Before we talk about what this picture DOES have to offer, we must address the reason why it can’t honestly be considered great cinema. As I mentioned above (or which you may have guessed by reading the above synopsis), the plot, based on a popular short story, is illogical and has its characters behaving completely without motivation. Things are fine in the beginning: formerly wealthy gal must marry a rich suitor to keep both herself and her mother in luxury, forsaking the man whom she truly loves. Great conflict; we’re on board. After seeing her one true love at a party (and learning that her mother is now financially stable), our heroine decides to leave her husband and reunite with the lover. Good, perfectly understandable. But when she finds out that her love has been carrying on with her catty rival, our heroine forsakes the lover and falls into a depression. Okay, I can see that happening. Of course she would be upset. Now our heroine yearns for her husband (who has just lost his wealth) to want her back, because maybe she does love him after all. Huh, what? I thought she loved the poor writer. 

This is the biggest problem with the film — Tallulah’s character changes her passions nonsensically. When Scarlett decided she loved Rhett, Margaret Mitchell and screenwriter Sidney Howard gave us a moment where we could see “the lightbulb go off.” There’s no such moment here, and given how desperately our heroine pined for her lover, it’s impossible to believe that she actually does love her husband. Even after secretly bearing his child and going to work for herself — there’s nothing that would make the audience understand this change of heart. It’s actually a major flaw, and sort of ruins the whole rest of the film, which, despite this lack of logic, is nevertheless more interesting than the first half. (The second half is largely better than the first because of the wonderful parallel — and this is where the storytelling actually succeeds — of Tallulah’s insufferable treatment of the saleslady at the beginning to her ultimately having to become a groveling saleslady herself at the end.) But without us ever truly understanding Tallulah’s motivations, we are unable to invest in the drama that she attracts.

Meanwhile, Cukor’s direction (and a lot was made of the picture actually being shot on location in New York) is perfectly well-suited for the story. There’s nothing fancy or gimmicky; at no times are we aware of some great mastermind manipulating the image. All we’re aware of are the events that are transpiring. And if this was a better script, that would be a marvelous feat. But since it’s lackluster, the direction helps to illuminate the story’s shortcomings. Regardless, he did manage to get strong performances out of his actors — especially the bitchy Phoebe Foster, who plays Tallulah’s rival. Good casting — all around, actually.

Of course, Tallulah is the best thing about Tarnished Lady, and one of the surprises I referenced above is her performance. It’s shockingly understated. For someone who really developed her acting chops on the London stage in the 1920s (and was even known then for her scenery-chewing), Tallulah never resorts to anything hammy or artificial in her performance. She underplays everything to great effect, and as a character who’s constantly either trying to suppress her longings or swallow her pride, the absence of her notorious histrionics comes across as entirely fitting and mildly brilliant. And while the script never leads us to understand why her character suddenly falls in love with her husband, Tallulah does subtle things in the scenes opposite him to try and illustrate (and perhaps make it more believable) that she is developing feelings for him. She’s great here, and the comments about her being not photogenic are only partly true. She has sharp features, to be sure, but it’s not her appearance that’s holding her back; it’s the material. So this film is recommended to Tallulah junkies. Cinemaphiles and Pre-Code lovers, you can skip this one. You’re not missing too much.

Come back next Friday for another Tallulah Bankhead Pre-Code! And tune in on Monday for the start of a whole new week on That’s Entertainment!