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, Binnie Barnes, Ralph Richardson, Morton Selten
Release Year: 1938
Country: UK
Run Time: 92 minutes
Plot
Filmed in lavish Technicolor and given Tiffany production values by producer Alexander Korda, the British comedy Divorce of Lady X is at base a trivial little farce, buoyed by the sprightly performances of star Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier. Ms. Oberon plays a costume-party guest who is forced to stay in a hotel overnight due to inclement weather. There are no rooms available, so the management prevails upon handsome but stuffy lawyer Olivier to give up half of his suite to the lovely Oberon. After a chaste evening together, Olivier becomes obsessed with Oberon, deducing that her elusiveness is due to the "fact" that she is married. Actually, she is nothing of the kind, but when an old school chum (Ralph Richardson) comes to Olivier's office to arrange for a divorce, Olivier jumps to the conclusion that Oberon is his old friend's soon-to-be "ex". Based on Gilbert Wakefield's play Counsel's Opinion, Divorce of Lady X has become a familiar presence on cable TV because of its public domain status; less familiar is an earlier movie version of the Wakefield play, filmed in 1932 by director Allan Dwan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Gus McNaughton - Waiter; Gertrude Musgrove - Saunders; Hal Gordon - Taxidriver; Edward Lexy - Peters; Hugh McDermott; Eva Moore - Lady; Eileen Peel - Mrs. Johnson; John H. Roberts - Slade; C. Denier Warren - Clerk; Lewis Gilbert - Tom; H.B. Hallam
The film was made in Technicolor. It was a remake of the 1933 film, Counsel's Opinion, also made by London Films and in which Binnie Barnes appeared in the role played by Merle Oberon.
Plot
Leslie Steele (Merle Oberon), a guest at a costume party is forced to stay overnight in a hotel because of bad weather. As there are no rooms available, the hotel persuades Everard Logan (Laurence Olivier), a handsome but somewhat stiff lawyer, to share his suite with the lady. They spend the night together, quite chastely, but Logan becomes convinced that Leslie must be married. His conviction is confirmed when an old school friend, Lord Mere (Ralph Richardson) arrives and asks Everard to represent him in a divorce case against his wife, Lady Claire (Binnie Barnes).
