A Woman of Affairs (1928)

Nominated for 1 Academy Award:

Best Writing

Bess Meredyth

It won 0 Oscars out of a total of 1 nomination in 1928-29.


A Woman of Affairs centers around the exploits of a gallant lady named Diana and the path of destruction paved by her tragic romance with childhood sweetheart, Neville.  Although the two have vowed their love for one another, Neville flees to Egypt in order to garner wealth and protect his father's honor.  Growing impatient, Diana ultimately marries faithful rower, David, at the insistence of her hero-worshiping brother and, in doing so, triggers a chain of events surrounding death and deceit.

The film is actually based on a play entitled "The Green Hat," but severed all ties from its source material by changing the title and character names.  Such changes were made due to the controversial subject matter in the play.  In addition to that, cuts were made from the original script in order to appease the censors - most notably, the unexplained reason for Diana's illness, which was (according to the script and presumably the original play) due to a miscarriage.

Despite these concerns, it would place itself in the ranks of the top twenty box office draws of 1929.


Editorial:

Suspenseful, provocative, dark and edgy, the film takes twists and turns that are both gripping and unpredictable.  Although, at times, it can be a little over-the-top, it is - at the very least - entertaining.  Its boldness is much appreciated and, even though the ending is completely ridiculous, it works well.

Score  |  05/10  |  This motion picture may be worth watching.