I must admit I did not expect to like this old 1929 version of "Madame X." However, I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, this film is downright ancient now, with the usual static camera and bad sound. Ruth Chatterton is the real reason to watch. Her performance is certainly a bit histrionic and theatrical, but this was not unusual in early talkies. Chatterton is "Madame X" - a wayward married woman who is shunned by her rich husband. She goes from living like a queen to skid row - she becomes an alcoholic and associates with some bad characters along the way. Madame X then kills one of these dubious characters who has discovered her real past. She goes on trial, and of course the man who defends her turns out to be her now grown son (Raymond Hackett), a handsome lawyer who is very kind hearted towards her. Lewis Stone plays the husband whose pride stands in the way of allowing Madame X to see her son when he is small. This film was made again in the mid-1960's with Lana Turner in the "Madame X" role, but I rather prefer this one. I recorded this version from Turner Classic movies, and the print is fairly awful, with a bad picture and much static in the sound. But Ruth Chatterton kept my attention, and she would go on to do good films throughout the 1930's, including "Female" and "Dodsworth" as two of her best. Strangely, after the 1930's, she would never recapture much fame, even though she would continue to act up to the 1950's.
