“Lilly Turner” a 1933 pre-code movie starring the legendary Ruth Chatterton is a typical “depression” era movie. “Prepossessing” Ruth Chatterton plays Lilly Turner, a wronged woman, living through life as if just existing. Lilly Turner is an attraction in a side show. She meets a flamboyant magician who marries her. He skips town when he finds out Lilly is going have his child. What a loser… To add insult to injury his real wife shows up and informs Lilly he is a bigamist! Lilly freaks out because she is having a baby without a husband. Loyal friend Dave played with much melancholy by Frank McHugh offers to marry Lilly just to give the baby a name. Lilly accepts his offer to her doom. Dave is a drunk, and a unable to hold a job. Lilly’s baby dies and she is stuck with the sad drunk. Law of reciprocity rules.
She is forced to work for a snake oil quack, Doc McGill played by Guy Kibbee, who claims he has the cure to all ills. Lily goes on day by day in a drab existence. This existence pushes her to go through a number of empty love affairs until she meets Bob Chandler played by George Brent as only Brent can play. By-the-way Brent was Chatterton’s real life, much younger husband. It lasted all of 2 years…but I digress. As life would have it especially in pre-code movies, Lilly Turner isn’t going to get off that easy. She must suffer. Why is it that pre-code movies loved to show women suffer? That must have gotten old for the audience.
Lilly and Bob are in love and he has gotten his break to work as an engineer. Bob wants to marry Lilly. Lilly is willing because her marriage to Dave is meaningless. She knew that and so did Dave. One of Lilly’s lovers who is in insane asylum escapes and severely injures Lilly’s husband Dave. When Dave is injured he asks Lilly to stay with him. She feels she owes him, she can’t walk away and she stays. She must let go of the one man who truly loved her.
The movie has funny lines, and typical pre-code sarcasm. The movie was trying to make Dave the drunk seem funny, but I don’t think it was funny at all. A man living in a stupor, and constantly in need of whiskey is not funny. Chatterton as Lilly was well done, but I am used to seeing Chatterton in stronger roles. The love scenes with real life husband George Brent are electrifying. The best role in this movie was that of Doc McGill. Guy Kibbee is awesome in this role.
