The Woman Accused (1933) Online

A scrappy she-didn't-mean-to-do-it in which the principals are forced to do their best to act out a somewhat foregone drama—admittedly with a few clever twists here and there. By and large, Carroll, Grant and Halliday manage rather well, and it's certainly not their fault that they tend to out-stay their welcome, allowing the histrionic thunder to be stolen by the support team headed by Jack LaRue (a small part, but you'll never forget him in this one), Louis Calhern (a really nasty piece of work), Norma Mitchell (a stage actress who made only three films, of which this is the first), the effervescent Lona André ("round and round") and Irving Pichel, the smooth-talking D.A. who knows which side of a legal argument will win him the most votes.

Production credits are great, with a special nod for Sloane's silky direction and Struss' marvelously fluid, super-attractive camera-work.

For die-hard Cary Grant fans, this movie is a must-see. A bit hard to track down but well worth the effort.

The Woman Accused in this story is Glenda. What is she accused of? Murder, of course. Why? When an old flame comes back to threaten her newfound happiness with fiancee Jeffrey (Cary), and even threatens to have him killed, Glenda does the only sensible thing and kills him before he gets the chance. She then takes off on a 3-day cruise with Jeffrey, convinced that it will be the only time they'll have before she is caught.

I won't tell you the ending, you'll have to see it for yourself. It's nice to see Cary Grant when he was just starting out, especially at the boyishly good-looking age of 29.

Watch it, you won't be sorry. 8/10

A rather routine storyline of a woman (Nancy Carroll) accused of killing her former lover (Louis Calhern), and subsequently skipping town on a cruise ship with her new beau (Cary Grant), is kept fairly engaging with some unique twists thrown into the mix. Most of the film's big set pieces are reasonably well-handled for relatively rushed production. Calhern's abusive behavior and eventual murder are staged with a fair degree of realism (for the time period, anyway), and John Halliday's shipboard inquisition of Carroll brims forth with an oddball, near-surreal quality. The performances are all agreeable, with a young Cary Grant emerging as a formidable presence in the film's final quarter.

In the end, however, the picture never really gels into a cohesive whole. The film was adapted from a magazine serial in which each segment was written by a different mystery author, which probably explains why the film's narrative unfolds so disjointedly, as well as the reason many of the characters seem to come across somewhat inconsistently from scene to scene. Although if the viewer can let go of the reasonable assumption that the movie will move coherently from beginning to end, then The Woman Accused can certainly be enjoyed on a scene-by-scene basis. The film is far from flawless, but it will provide 73 minutes of good, solid entertainment.

The Woman Accused (1933)

*** (out of 4)

Glenda O'Brien (Nancy Carroll) is about to happily marry Jeffrey Baxter (Cary Grant) but before doing so an old flame calls her. At first she doesn't want to even go to his room but she's forced there and before long the man is threatening to have Jeffrey murdered. To prevent that from happening Glenda hits him over the head and it kills him. Glenda and Jeffrey go on a cruise to get away from it but it haunts her and matters aren't helped when Stephen Bessemer (John Halliday) begins asking questions.

THE WOMAN ACCUSED is a rather interesting little drama that works in large part to the three lead performances. Fans of this era's motion pictures will certainly want to check this one out thanks to the trio of acting talents but it's also very much worth watching for a number of other reasons.

For the most part it has a rather interesting story and also a rather interesting way of getting played out. On the cruise ship Glenda is pretty much stalked and harassed by Stephen who does several (probably) illegal things to try and get a confession out of her. This leads to a very bizarre mock trial where the woman eventually cracks. The film also contains some very memorable moments towards the end of the picture including a certain beat down that I won't spoil but man, it has to be seen to be believed!

As I said, the acting is the real stand out here with Carroll doing a nice job in her leading role. She basically has to play a frightened woman throughout the picture but I thought she was very believable in regards to the fear she shows. I also thought her scene with the former lover was very well played. Grant also gets a chance to act here. Most of his parts up to this one were just him looking pretty but this one here allowed him to show some dramatic range. Halliday is also extremely good as the menacing man who wants that confession.

There are certainly some flaws throughout the picture and there's no question that it's not a masterpiece but fans of this era should enjoy it.

For an archivist researching a documentary of early thirties America, 'The Woman Accused' abounds in rich pickings; commencing with the opening film snapshots depicting the ten popular authors who contributed the preposterous plot in the form of a round robin; and including ample footage of the dawn of the Roosevelt administration, still feeling the bruises of the Wall Street Crash, but celebrating the repeal of prohibition. Little nuggets of contemporary information we learn include the fact that in 1933 the engaged tone was known as "the busy signal", and that in those days a murder trial with all the trimmings cost $100,000.

