The Lady Consents

This doesn't really get off to a very good start. "Michael" (Herbert Marshall) is determined he can ride an unruly stallion - but ends up in the dirt. He offers the horse for sale only for champion sportswoman "Gerry" (Margaret Lindsay) to volunteer. He declines her suggestion, she gets on anyway an ... d ... into the dirt she goes too. Except - of course - it's so abundantly clear that neither actor actually went anywhere near the real horse! That rather sets the tone for this pretty routine drama that is underpinned by a mischievous story of a love triangle between the two and his wife "Anne" (Ann Harding) but is let down by some mediocre writing and precisely no chemistry on screen between anyone - even the horse. The production is basic and the dialogue overly plentiful as the story seems to lose it's way between farce and melodrama. Marshall could be charming, and he does try here, but his theatrical delivery together with the static camerawork and the slightly clunky, episodic, nature of the drama impede it's flow too often to give this any sort of cohesion. Maybe "Anne" thinks he will work it all out of his system, or maybe she just doesn't care about her husband's infidelities and would rather just play snooker. Sadly, I'm not sure I really cared either. read more