# Ex-Lady > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ex-Lady > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ex-Lady.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex-Lady > Source revision: 1350953262 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 1933 film by Robert Florey Ex-Lady Theatrical release poster Directed by Robert Florey Written by David Boehm Produced by Darryl F. Zanuck Starring Bette Davis Gene Raymond Frank McHugh Monroe Owsley Cinematography Tony Gaudio Edited by Harold McLernon Music by Leo F. Forbstein Production companies Vitaphone Warner Bros. Pictures Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Release date May 15, 1933 (1933-05-15) Running time 67 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $93,000[1] Box office $283,000[1] Lobby card ***Ex-Lady*** is a 1933 American [pre-Code](/source/Pre-Code_Hollywood) [comedy/drama](/source/Comedy_drama) film directed by [Robert Florey](/source/Robert_Florey). The [screenplay](/source/Screenplay) by [David Boehm](/source/David_Boehm) is a remake of the [Barbara Stanwyck](/source/Barbara_Stanwyck) film *[Illicit](/source/Illicit_(1931_film))* (1931), both crediting a story (actually a play)[2] by Edith Fitzgerald and [Robert Riskin](/source/Robert_Riskin). The film focuses on a pair of lovers, commercial illustrator Helen Bauer ([Bette Davis](/source/Bette_Davis)) and advertising writer Don Peterson ([Gene Raymond](/source/Gene_Raymond)), who have been living together quite happily (in separate apartments) for some time. One night, after hiding in Helen's bedroom until their party guests have all left, Don announces that he is tired of sneaking around. He wants marriage—and possibly children—and Helen finally agrees, although she is afraid that it will wreck their relationship. Her predictions of trouble—increased by the stresses of opening their own advertising agency—come true, but in the end, with the serendipitous intervention of their perpetually inebriated friend, Van ([Frank McHugh](/source/Frank_McHugh)), they reconcile and resume the mixed blessings of wedded bliss. ## Plot Helen Bauer is a glamorous, successful, headstrong, and very liberated [New York](/source/New_York_City) [graphic artist](/source/Graphic_artist) with modern ideas about [romance](/source/Romance_(love)). She is involved with Don Peterson but is not prepared to sacrifice her independence by entering into matrimony. The two agree to wed only to pacify Helen's conventional [immigrant](/source/Immigration) father Adolphe, whose Old World views spur him to condemn their [affair](/source/Affair). They form a business partnership, but financial problems at their [advertising agency](/source/Advertising_agency) put a strain on the marriage and Don begins seeing Peggy Smith, one of his married [clients](/source/Customer). Convinced it was marriage that disrupted their relationship, Helen suggests they live apart but remain lovers. When Don discovers Helen is dating his business rival, playboy Nick Malvyn, he returns to Peggy, but in reality his heart belongs to his wife. Agreeing their love will help their marriage survive its problems, the two reconcile and settle into domestic bliss. The plot is unusual for its time in that Helen is not denigrated for her beliefs about marriage and Don is not depicted as being a cad.[3] In addition, although they are sleeping together and unmarried, neither is concerned about the possibility of children, and certain dialog could suggest that they are using [birth control](/source/Birth_control).[3] ## Cast - [Bette Davis](/source/Bette_Davis) as Helen Bauer - [Gene Raymond](/source/Gene_Raymond) as Don Peterson - Kay Strozzi as Peggy Smith - [Monroe Owsley](/source/Monroe_Owsley) as Nick Malvyn - [Ferdinand Gottschalk](/source/Ferdinand_Gottschalk) as Herbert Smith - [Alphonse Ethier](/source/Alphonse_Ethier) as Adolphe Bauer - [Frank McHugh](/source/Frank_McHugh) as Hugo Van Hugh - [Claire Dodd](/source/Claire_Dodd) as Iris Van Hugh - [Bodil Rosing](/source/Bodil_Rosing) as Mrs. Bauer - [George Beranger](/source/George_Beranger) as Dinner Guest / Pianist (uncredited) - [Armand Kaliz](/source/Armand_Kaliz) as Man Flirting With Iris (uncredited) - William H. O'Brien as Butler (uncredited) - [Gay Seabrook](/source/Gay_Seabrook) as Miss Seymour - Don's Secretary (uncredited) - [Billy West](/source/Billy_West_(silent_film_actor)) as Panhandler (uncredited) - Renee Whitney as Party Guest (uncredited) - Ynez as Cuban Nightclub Dancer (uncredited) ## Production The [Warner Bros.](/source/Warner_Bros.) film was a [remake](/source/Remake) of the [Barbara Stanwyck](/source/Barbara_Stanwyck) vehicle [*Illicit*](/source/Illicit_(1931_film)), released two years earlier.