Like many of Alfred Hitchcock's British films, Easy Virtue was based off a play. Here the movie was an adaption of a Noel Coward play of the same name. The play made its Broadway debut on December 07, 1925, and would continue on Broadway until April 1926 for a total of 147 performances. The opening night (at the Empire Theatre) cast included Constance Best, Joyce Carey, Peter Carpenter and Joan Clement Scott. Though most of these names are unknown today, Joyce Carey would later end up acting in some truly great movies. Her filmography included such movies as In Which We Serve (1942) (which would be co-directed by Coward), Brief Encounter (1945), The Astonished Heart (1950) (an adaption of a Coward play of the same name), The Naked Edge (1961) and Disney's Greyfriars Bobby (1961). Screenland magazine had a section called the Stage Coach where there would be reviews of various stage plays. Here is a review of the Noel Coward play from an issue dated May 1926. "Noel Coward's Easy Virtue as well as being a good show has Jane Cowl in it. Which is our idea of a grand combination. There aren't many fireworks in the show, not even a pistol shot is fired. Coward's attitude is that your Englishman meets the crises of life in a calm and civilized manner, in which heroics play no part. He has an excellent cast to assist Miss Cowell in that attitude, notably Halliwell Hobbes, Mabel Terry Lewis, Marda Vanne and Joyce Carey. In addition, he adheres to the theory himself, so that where another playwright might have done things dramatically, Coward is content to do them unostentatiously but just as impressively. Here is another Hedda Gabler - an English one - who exits from her impossible surroundings with extreme calmness. Where Hedda choses death, Laritia goes just as bravely, but a bit more quietly, to meet life."
Though trade presses originally stated that Graham Cutts would be directing the film adaption, Alfred Hitchcock would be the director when the adaption was made. Due to the success of Noel Coward's play, this movie was rushed into production. Elliot Stannard would begin writing the scenario directly after he finished writing Downhill (1927). This film was so rushed into production that shooting began (at Islington Studios) before Downhill was finished filming. In late March 1927, the vast and crew traveled to French Riviera and in Nice to film footage around that area. At the same time Ivor Novello went along to film some scenes for Downhill.
Easy Virtue was a play about divorce. Today such a drama might seem ill-fitting for Alfred Hitchcock. However, it must be remembered that at this time Hitch had not become the Master of Suspense and instead worked in a wide variety of genres.
In this film, a recently divorced woman (Isabel Jeans) tries to hide the fact that she got a divorce from her new husband (Robin Irvine) and his family.
This is another rather typical melodramatic story that is enhanced by Hitchcock's filmmaking. The story is simple and nothing that anyone watching has not seen before. The romance is sadly rather weak and many of the romantic scenes come off as kind of dull. There is no real romantic chemistry between these characters, and the scenes are full of tired clichés. However, the film really picks up in the last act. When the focus turns to the main character fighting back against her husband's family's prejudice against her, it is a lot more interesting than the scenes based on the romance. As well as giving us a more interesting dynamic, it is here where the social commentary is at its most biting and effective. I just simply wish the first two acts could have been this strong. Sadly, though the first two acts are simply boring in comparison.
This movie is however very handsome throughout. Hitch has plenty of very creative visual ways to tell rather simple plot points. This is seen especially in the courtroom scenes and the proposal scene. Various of the outdoor scenes are also simply gorgeous to look at.
This may be the master's weakest silent film, but it still has enough that works to recommend it. Hitch would follow this with four truly great silent movies, that bring his silent era work to a strong closing.
When François Truffaut first asked Hitch about this film in his book length interview with the director, the first thing Hitch recalled was one intertitle that he regretted. Hitch told Truffaut, "That was taken from a Noel Coward play, and it contained the worst title I've ever written. I'm ashamed to tell you about it but I will. At the beginning of the film shows Laurita during her divorce case. She is very well known, and she tells her story to the court. How she married a young man of a good family and so forth. At any rate her divorce is uncontested and granted. And the word gets around that the photographers gather outside. Eventually she appears at the courthouse stairs, her arms out, and says, 'Shoot, there's nothing left to kill!'"
On the other hand, Hitch would remain proud of another scene in the picture. Hitch would state, "An interesting scene in this picture is when John is proposing marriage to Laurita, and instead of giving him an immediate answer, she says, 'I'll call you from my house, around midnight.' Next, we, show a little watch indicating it is midnight, it's the watch of a switchboard operator who is reading a book, A small light goes on the board. She puts the plug in and is about to go back to her reading but then automatically listens to the earphones, Then, she puts the book down, obviously fascinated by the phone conversation. In other words, I never show either of the two people. You follow what is happening by watching the switchboard operator."
