A Free Soul (1931)(dvd)

Synopsis: When San Francisco society girl (Norma Shearer), brought up to defy convention by her adored and adoring lawyer father (Lionel Barrymore), rejects a perfect suitor (Leslie Howard) for a liaison with a gangster (Clark Gable), the lives of father and daughter are almost destroyed.

MGM wheeled out the big guns and high style for this melodrama which, seen today, is both gripping and fascinating. Shearer — then married to MGM production boss Irving Thalberg — picked up one of her several Oscar nominations, as did director Clarence Brown.

The best actor award went to Barrymore, who makes a climactic 14-minute courtroom speech. Suspend your disbelief and enjoy the expertise, and the father-daughter relationship which, today, would probably be greeted with cries of “incest”!

This title can be transferred from a very good VHS source.

Cast: Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard
Runtime: 93 min