Lady of Chance [DVD] [1928] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

This is Norma Shearer's last silent film and is an unpretensious but entertaining tale of city -slicker con artists in competition with each other to scam bo-hunks from the "sticks". Norma plays Dolly - aka "Angel Face" who we meet at as hotel switchboard "operator" using her charms to entice a naive, wealthy, older married man who as the sub-title informs us "has more dollars than sense". Her two former "partners in scam" also have their eye on her prospective victim. The rivals spot each other and "Angel Face" beats a hasty exit from the hotel where she is almost immmeaditely picked up the cops. But the cops are phonies, hired to deliver her to Bradley {Lowell Sherman} and Gwen {Gwen Lee}who know she is an escaped parolee. With a wry grin, Dolly has no choice but to join them and sets up the scam with the "sucker" at his hotel. Bradley posing as her "brother" will break into the room at the crucial moment and and the married man will pay blackmail - 10,000 dollars is their goal. Th scam works, Bradley collects the money but is going to scam Dolly out of her cut of the loot by claiming that their mark refused payment. Dolly anticipates their move and by being one step ahead, outmanuvers them and makes off with all the loot for which Bradley swears to get even. Dolly is next seen working her wiles at an Atlantic City convention for construction / cement where she overhears a contractor Steve Crandall {Johnny Mack Brown} talking about million dollar deals and the big estate that he lives on. Her assuption is that he is "loaded" and she decides to marry him. The fact that he is also murderously handsome doesn't hurt the cause and by clever pantomime - knowing winks, a raised eyebrow and a faint smirk at her credulous boob that pre-dates Barbara Stanwcyk's performance in "The Lady Eve",{vis a vie Henry Fonda} and before he knows where he's at, Steve is proposing to Dolly and are they are married. However Bradley and Gwen were also working the convention and know about the marriage. Then came the dawn - Steve is not rich but a fledgling inventor who lives on an estate but in a rented, modest house on it with his doting mother and familly. Dolly is at first appalled by the boring small town locale but gradually warms up to her situation. Up to this point the movie has moved smartly along with a light, entertaining touch but now the plot becomes somewhat contrived with Bradley and Gwen appearing on the scene to blackmail Dolly for the money she scammed from them. Dolly hasn't been certain about her feelings for Steve but when her two rivals start to twist her over, she only then realizes that she wants to go straight and loves Steve and her new life. Dolly returns the bulk of the money to Bradley and Gwen but she is still given up by them to the authorities and she is returned to prison. However Steve who has invented a process for making concrete is waiting for her when she is released with a much healthier bank balance than when they first met !! I am a big Norma Shearer fan and in this movie she never looked better - she is svelte,sexy, slim and sleek, looks fantastic in the late 1920s clothes and hats and is well photographed by William Daniels. She gives a very modern performance sly and all knowing sizing up her prospective "Suckers Sapiens" as a cat plays with a mouse. Lowell Sherman's excellent performance as "Bradley" playing him as a charmingly ruthless grifter almost matches Shearer's. Sheman's best known film role is as the charming, drunken director who makes Constance Bennett a star in RKO's 1932 film "What Price Hollywood" produced by David O Selznick. Gwen Lee is competent as the hardhearted "Gwen" and Johnnie Mack Brown is "male eye candy" that has very little to do. The musical score is excellent and the film print quality is very good.This movie can be considered the first of Norma's sexy pre-code roles that would cumulate in her winning the Oscar for 'The Divorcee" in 1930 and seducing and getting slapped around by Clark Gable in " A Free Soul" in 1931. Despite the weaker second half of the film I would highly recommend this movie for Norma Shearer fans and silent film enthusiasts and I give it 4 stars.

This is in response to the previous review about these movies being bootlegs: this is not a bootleg. This film along with hundreds of others have been released through the Warner Brothers Film Archive. You can verify this yourself by visiting the Warner Brothers website and searching for "archive".

Literally hundreds of films that were previously unavailable before can now be bought & even be viewed on demand.

For an example: All of the Joan Crawford & Clark Gables films; Possessed, Chained, Dance Fools Dance, Forsaking All Others, Love on the Run, Laughing Sinners which were only available on vhs (and rare at that) are all available on the warners page and also here at amazon *though more expensive through amazon.

2 films already released were Strange Cargo & Dancing Lady. Joan Crawford & Clark Gable made 8 films together and I thought I'd only live to see 2 of them. As soon as WB announced they were opening the vaults I placed orders!

Another AWESOME example is the one Greta Garbo film not in the TCM Archives Box Set: Wild Orchids is available through the Warner Bros Archive. This also happens to be my favorite.

Again these films are not bootlegs and are very crisp and clear in video & audio. However I can see how someone might make that mistake because there are NO & I mean absolutely NO extras on the dvd - WB makes them as DVDR to order and is very clear about that on their website. You don't get a chapter listing (through you can use your skip button to go either forwards or back) or a menu or anything. They are pricey considering that they have no features, however WB owns the rights to these films and they don't have to release them any other way. :(

It is disappointing that they didn't do more - but I'm just happy to see them. You can save yourself $6-10 going to the WB online store directly, although if you are buying more than one you get free shipping on Amazon which WB does not offer - they charge for each disc which makes no sense.

I hope this informative & helpful. There are some big star films available! Norma Shearer, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Jimmy Stewart, Robert Montgomery, Clark Gable (galore!), Spencer Tracy - lots of films that you won't find elsewhere and won't pop up in another format in the future because WB isn't going to sell the rights... Also the WB shop often has sales so be sure to check their website often.