The star of this movie would be Isabel Jeans. This was her second of three movies for Alfred Hitchcock. She had previously appeared in Downhill (1927) and would later appear in Suspicion (1941). Her best-known film role is as Aunt Alicia in the Best Picture winning musical, Gigi (1958). There are some who say that Gigi is one of the worst Best Picture winners and these people are wrong. Jeans was born September 16, 1891, in London. She began her stage career at the age of 15. In 1913 she would marry actor Claude Rains, best known for movie roles such as The Invisible Man (1933), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Casablanca (1942) and Hitch's Notorious (1946). Unfortunately, the marriage would not last long. In 1915 Jeans would appear on Broadway in two plays (produced by Granville Barker), The Man Who Married a Dumb Wife (premiered Jan 27, 1915) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Feb 16, 1915). Both plays premiered at Wallack's Theatre (Broadway at 30th St., New York, NY), which was built in 1882, and wish would be torn down in 1915. She would return to Broadway at least twice with the plays The Man in Possession (November 01, 1930 - January 1931) and Make Way for Lucia (Dec 22, 1948 - Jan 15, 1949). She would be a regular presence on the London stage as well including appearing in Ivor Novello's play The Rat in 1924.
Probably because this movie was rushed into production Robin Irvine, Ian Hunter and Violet Farebrother (who were all in Downhill) also appeared in the cast here.
The following (written by Ernest E. Fredman) comes from an issue of The Film Daily dated September 25, 1927.
"London - Recent radical rulings of the Irish Free State Censor Board has caused great dissatisfaction in the trade both at Dublin and London. 'Mare Nostrum' was banned by the Board but was later passed unanimously by the Appeal Division. Now the censors have gone so far as to prohibit 'Easy Virtue,' a British production from showing in Ireland.
"From all appearances, this censor board has launched a 'puritan crusade.' Desire of powers that be to suppress all mention of divorce in Ireland is said by the censors to be the reason for blacklisting the Coward play, 'Easy Virtue.'"
Upon its release, reviews were not over positive for this movie. C.A. Lejeune (writing for Manchester Guardian) stated, "for all its cleverness, [it] is not a good film" A review in The Bioscope praised Hitch's filmmaking but felt that the source material kept it from being a great movie. That review stated, "Hitchcock has done the best possible for a subject which does not lend itself readily to the medium of the screen, and he is to be congratulated on having maintained interest throughout with what proves to be very slight material ... In spite of an excellent performance by Isabel Jeans, and Hitchcock's always-apparent resourcefulness and occasional brilliance, this was not one of his more effective films."
Contemporary reviewers try to put this movie into Hitch's larger filmography. One such example is Professor Charles Barr who feels that this film has some attachments to Hitch's later Notorious (1946). Prof. Barr states, "[Isabel Jeans] is twice referred to, in dialogue titles, as 'the notorious Mrs Filton'; she is oppressed by journalistic cameras, as Bergman is at the opening of "Notorious", and she is hounded in the same way by a mother-in-law who is intent on discovering her disreputable secrets. In the power struggle between the two women, key scenes in both films are played out on the main staircase."
Easy Virtue can be watched below.
-Michael J. Ruhland
Resources Used
In this film, a recently divorced woman (Isabel Jeans) tries to hide the fact that she got a divorce from her new husband (Robin Irvine) and his family.
This is another rather typical melodramatic story that is enhanced by Hitchcock's filmmaking. The story is simple and nothing that anyone watching has not seen before. The romance is sadly rather weak and many of the romantic scenes come off as kind of dull. There is no real romantic chemistry between these characters, and the scenes are full of tired clichés. However, the film really picks up in the last act. When the focus turns to the main character fighting back against her husband's family's prejudice against her, it is a lot more interesting than the scenes based on the romance. As well as giving us a more interesting dynamic, it is here where the social commentary is at its most biting and effective. I just simply wish the first two acts could have been this strong. Sadly, though the first two acts are simply boring in comparison.
This movie is however very handsome throughout. Hitch has plenty of very creative visual ways to tell rather simple plot points. This is seen especially in the courtroom scenes and the proposal scene. Various of the outdoor scenes are also simply gorgeous to look at.
This may be the master's weakest silent film, but it still has enough that works to recommend it. Hitch would follow this with four truly great silent movies, that bring his silent era work to a strong closing.
