Lord Camber's Ladies

For all sorts of reasons, film buffs will find this an interesting piece. The only film produced by Alfred Hitchcock and not also directed by him. The named director, Benn W Levy was actually a writer and this was his sole screen directing credit which makes one muse as to how little creative control he may have had and how much Hitchcock did. Certainly there are odd Hitchcockian flourishes such as Lady Camber's face collapsing into the frame. It is also a rare chance to see two giants of the British stage on screen in Gerald Du Maurier and Gertrude Lawrence and we get a glimpse of their talent, certainly the latter, though it is clearly not their preferred medium. It is also a rare leading role for Nigel Bruce, sort of the title role as Lord Camber (along with Benita Hume and Lawrence as the titular ladies), before he became the silver screen's most loved Dr Watson. This is also the first of his three films with Hitchcock-Rebecca and Suspicion were far superior of course and those films exhibited him at his very best. Here he is a roguish philanderer and a brute, very unlike his usually benign, and comedic types. Oddities aside though, this is a simple and rather melodramatic tale of a love triangle with a crime angle based on a hit play of the time. It is rather dated and the sound, primitive and its 80 minute run time seems longer. The four above mentioned leads all do good work without being outstanding and Claire Greet is warm in support but all the assembled artists had done better work or would would go on to do better work.