Kind Lady (1951 film)

1951 film by John Sturges

June 20, 1951 (1951-06-20)

Running time

78 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget$911,000^[1]Box office$500,000^[1]

Kind Lady is a 1951 American film noir crime film directed by John Sturges and starring Ethel Barrymore, Maurice Evans, Keenan Wynn and Angela Lansbury. Produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the film is remake of the 1935 film of the same name which starred Aline MacMahon in the title role.

Plot

A seemingly kind painter, Henry Elcott, tricks wealthy art collector Mary Herries into letting him, his wife Ada and their baby live in her London home. Ada has collapsed and a doctor claims it is best she not be moved. It turns out to be a diabolical scheme by Elcott to sell off the artwork of Mrs. Herries and everything else of value she owns while holding her and her housemaid Rose captive in their bedrooms. Elcott's accomplices, Mr. and Mrs. Edwards, take over as the butler and maid. Elcott masquerades as the lady's nephew, come to take care of her affairs due to a sudden mental breakdown.

The criminals taunt Mrs. Herries, placing her chair near a window, having informed the neighborhood that any screams they hear would be those of a woman who has gone mad. In no hurry to leave, Elcott goes so far as to paint a portrait of her. Mrs. Edwards gets anxious that they are staying too long in the house, which Elcott intends to sell. Mrs. Herries tries to bribe her, but the brutal Mr. Edwards snatches the money from his wife and refuses to leave. Tensions rise as Mrs. Herries learns the true identity of Elcott from a portrait of his wife that he signed with his real name. Ada has seen Elcott kill before and realizes he will again. She tries to free Rose, but the maid is murdered by Mr. Edwards. The time comes to pack up and leave. Mr. Edwards goes upstairs to push Mrs. Herries out the window, an apparent suicide. But the body in the chair has been switched by Mrs. Herries and Ada and is actually that of Rose. The police have arrived, and Elcott realizes that he and Mr. and Mrs. Edwards have made a fatal mistake.^[2]

Cast

Ethel Barrymore as Mary Herries
Maurice Evans as Henry Springer Elcott
Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Edwards
Keenan Wynn as Edwards
Betsy Blair as Ada Elcott
John Williams as Mr. Foster
Doris Lloyd as Rose, the maid
John O'Malley as an antique dealer
Henri Letondal as Monsieur Malaquaise, an art dealer
Moyna Macgill as Mrs. Harkley, Rose's sister
Barry Bernard as Mr. Harkley
Sally Cooper as Lucy Weston, niece of Mrs. Herries
Arthur Gould-Porter as the chauffeur
Sherlee Collier as Aggie Edwards
Phyllis Mooris as Dora
Patrick O'Moore as Constable Orkin
Keith McConnell as Jones
Leonard Carey as the postman
Victor Wood as Doc

Reception

According to MGM records, the film made $361,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $139,000 in other markets, resulting in a loss to the studio of $664,000.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
^ "Kind Lady". FilmScoreMonthly. Retrieved December 26, 2017.