The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Edgar Selwyn

Writers:

Edward Knoblock (play)
Charles MacArthur (dialogue continuity)

Release Date:

24 October 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Out of jail for a crime she did not commit, Madelon turns to prostitution and thievery to send her illegitimate son to medical school.

Plot Keywords:

Medical School | Prison | Prostitution | Suicide | Thief

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins

Cast

Helen Hayes	...	Madelon Claudet
Lewis Stone	...	Carlo Boretti
Neil Hamilton	...	Larry Maynard
Cliff Edwards	...	Victor Lebeau
Jean Hersholt	...	Dr. Dulac
Marie Prevost	...	Rosalie Lebeau
Robert Young	...	Dr. Lawrence Claudet
Karen Morley	...	Alice Claudet
Charles Winninger	...	M. Novella - Photographer
Alan Hale	...	Hubert
Halliwell Hobbes	...	Roget - Boretti's Butler
Lennox Pawle	...	Felix St. Jacques
Russ Powell	...	Monsieur Claudet

Also Known As:

The Lullaby (UK)

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

According to Anthony Holden's book "Behind the Oscar" (1993), M.G.M. production chief Irving Thalberg, when pondering a soap-opera-ish script, gave it the green light with the immortal words, "Let's face it. We win Academy Awards with crap like 'Madelon Claudet.'"

Quotes:

Carlo Boretti: I wish Spaniards wouldn't put so much tragedy in their music; they ask for love with so many tears.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Murder, She Wrote: The Sins of Castle Cove (#5.17)" (1989)

Soundtrack:

Waltz #15 in A flat major ('Lullaby'), Op.39

The definitive "sacrificing mother" saga of the 1930s

Helen Hayes makes an astonishing film debut here as the title character, a young woman who runs off with her poor beau and has a child. Through ensuing (and realistic) circumstances, she goes through the transitions of being a destitute country girl, a jewel thief's lover, a prison inmate and finally becoming a haggard vagrant. All of these incidents, at the expense of her own pleasure, are done in order to secure a place in life for her son as a prominent physician. At only 73 minutes, one would expect these changes to occur at somewhat of a breakneck speed, but the movie moves along at a leisurely and elegiac pace. Hayes won herself a well-deserved Academy Award for her luminous performance in this ultimate 1930s tearjerker.