A Lady of Chance (1928)

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Too much mugging by the top-billed actors leave Johnny Mack Brown and Eugenie Besserer the most believable members of an actually very talented cast. In fact, "A Lady of Chance" is much like an old-time pantomime at times, and not at all subtle.Even in 1928, Lowell Sherman was already a veteran, but so was Norma Shearer, who, though only 26 at this time (two years older than Brown), had been making films since about 1919.Gwen Lee, who was much more restrained, had also made many movies by 1928 but hadn't started until about three years before. (She just had a very busy three years.)Brown was still a relative newcomer, but had amazing screen presence. He eventually acted opposite such grand ladies as Joan Crawford and Greta Garbo, among others.After a while, though, he stuck with westerns and was one of the most popular western stars.Those of us who love westerns were the beneficiaries, but I wonder if Mr. Brown would have been any happier had he been an A picture fixture.Again, in "A Lady of Chance," he really stood out, showing talent and looks and ability at underplaying the country boy intended to be a sucker.There are no other surprises in this pleasant movie. The ending seems to be tacked on, but I don't think anybody would want another.I do recommend "A Lady of Chance," which I saw on Turner Classic Movies 3 November 2015 during a night of Norma Shearer films. (That night it was followed by "The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg" in which she was adorable, charming, lovely, enticing ... just wonderful. And more restrained though still exuberant. Pretty nearly perfect.)

Lady of Chance, A (1928) ** 1/2 (out of 4) MGM silent film about a con artist known as "Angel Face" (Norma Shearer) who lures rich, married men to her apartment so that she can blackmail them. After a con goes wrong she flees from the police and meets her next target (Johnny Mack Brown) but after marrying him she lears that he's actually poor, which doesn't sit well with her partners who want cash. This is a pretty typical story of a bad girl falling in love and then trying to go straight. What sets the film apart is the performance from Shearer who is very good as both the good girl and the vamp. There are several pre-code elements ranging from her lifting her skirt up to show off her legs to some other heated moments, which makes the film somewhat better. The biggest flaw is that we've seen this type of film countless times even before this one was released.

While Warner Brothers and many of the other American studios were making more and more talking pictures in 1928, the world's largest and most prestigious studio, MGM, was still firmly convinced that sound was a fad that would soon pass. This is one of the main reasons that this film is a silent, though in a slight nod to the trend, it did feature sound effects and music.During most of her career, Norma Shearer played rather nice ladies and that's why I enjoyed seeing her in this film, as she was a nasty piece of work. Not only was she a career criminal, but she had no qualms about cheating "suckers" out of their money. Eventually, though, she thinks she's ready for a big score when she meets a man who she thinks is really rich--though after they marry and move to his home she finds he's not rich but owns a small concrete business. What happens next is pretty interesting but I'd rather cut the summary short because it might spoil the film.The film has decent writing (though at times it is predictable) and the acting is generally very good as well. Most importantly, it is fun to watch and entertaining. While not among the best silents, this is still worth a peek--especially if, like me, you are a huge fan of early film.

Entertaining silent film following the story of a gold-digger named Dolly aka "Angel Face" (played by Norma Shearer). Dressed up as the "good girl" we first meet Dolly working as a switchboard operator at a ritzy hotel, where she is recognized by two former partners in crime (slick, oily Brad and bad, blonde Gwen) who force her to rejoin their "racket" or face the consequences (she failed to report for her parole). Seducing a wealthy man she met at the hotel, he's soon minus $10,000 and picking out mug shots of Dolly at police headquarters. Brad and Gwen try to keep the dough for themselves, but wise Dolly gets the better of them - and wanting to work her own racket, she heads for Atlantic City where she ends up at a hotel absolutely swarming with men attending a "tile and cement" convention. There she meets her next "mark", an innocent Southern cement man/mama's boy (Johnny Mack Brown) who happens to be the perfect specimen of the "tall, dark, and handsome" man. She doesn't seem to notice his rather remarkable charms - under the impression he's about to make a million dollar deal, her heart is only on his wallet. Dolly bats her eyelashes into marriage, but things aren't exactly what she expects - and she just can't seem to escape from those two vultures either!This is a fun film - amusing and well acted, with an interesting, if predictable plot line. Norma Shearer is great, as always, and has a lot of expression on her face in this film - Johnny Mack Brown is charming and oh so handsome to look at. Lowell Sherman, who plays Brad, is terrific in this as he plays the smarm to the hilt. There is some interesting photography in this - like a shot of just the feet of the actors as Dolly is chased by some phony cops, and another interesting shot of the heavily made-up face of "Angel Face" visualized atop her new switchboard operator look when she is recognized by Gwen. The version of this screened on TCM features a decent jazz score that suits the film well.