Baby-faced Nancy Carroll is the show here, modelling a variety of figure-hugging backless gowns (and a bathing suit), with a young Cary Grant serving as the arm candy while she is pursued during a pleasure cruise by creepy John Halliday, who devises an absurdly elaborate scheme to see her arrested for killing her loathsome old flame Louis Calhern - who for some unfathomable reason Halliday genuinely seemed to care about. Halliday happily enlists the aid of a hired thug played by an even more loathsome Jack La Rue despite presumably being aware that La Rue has previously killed people on Calhern's behalf. How Grant persuades La Rue to change his testimony has to be seen to believed, like something out of a pre-WWI rather than a Pre-Code movie (I'd love to know which of the authors came up with that gem)! 

As Carroll's devoted maid Martha - literally prepared to shed her own blood on her behalf - the scary Norma Mitchell (who also wrote Broadway farces) makes a striking film debut, but made only two more minor film appearances.

In 1933, this film opened to mixed reviews. It was based on a serial in Liberty magazine in which 10 well known authors each contributed a chapter and Paramount thought it was on to a winner. It was clear by the opening credits that the writers were promoted as the real "stars" of the film and the actors were relegated to "also rans". Unfortunately, that was what a lot of critics disliked about it - "too many cooks" and "everything was in it but a plot" where some of the comments. I think you could even tell where one writer stopped and another took over - you would have a scene where not much was happening but laughter and music, then all at once there was a plot complication involving a bloodied dress!!! Now that Nancy Carroll films are more widely available, people can make up their own mind and the verdict with this film is - it's pretty good. I have seen quite a few of her films now and the story that her career fell apart after "Night Angel" is an absolute myth (in my opinion).

Glenda O'Brien (Nancy Carroll) and Jeffrey Baxter (Cary Grant) are in love and plan to take a 3 day cruise and have the ship's captain marry them. Meanwhile, an old flame of Glenda's, Leo (Louis Calhern) telephones her and insists she come to his apartment. He wants her back but Glenda is adamant - No!!! He then says he will send Maxie (a chilling Jack La Rue) to murder Jeffrey, but while he is telephoning instructions Glenda picks up an statuette and kills him. Hysterical and with a blood spattered dress she bursts into her apartment where she is comforted by her loyal maid Martha (Norma Mitchell). She decides to go on the cruise and at the end of it, to tell Jeffrey the truth.

Back on shore, events are moving along. Stephen Bessemer (John Halliday) Leo's best friend, is determined to bring Leo's killer to justice but Martha swears to Glenda's innocence and even has a plausible reason for the blood found on the dress. Glenda is just about to retire to her cabin when she hears a tug boat pull up and sees Stephen alight. During the last evening Bessemer arranges a "mock" trial. He plays the prosecutor. To the other guests it is a riot from start to finish but to Glenda and Bessemer it is a struggle of wills. During the cross examination he opens a suitcase, produces a blood-stained dress and says dramatically - "I accuse you of Murder!!!" Glenda's nerves are strained to breaking point and when a fake telegram is produced saying fingerprints where found on the statuette, she breaks down and confesses.

Back in New York, Glenda reverts to her original story, that she didn't see Leo that night and that on the ship she was only playacting. Maxie is produced and swears that hers was the voice he heard on the phone but Jeffrey follows him to his apartment and thrashes him until he confesses that maybe he was mistaken and she wasn't the girl.

Nancy Carroll could not only sing dance and act but she had style and grace and enhanced any film she appeared in.

Recommended.

Glenda, (Nancy Carroll) a socialite, is about to marry her true love, lawyer Jeffrey (Cary Grant) but her past catches up with her.

This is a very watchable film with good performances, especially Carroll as the woman who is blackmailed by a sleazy former lover (Louis Calhern). She is later accused of murder by the victims friend (John Halliday). Grant's role at first seemed like just a colorless boyfriend role but he has a striking scene at the end which involves a whip and a gangster who seems like a tough guy at first. This makes the movie and has to be seen to be believed. Grant gives a fine performance and it's easy to see why he became such a big star. He had appeared with Carroll before in another good film "Hot Saturday" and has nice chemistry with her. It is too bad she retired at her peak in the late 1930s, she later came back in the 1950s to do TV work. The mock trial on a cruise ship is another highlight.

I really like Cary Grant, but this film came off weak. This is probably Cary Grant's worst performance, although it isn't that bad. Overall, the film comes off more like a series of anti-climaxes and half-assed plot devices. I will give the film credit for it's ambition. The film is actually quite fun to watch, but it feels lifeless and weak and it just sort of falls apart before anything really interesting happens. The love story plot on the boat doesn't really make much sense and gives the film a more experimental film than I would like. I guess it comes off as more a series of events that don't really add to too much. I did like the opening scenes involving the phone call that Nancy Carrol gets. I thought her performance was actually better than Cary Grant's as a matter of fact. However, she does some pretty thoughtless and unrealistic stuff that really didn't help the believability factor one bit. Overall, there are some things I like about this film, but there's ore that I don't like and I cannot quite recommend the movie unless you are a die-hard fan of Cary Grant.