That was an excellent one.

Excellent but underrated film

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Before he is taken away in handcuffs, a father says farewell to his newborn baby girl. The unfortunate man is sentenced to 20 years in the penitentiary, by a judge who also has a newborn baby girl. The convict's baby grows up in poverty; the judge's daughter grows up wealthy. Eighteen years later, pretty débutante Norma Shearer (as Florence Banning) graduates from an exclusive finishing school. In a dual role, attractive delinquent Norma Shearer (as Molly Helmer) graduates from a girls' reform school. The central role Ms. Shearer plays in "Lady of the Night" is the latter one - "Molly" the lower class young woman..."Molly" dates underworld pipsqueak George K. Arthur (as "Chunky" Dunn). She wears a feathered hat that looks like it would strike you blind if Shearer turned her head suddenly. She receives some unwanted attention from a sleazy man. A very handsome young inventor, Malcolm McGregor (as David "Dave" Page), intervenes and saves Shearer. She is smitten. He is interested as well, but Mr. McGregor later meets Shearer's "Florence" - and they begin to date. This makes "Molly" sad. She will have to either fight for Mr. McGregor or let him find happiness with "Florence" the more socially suitable mate...In 2006, "Lady of the Night" was been beautifully restored for broadcast on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). This version runs 61 minutes, which suggests at least one reel's worth of running time is missing. Still, the film plays beautifully. It's possible that something implying prostitution was cut as the title "Lady of the Night" suggests this - but there is no explicit evidence in the feature. Jon Mirsalis' new musical score is marvelous, accompanying the visuals without being obvious. Shearer and director Monta Bell work wonderfully together. One of the most poetic scenes is Mr. Arthur's attempt to touch a ray of light, arriving via a hole in Shearer's window shade...Watch for a very brief glimpse of Joan Crawford's profile in the scene where Shearer hugs Shearer. Soon to join Shearer as an MGM super-star, Ms. Crawford served as body double, due to the star playing two roles. There aren't a lot of scenes involving Shearer and Crawford. Due to the feature film's short running time, it's possible some missing footage involved the two actresses. It's also possible some unknown connection between "Molly" and "Florence" was intended; in the present version, there is no connection made and their resemblance is not noted. Nice to see Kellogg's frosted corn flakes, too. If you aren't sure about "silent" feature films, this is an appealing taste.******** Lady of the Night (2/23/25) Monta Bell ~ Norma Shearer, Malcolm McGregor, George K. Arthur, Joan Crawford

Actors: Watch and learn. Most =talking= film performers haven't learned as much about the effective communication of internal processes and emotional congruence in speech =and= motion as Shearer knew about motion alone at the age of 23. The standard of the time was "acting." This... is =being=. If there had been a Motion Picture Academy and an awards show in 1926, Shearer would have won in a walk. And Irving would have had nothing to do with it.Since IMDb requires ten lines, I'm forced to add the superfluous notion that though the script may have reflected the value judgments of a more belief-stricken and closed-minded -- vs. observant and open-minded -- cultural normality, "Lady..." is nevertheless right there in the ballpark with the probing of sensitivities Irving and other producers were trying hard to convey at the time. The Legion probably loathed "Lady...," but the "expansionists" came out in legions to see it.

The title seems to promise more than it delivers because you know that Norma (as Molly), whether leaving reform school or being "vampy" at Kelly's Dance Hall, was always going to be a good gal at heart. It did deliver on Norma's depth as an actress however. Norma had been in the movies for 5 years and even though her films were cheaply made, they were extremely popular with the public. With Garbo's arrival at MGM, Norma felt confident of her status as a star to ask for more diverse parts. "Lady of the Night" was definitely a marked departure from her "sweet young things" - even though Flo (she played dual parts) showed she could still play pure and chaste with the best of them.Chris Helmer is sentenced to 20 years - he leaves behind his wife and new baby daughter Molly. As he is taken away, he sees the Judge's new baby, Flo, and ponders about the "haves" and "have nots" of society. Eighteen years later while Flo is graduating from a Select Ladie's Academy, Molly is graduating - from reform school (along with buddy Gwen Lee). Molly goes to Kelly's Dance Hall - talk about dressed to kill - with spit curls, a beret and plumes, she is a real eyeful!!! She is also a real wildcat and when she receives some unwanted attention, she fights back - and how!!! She gets help from Dave Page (Malcolm McGregor), a friend of her boyfriend "Chunky" Dunn (George K. Arthur). Dave is an inventor and has invented a safe opening device. While "Chunky" wants him to sell it to some crooks he knows "they'll always play fair", Molly persuades him to do the right thing and sell it to the banks.Dave is not like the usual types, who Molly hangs around with and she tries to make herself more respectable and just like a lady. While Dan likes her as a good friend, he has already found the girl of his dreams in Flo. Flo meets Molly in a cab and together they form a bond, even hugging - a quite inventive split screen scene. The film doesn't end in the conventional way - Molly decides to head out West with "Chunky" - for some "laughs". He never really seemed like a criminal anyway, more like a "good guy".I really loved Norma as Molly - it was a role she could really sink her teeth into and of course with Monta Bell, she had a director of style and sophistication - together they were a brilliant combination.Highly Recommended.

This is a pretty good film starring Norma Shearer in dual roles--as two different women in love with the same man. The acting is just fine and the film is still very watchable today, but I also feel that it's an awfully forgettable film as well--worth a look, but it won't change your life. Most of this is due to the simplicity of the plot and the fact that there really isn't that much tension in the film. The nice guy that the poor lady ("Norma #1") fell for really didn't love her, while the rich lady ("Norma #2) did--so it seems pretty obvious which "Norma" will end up with the guy in the end. Plus, when it becomes obvious that both women desperately loved the guy, the poor Norma just walks away and wishes them luck,...and there just doesn't seem to be any sparks or action. I didn't want a cat fight or anything, but to just walk away so quickly and without even a whimper was too anticlimactic. In addition, the message that nobility can be found in the poor as well as the rich is pretty obviously conveyed, though despite all the obviousness about the film, it is still pretty good and compares reasonably well with the many silent films I have watched.