Movie Review: Easy Virtue (1928) directed by Alfred Hitchcock
John Whittaker (Robin Irvine) returns from a Riviera vacation with a surprise bride. Larita (Isabel Jeans) is certainly pretty, and seems pleasant enough. But John’s mother (Violet Farebrother) can’t shake the feeling that she’s seen Larita before, and that the young woman is hiding something. Larita is somewhat evasive about her past, and one just doesn’t put the question directly, but what dark secret does she possess? Who, actually, is Larita Whittaker?
Of course, the audience knows who Larita is from the beginning, as we first meet her at her divorce trial as Mrs. Larita Filton. Aubrey Filton (Franklin Dyall) was a jealous man with anger issues and a bit of a drinking problem. He didn’t like the artist Larita had painting her portrait, Claude Robson (Eric Bransby Williams). It did not help that Claude was in fact madly in love with Larita and secretly had changed his will to make her sole heir. In the flashback scenes from Larita’s point of view, she didn’t do anything untoward with Claude, but that’s her version of the story.
Aubrey finally breaks in on Claude holding Larita’s hands and suggesting she leave her cruel brute of a husband. In the ensuing tussle, Claude shoots Aubrey, but only slightly wounds the other man, and Aubrey manages to brutally beat Claude with his cane before collapsing. Claude, believing he’d murdered Aubrey, shot himself. Sadly, the husband survived and sued for divorce on grounds of infidelity.
We never hear Mr. Filton’s side of the story, but the jury buys it and awards him a divorce on terms unfavorable to Mrs. Filton. The press labels Larita a woman of “easy virtue.” Thanks to a nice inheritance from Claude (no starving artist he) Larita’s not destitute or even needing to work for a living, but the press publicity makes things miserable for her in England. Thus her trip to the Riviera under a slightly altered name.
While there, John accidentally hits Larita with a tennis ball, she forgives him, and they fall in love. Larita points out that they barely know each other, but John is so infatuated with her that he shuts down any questions about Larita’s past. They are married, and soon are back at the Whittaker family home.
Now, admittedly John is a dope for not at least asking basic questions like “where are you from?” or “do you have any living relatives?” In another story, Mrs. Whittaker’s suspicions would be quite correct, and they’re still understandable. But here, they make Mrs. Whittaker treat Larita very unfairly and she poisons her son against his wife well before the truth comes out.
The character I feel most sorry for though is Sarah (Enid Stamp-Taylor), John’s childhood friend and the one his mother and sister ship him with. She’s still around constantly, and is the only person who is consistently decent to both Larita and John, even after the divorce thing comes out. (If you squint and turn your head sideways, you might be able to fanon her as bisexual.)
The story ends on a downer note, with Larita surrendering to the depredations of the press.
This movie was based on a Noel Coward play, but is silent, so most of the sparkling dialogue has to be imagined. This sort of story of manners isn’t Alfred Hitchcock’s forte, but he does have some innovative moments, such as presenting the courtroom through a nearsighted judge’s monocle, and allowing the marriage proposal to be represented by the reactions of an eavesdropping telephone operator.
Content note: Aubrey abuses alcohol and grips his wife hard enough to bruise her. Suicide. Several characters smoke, and Larita is something of a chain smoker (more scandalous for a woman at the time.)
It’s an okay movie but not one of Hitchcock’s major works. It’s also somewhat difficult to find good prints. Primarily recommended to Hitchcock completists or Noel Coward fans. (The play was also adapted into a movie in 2008 with a very different outcome.)
(1) Easy Virtue HD Movie Trailer – Official (Best Quality) – YouTube
