A Lady's Morals (DVD)

This decorous if provocatively titled meeting of two songbirds stars Metropolitan Opera soprano Grace Moore ("The Tennessee Nightingale") in her film debut portraying legendary 19th-century diva Jenny Lind ("The Swedish Nightingale"). A Lady's Morals is a prime example of highbrow-meets-hokum fluff from the early sound era. Bringing Moore's vibrant voice and charming poise to the screen was an ambitious attempt to launch a new film star and give the new audio technology an exciting workout. The Irving Thalberg production directed by Sidney Franklin is worth the gamble alone for Moore's elegant, clarion-toned Donizetti and Bellini arias. If the plot's fictions (swoony composer Reginald Denny faces blindness as a result of his infatuation) creak, its one biographical nod -- Lind's intersection with showman P.T. Barnum -- hits a high note when Wallace Beery barnstorms in near the end. Not a success in its day, this pleasant curio is a harbinger of the acclaim that a switch of studios (plus an Oscar nomination for One Night of Love) brought Moore three years later.

• UPC: 888574474867
• Release: 2017-02-21
• Content Provider: Warner
• Runtime: 87:00
• Genre: Biography, Romance, Drama
• Language: English
• Format: DVD-NTSC
• Screen:
• Aspect: 4 X 3 FULL FRAME, ORIGINAL ASPECT RATIO - 1.37:1
• Rating:
• Audio: MONO - English
• Color/BW: B/W
• Special Features:
• Copyright:
• Number of Discs: 1
• Disc Format: DVD

Starring:

Grace Moore
Reginald Denny
Wallace Beery
Jobyna Howland
Gus Shy
Gilbert Emery
George F. Marion
Paul Porcasi
Giovanni Martino
Bodil Rosing
Joan Standing
Mavis Villiers
Judith Vosselli

Written by:

Hanns Kraly
Claudine West
John Meehan
Arthur Richman
Dorothy Farnum

Directed by:

Sidney Franklin