Walter Bernsdorf (Paul Lukas) found his wife Lucy (Gloria Stuart) at her lover's home and he shot her dead. It was a crime of passion, yet it was premeditated. He then called the police and turned himself in. It became the duty of his lawyer and friend Paul Held (Frank Morgan) to defend him and get him acquitted.
Paul insisted on hearing every detail of the night of the murder to better acquaint himself with the case. He heard how Lucy dolled herself up to the nines and when Walter kissed her she shrieked at him, her own husband, for daring to mess up her make-up. Why would she be reacting this way when only an hour before she was behaving so kind and lovingly? She put on her brand new dress and then went out.
Something was wrong. Her behavior made no sense. Walter decided to follow her and that's when he found her with her lover.
After a day or more of hearing Walter's story Paul was sitting in his wife's room one afternoon while she painstakingly made herself up. Why would she be going through such lengths just to go play bridge? When Walter attempted to kiss her she reacted angrily. How dare he mess up her make-up. Then she put on her brand new dress and went out. This was eerily similar to what Walter narrated. Paul then followed Maria and found exactly what Walter had found from his wife, except Paul had no revolver on him.
Paul's plan from that point on was to defend Walter the best he could because if he could get Walter off, then he would also have a chance at acquittal when he killed his own wife. It was an intense affair full of suspense. As for me, I wanted Paul to get Walter off and then if need be kill his wife as well, but I operate by a totally different set of laws and a totally different code. I knew that wasn't the civilized ending, but it was an ending I would be satisfied with.
"The Kiss Before the Mirror" was cliche and different at the same time. Lucy Bernsdorf and Maria Held having lovers was incredibly cliche. They were both married to professional men who gave them a good life, but probably also spent a lot of time at work giving them the opportunity to go out and play. Standard 30's operating procedure. What wasn't standard was the murder and I liked it. Oooh I'm so tired of seeing the cheating aristocrats deal with infidelity in their civilized manner. I want to see some raw emotion, and if it's accompanied by violence, so be it. As Paul passionately stated in court:
"Faith is the greatest element in love. And exclusiveness of possession is all that makes marriage worthwhile... The greater the love, the greater the hate. The bitterer the illusion the more serious the wound. The shrewder the woman the more lustful the revenge. The more we love the more we want to destroy the woman we loved."
So true. So true.
Free on Odnoklassniki.
Paul insisted on hearing every detail of the night of the murder to better acquaint himself with the case. He heard how Lucy dolled herself up to the nines and when Walter kissed her she shrieked at him, her own husband, for daring to mess up her make-up. Why would she be reacting this way when only an hour before she was behaving so kind and lovingly? She put on her brand new dress and then went out.
Something was wrong. Her behavior made no sense. Walter decided to follow her and that's when he found her with her lover.
After a day or more of hearing Walter's story Paul was sitting in his wife's room one afternoon while she painstakingly made herself up. Why would she be going through such lengths just to go play bridge? When Walter attempted to kiss her she reacted angrily. How dare he mess up her make-up. Then she put on her brand new dress and went out. This was eerily similar to what Walter narrated. Paul then followed Maria and found exactly what Walter had found from his wife, except Paul had no revolver on him.
Paul's plan from that point on was to defend Walter the best he could because if he could get Walter off, then he would also have a chance at acquittal when he killed his own wife. It was an intense affair full of suspense. As for me, I wanted Paul to get Walter off and then if need be kill his wife as well, but I operate by a totally different set of laws and a totally different code. I knew that wasn't the civilized ending, but it was an ending I would be satisfied with.
"The Kiss Before the Mirror" was cliche and different at the same time. Lucy Bernsdorf and Maria Held having lovers was incredibly cliche. They were both married to professional men who gave them a good life, but probably also spent a lot of time at work giving them the opportunity to go out and play. Standard 30's operating procedure. What wasn't standard was the murder and I liked it. Oooh I'm so tired of seeing the cheating aristocrats deal with infidelity in their civilized manner. I want to see some raw emotion, and if it's accompanied by violence, so be it. As Paul passionately stated in court:
"Faith is the greatest element in love. And exclusiveness of possession is all that makes marriage worthwhile... The greater the love, the greater the hate. The bitterer the illusion the more serious the wound. The shrewder the woman the more lustful the revenge. The more we love the more we want to destroy the woman we loved."
So true. So true.
Free on Odnoklassniki.