Sweet Kitty Bellairs (film)

Infobox Film
name = Sweet Kitty Bellairs (1930)
caption = Claudia Dell as Kitty Bellairs in the Technicolor musical
"Sweet Kitty Bellairs" (1930)
producer =
director = Alfred E. Green
writer = Herman Harrison
based on the novel by Egerton Castle and the play by David Belasco
starring = Claudia Dell
Walter Pidgeon
Ernest Torrence
music = Bobby Dolan
Walter O'Keefe
Rex Dunn
David Mendoza
Leonid S. Leonardi
cinematography = Watkins McDonald "(Technicolor)"
editing = Owen Marks
distributor = Warner Bros.
released = September 5, 1930
country = USA
runtime = 63 min.
language = English
imdb_id = 0021439|

"Sweet Kitty Bellairs" is a 1930 musical comedy film photographed entirely in Technicolor. In contrast to usual historical costume dramas, the picture never takes itself seriously and is a delightful satire of the England of 1793 in the city of Bath. The film pokes fun at such things as the way women dressed when they went bathing in the 18th century (we are shown in one sequence a pool in which women are dressed head to toe with their hats on!) or to how men viewed a woman's bare ankles with what seems today to be an inordinate amount of delight and satisfaction. The cast, which includes Claudia Dell as Kitty Bellairs, Ernest Torrence as Sir Jasper, Walter Pidgeon as the young Lord Varney, Perry Askam, Lionel Belmore and June Collyer, enjoy themselves thoroughly, are never called upon for much histrionic effort. The cinema is from David Belasco's play of the same name. Walter Pidgeon and Claudia Dell are the principal singers. They pleasantly sing two delightful romantic love songs.

Pre-Code Sequences

The film contains several interesting Pre-Code humor. In one scene, an obviously gay hair-dresser is talking to Kitty Bellairs about her love affairs. Kitty asks him which man she should choose and the dressmaker says she should choose the highwayman because he prefers "a manly man." In another scene, Kitty teaches her friend how to get her husband to pay attention to her. Her instructions include wearing Parisian negligee and finding another lover.

Plot

Kitty Bellairs, a famous flirt of her day, comes to Bath for the season. Early on in the film she declares that "in spite of her thirty or forty affairs, I've lost not a bit of my virtue." Her path is strewn with a number of conquests, including an enamored highwayman, a lord and some others who hang on her every word. A highwayman stops her coach as she is on her way to Bath and is immediately raptured by Kitty Bellairs. He trades the loot from the passengers for a kiss from Kitty who feels she should "yield" in order to protect Lord Varney's life who has gallantly come to defend her honor. In spite of this, Lord Varney draws his sword and ends up losing the fight when he loses his sword, upon which the highwayman declares, "Blood is not a pretty sight for tender eyes, Retrieve your sword while I go about my business." He proceeds to kiss Kitty who declares she considers herself not to have been kissed at all, upon which the highwayman kisses her several times and slips a ring on her finger leaving her enraptured. Lord Varney, however, is in love with Kitty himself but is extremely bashful and shy. The film then progresses to the city of Bath, where the inhabitants sing an amusing song about their daily lives, and the proceeds to a dance which Kitty is attending. She meets Captain O'Hara (played by Perry Askam) who declares his love for her. When Lord Varney approaches and asks for his dance from Kitty, Captain O'Hara declares that "it 'was' his dance" and whisks her away. Lord Varney is approached by his friend who laughs at his shyness. Nevertheless, Lord Varney declares his love for her and decides to write a love poem to Kitty. The film then proceeds to the next day and we see Kitty being tended to by her maid while chatting with her hairdresser about her three lovers. She describes them and asks his opinion on whom she should choose. The film then proceeds to the house of Lady Julia Standish (played by June Collyer) on whom Kitty is paying a call. Lady Julia's husband is neglecting her and Kitty gives her advice on how to many her husband interested once again. Her husband, Sir Jasper Standish (played by Ernest Torrence) arrives from a trip to find her dressed elegantly as if expecting a caller. Meanwhile, Kitty places a love note addressed to her in a conspicuous place with a lock of red hair and leaves the house. Through a welter of songs into which the principals break at short intervals she at length decides on a lord instead of a highwayman. Lord Varney, hearing that Kitty was visiting Lady Standish, comes to call on Kitty at Lord Standish's house. Lord Standish immediately assumes that he is fooling around with his wife and insults his so that he must fight a duel "according to the code" in order to uphold his honor. The report of the scandal soon flies through the town and we are taken to a bath where everyone is talking about the supposed affair. Kitty happens to be there and as soon as she hears the story she begins to fear for the life of Lord Varney, whom she now realizes is the one she really loves. Through a welter of songs into which the principals break at short intervals, as well as outrageous Pre-Code comedy, satire and drama, Kitty and Lord Varney are at length united.

ongs

* "You, I Love But You" (Sung by Claudia Dell)
* "I've Been Waiting For You" (Sung by Walter Pidgeon)
* "Drunk Song" (Sung by Ernest Torrence, Lionel Belmore, Edgar Norton)
* "Duelling Song" (Sung by Ernest Torrence, Perry Askam, Lionel Belmore, Edgar Norton, Douglas Gerrard)
* "Peggy's Leg" (Sung by Ernest Torrence, Perry Askam, Lionel Belmore, Edgar Norton, Douglas Gerrard, Arthur Edmund Carewe)
* "Highwayman Song" (Sung by Perry Askam and Claudia Dell)
* "Pump Room Song" (Sung by Claudia Dell)
* "Song of the Town of Bath" (Sung by Extras)
* "Tally Ho" (Sung by Claudia Dell, Walter Pidgeon, Lionel Belmore)

Preservation

The film survives in a black and white copy made for television in the 1950s. No copies of the film are known to exist in the original Technicolor. The color work on the film was highly praised by the film reviewers of the day.