Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

"The Divorce of Lady X" is a lovely color film produced by Alexander Korda--a man who had a great history producing films in the UK and US. However, compared to many of Korda's other great films, this one comes up a bit average. It has a great idea but something about it kept it from being a bit better.The film begins in a horrible London fog. It's so foggy that folks can't get home and a hotel is totally booked. The last person to get a room, Everard (Laurence Olivier), is dead tired and miffed when the management asks him to share his suite since there are so many looking for rooms. Despite this, a very pushy and determined woman, Leslie (Merle Oberon), is able to finagle a bed in his room--and here is complications arise. He thinks she's a married woman and the next day, a man comes to hire him (as he's a barrister--that's a lawyer to us Americans) to sue his wife for divorce--and the woman the new client describes sounds EXACTLY like the woman who just spent the night with him! What's he to do? He's initially afraid that he's about to be named a co-respondent but later it's more complicated when he thinks that he's falling in love with this woman--a woman he thinks has been married four times already!I nearly gave the movie a 7, so I did like it. However, sometimes I really thought they made Oberon's character too obnoxious and unlikable. Additionally, why Olivier's character would want to marry her is perplexing considering she's so obnoxious, manipulative AND he thinks she's been married many times already. Add to this a ridiculous courtroom scene at the very end, it just kept me wishing they'd edited or re-written the thing a bit.

The plot of "The Divorce of Lady X" is a silly confection of misunderstandings among the London upper crust which cries out for dance interludes by Fred and Ginger. We have the crusty grandfather, a judge, with an impertinent butler; the screwball granddaughter and the stuffy lawyer at whom she sets her cap; a dotty peer; a harassed hotel manager; the de rigueur beauty parlour scene; and the eclaircissement at a stately home where a hunt is meeting.That is almost the only non-foggy exterior in a story shot in Natalie Kalmus's three-strip Technicolor. It was in its infancy in the UK: luxury hotel suites and posh flats glow in soft, rich tones. (Olivier: 'Where shall we meet? Savoy, Embassy, Claridges?')Korda had got the British industry over the longueurs of early 'teacup drama' in talkies, and the film is quietly but fluently piloted by Hollywood's Tim Whelan. It is stagy neither in blocking nor in the delivery of lines, though the cast other than Oberon (Mrs Korda) are West End veterans.Merle is skittish and fretfully British, posing as 'the wickedest woman in the world'- 'four husbands in five years and two adventures'. Binnie Barnes as the genuine adventuress was one of Britain's first Atlantic movie commuters, and sounds American: her inclusion is Korda's nod to his partners in United Artists and the US market.But the film's fascination, Technicolor apart, is to watch Laurence Olivier on the brink of supremacy: his great voice plangent or whispering, his impatience poking through. It was his last light comic role (unless you count "The Prince and the Showgirl") and he can do it asleep. He is ready for his Hollywood purple patch and the transmogrification to Shakespearean king of Britflicks which would ensue. Here he's predominantly moody and reflective, or peppery. His court outburst against the hypocrisy of modern woman (see the post below for a verbatim transcript) seems heartfelt, however; it gains piquancy from our knowing what heartache Vivien Leigh would give him. Ralph Richardson's bumbling and havering are a good counterpoint to Larry's crispness.Miklos Rozsa, then 30, was a compatriot of Korda. His sprightly score includes Gershwin pastiches. He too would soon take off for Hollywood. Unlike Larry, he stayed there..

A well-to-do London divorce lawyer thinks he is ruined because he has become - unwittingly - a litigant in one of his future cases.Hard to start this review without giving a bit of a history lesson. This old stage chestnut seemed to tickle the pre-war Britain audience and bringing it to the screen - pretty much as-is - was seen as a sure-thing.You also have to remember that in those days divorce, hotel rooms and gay (in the original sense of the word) women where seen as racy. Indeed getting a divorce was beyond many a pocket as you had to prove adultery (or some other fault) in a court of law. Hence the tiptoeing private detective!Great to see the triumvirate of Lawrence Olivier, Ralph Richardson and Merle Oberon about their craft. Especially in material that is more comedic than serious. All people worth learning about. Sadly the colour (nitrate) negative seems to have deteriorated (as it does!) and now has the look of a 8 mm home movie. While still watchable - in this form - some showings may revert to black and white.Olivier was always best with some kind of humorous undercurrent. Here he is not yet at the top of his game - and was never any kind of Carry Grant when he was - but plays the confused lead with some gusto. Richardson remains an enigma - the "best Falstaff of all time" say some - but more personality than actor. He could only be variations on himself, although perfect in roles such as this: An upper-class gentleman's club bore. The mixed race Oberon (they always lit her face with strong light to disguise her Indian skin tint) actually has the nerve to twinkle and scene-steal. Hollywood soon took notice.This isn't essential stuff unless you are a fan of the three principles or like British cinema-light. Olivier hadn't - at that time - totally mastered screen acting but was about to go in to his best work, which includes Wuthering Heights (which he was not true to the book - but very memorable) and Henry V (which is a breathtaking film). This is a comedy of manners and maybe some of the comedy comes from the dated aspects of those manners.

I have become quite fond of Laurence Olivier in the past few weeks, and was thrilled when I discovered this gem. I have always found it wonderful when I run across a film where I do not have to have my finger on the remote control in case nudity rears its ugly head.The Divorce of Lady X is charming till the final scene, and must have been a true delight for viewers back in 1938. I only wish people today could accept and love true humor instead of the horrid trash talk people now call funny.The Divorce of Lady X is well worth anyone's time.