That's allegedly the source material for this stilted "women's picture," directed by Robert Z. Leonard wishing he were George Cukor. Constance Bennett, lovingly photographed and lively, but lacking the British accent of everyone around her, loves Herbert Marshall, but his father won't permit his son to associate with her disreputable clan, so Herbert runs off to India. Constance dithers for four years then marries a very rich nice man, who's also adored by her young brother, to an extreme that can only be called suspicious. On their wedding night she learns that her groom committed some unspecified unspeakable crime and went to prison under a different name, and he's so ashamed by the revelation that he jumps out of the window. Her brother renounces her and runs off to drink and ruin, while she tells a lie to preserve her late husband's honor. Marshall, meanwhile, marries nice Elizabeth Allan, though his heart's forever with Connie. The brother dies, Elizabeth sends Herbert back to Connie, the truth comes out, Herbert's rotten father apologizes, and Connie's so devastated by the revelation that she jumps into her roadster and slams suicidally into a tree. It's a stiff but entertaining one, with unlikelihood piling on top of unlikelihood and everybody being insufferably noble. The only other notable element is Mrs. Patrick Campbell, third-billed but on screen for only a minute or two. Worth a look to see just how excessive women's weepies could be at the time.
Review of Outcast Lady