When François Truffaut first asked Hitch about this film in his book length interview with the director, the first thing Hitch recalled was one intertitle that he regretted. Hitch told Truffaut, "That was taken from a Noel Coward play, and it contained the worst title I've ever written. I'm ashamed to tell you about it but I will. At the beginning of the film shows Laurita during her divorce case. She is very well known, and she tells her story to the court. How she married a young man of a good family and so forth. At any rate her divorce is uncontested and granted. And the word gets around that the photographers gather outside. Eventually she appears at the courthouse stairs, her arms out, and says, 'Shoot, there's nothing left to kill!'"
On the other hand, Hitch would remain proud of another scene in the picture. Hitch would state, "An interesting scene in this picture is when John is proposing marriage to Laurita, and instead of giving him an immediate answer, she says, 'I'll call you from my house, around midnight.' Next, we, show a little watch indicating it is midnight, it's the watch of a switchboard operator who is reading a book, A small light goes on the board. She puts the plug in and is about to go back to her reading but then automatically listens to the earphones, Then, she puts the book down, obviously fascinated by the phone conversation. In other words, I never show either of the two people. You follow what is happening by watching the switchboard operator."
The star of this movie would be Isabel Jeans. This was her second of three movies for Alfred Hitchcock. She had previously appeared in Downhill (1927) and would later appear in Suspicion (1941). Her best-known film role is as Aunt Alicia in the Best Picture winning musical, Gigi (1958). There are some who say that Gigi is one of the worst Best Picture winners and these people are wrong. Jeans was born September 16, 1891, in London. She began her stage career at the age of 15. In 1913 she would marry actor Claude Rains, best known for movie roles such as The Invisible Man (1933), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Casablanca (1942) and Hitch's Notorious (1946). Unfortunately, the marriage would not last long. In 1915 Jeans would appear on Broadway in two plays (produced by Granville Barker), The Man Who Married a Dumb Wife (premiered Jan 27, 1915) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Feb 16, 1915). Both plays premiered at Wallack's Theatre (Broadway at 30th St., New York, NY), which was built in 1882, and wish would be torn down in 1915. She would return to Broadway at least twice with the plays The Man in Possession (November 01, 1930 - January 1931) and Make Way for Lucia (Dec 22, 1948 - Jan 15, 1949). She would be a regular presence on the London stage as well including appearing in Ivor Novello's play The Rat in 1924.
Probably because this movie was rushed into production Robin Irvine, Ian Hunter and Violet Farebrother (who were all in Downhill) also appeared in the cast here.
The following (written by Ernest E. Fredman) comes from an issue of The Film Daily dated September 25, 1927.
"London - Recent radical rulings of the Irish Free State Censor Board has caused great dissatisfaction in the trade both at Dublin and London. 'Mare Nostrum' was banned by the Board but was later passed unanimously by the Appeal Division. Now the censors have gone so far as to prohibit 'Easy Virtue,' a British production from showing in Ireland.
"From all appearances, this censor board has launched a 'puritan crusade.' Desire of powers that be to suppress all mention of divorce in Ireland is said by the censors to be the reason for blacklisting the Coward play, 'Easy Virtue.'"
Upon its release, reviews were not over positive for this movie. C.A. Lejeune (writing for Manchester Guardian) stated, "for all its cleverness, [it] is not a good film" A review in The Bioscope praised Hitch's filmmaking but felt that the source material kept it from being a great movie. That review stated, "Hitchcock has done the best possible for a subject which does not lend itself readily to the medium of the screen, and he is to be congratulated on having maintained interest throughout with what proves to be very slight material ... In spite of an excellent performance by Isabel Jeans, and Hitchcock's always-apparent resourcefulness and occasional brilliance, this was not one of his more effective films."
Contemporary reviewers try to put this movie into Hitch's larger filmography. One such example is Professor Charles Barr who feels that this film has some attachments to Hitch's later Notorious (1946). Prof. Barr states, "[Isabel Jeans] is twice referred to, in dialogue titles, as 'the notorious Mrs Filton'; she is oppressed by journalistic cameras, as Bergman is at the opening of "Notorious", and she is hounded in the same way by a mother-in-law who is intent on discovering her disreputable secrets. In the power struggle between the two women, key scenes in both films are played out on the main staircase."
Easy Virtue can be watched below.
-Michael J. Ruhland
Resources Used
Hitchcock by Francios Truffaut
