This is a charming movie that moves along on the clichéd contrast between the hardened con artists of the city and the trusting, family-oriented folk of the countryside. The open face of the wholesome-looking John Mack Brown contributes a lot to the sentimentality that engages us in A Lady of Chance, but it’s Norma Shearer that we most enjoy watching. Her face expresses emotion with an uncanny precision throughout, whether sizing up a rival or leading on a mark, but it’s her moments of conflicting emotion that showcase her skill. After Steve proposes, Dolly is left to pantomime marriage alone in her room, and Shearer’s quicksilver face runs back and forth on a spectrum between cold happiness at landing a quarry and the joy of being sincerely loved. We see this same flicker of emotions in a scene outside the farmhouse later in the film. These are moments of bravura silent acting.
A Lady of Chance has other allures. In addition to the film’s harsh set of values, its pre-code aesthetic lets a few racy moments go by, like when Steve touches Dolly’s proffered upper thigh or when he tries to remove her stocking. But it’s the acting that engages us here and has us pulling for the couple in the melodramatic ending. It’s a fun movie.
A Lady of Chance has other allures. In addition to the film’s harsh set of values, its pre-code aesthetic lets a few racy moments go by, like when Steve touches Dolly’s proffered upper thigh or when he tries to remove her stocking. But it’s the acting that engages us here and has us pulling for the couple in the melodramatic ending. It’s a fun movie.
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