The Divorce of Lady X

Sparkling romantic comedy looks beautiful in Technicolor, and sports first-rate comic performances from Olivier and Oberon, two actors not exactly known for their skills in this area. Never quite takes off as well as the 'classic' screwball comedies of its era, but remains an endearing, attractive treat.

Star Rating: ★★★1/2

British 30s screwball comedy. Lawrence Olivier plays a pretty good Cary Grant, and Merle Oberon does an alright Katherine Hepburn

closing speech: "my client, mrs strangeways, is a woman, that perfect achievement of the human species, especially evolved for the comfort of man, a tender delicate organism put into this rough world to make life a little brighter by her beauty and her tenderness, and, i say it advisedly, by her purity...if we refuse to accept her statement, i suggest that we strike a blow at the very foundation of the most idyllic institution in the whole fabric of our civilisation: the state of marriage."

A strangely routine romance comedy.... IN COLOR! This one tries to hard to be charming, yet it keeps failing in so many places. Most of all in the big identity reveal. I was like "Was that it?!". So poorly done. And there was several moments like that where they joke, or what one would call it, fell totally flat. Maybe screwball just wasn't ready for color yet? But it does have the lovely Merle Oberon. And her face nearly carries the film on it's own. Laurence Olivier tries hard, but is bland.