[4] Following the film's release, producer [Darryl F. Zanuck](/source/Darryl_F._Zanuck) resigned from Warners to form his own production company, [Twentieth Century Pictures](/source/Twentieth_Century_Pictures), which eventually merged with [Fox](/source/Fox_Film) to become [20th Century Fox](/source/20th_Century_Fox). The prologue to the 1962 film *[What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?](/source/What_Ever_Happened_to_Baby_Jane%3F_(1962_film))* includes a scene from *Ex-Lady* as an example of former child star [Jane Hudson](/source/Baby_Jane_Hudson)'s failure to achieve screen success as an adult due to her lack of talent. Davis and Raymond in a scene from the trailer for *Ex-Lady.* ## Critical reception *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)* in a contemporary review from 1933, described the film as "an honestly written and truthfully enacted picture of the domestic problems which harass two persons in love with one another".[5] In contrast, a more recent review in *[TV Guide](/source/TV_Guide)* called it a "lame little melodrama notable chiefly for being the first film to have Bette Davis' name above the title".[6] ## Legacy In her 1962 autobiography, Davis expressed her disdain for the film calling it a “piece of junk”.[7] She also stated that the film “was supposed to be provocative and provoked anyone of sensibility to nausea”.[7] For the film, Davis had been given the Hollywood glamor girl treatment, which she resented for she “wasn’t the type to be glamorized”.[7] She was even more outraged over the marketing campaign for the film which “falsely pictured her as half-naked”[7] on the film's posters, declaring that her shame was only exceeded by her fury. She hated this film and this part of her career so much that she admitted her “conscious tastefully avoided”[7] all memories of this film. Despite Davis's dislike of the film, she admittedly had more disgust for *[Parachute Jumper](/source/Parachute_Jumper)* (1933)[8] In 2013, the [Warner Archive Collection](/source/Warner_Archive_Collection) included this film in its DVD box set of *Forbidden Hollywood Collection: Volume 7;* with *[The Hatchet Man](/source/The_Hatchet_Man)* (1932), *[Skyscraper Souls](/source/Skyscraper_Souls)* (1932), and *[Employees' Entrance](/source/Employees'_Entrance)* (1933). ## Box office According to Warner Bros the film earned $228,000 domestically and $55,000 foreign.[1] ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-warners_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-warners_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-warners_1-2) Warner Bros financial information in The William Schaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 13 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Ex-Lady (1933) - Trivia - TCM.com"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120929223911/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2445/Ex-Lady/#trivia). *Turner Classic Movies*. Archived from [the original](https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2445/ex-lady#trivia) on September 29, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2024. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Basinger_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Basinger_3-1) [Basinger, Jeanine](/source/Jeanine_Basinger) (1995). [*A Woman's View: How Hollywood Spoke to Women, 1930–1960*](https://books.google.com/books?id=tbZVNPT6x6EC). Middleton, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press. p. 385. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8195-6291-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8195-6291-2). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [*Ex-Lady* at Turner Classic Movies](https://web.archive.org/web/20120929223911/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2445/Ex-Lady/#articles-reviews) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [*New York Times* review](https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C02E4D91538E333A25756C1A9639C946294D6CF) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [*TV Guide* review](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/ex-lady/2000031004) 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_7-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:0_7-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:0_7-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-:0_7-4) Davis, Bette, 1908-1989. (1990). *The lonely life : an autobiography* (Berkley ed.). New York: Berkley Books. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-425-12350-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-425-12350-2). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [22748353](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/22748353).{{[cite book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_book)}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_multiple_names:_authors_list)) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_numeric_names:_authors_list)) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Parachute Jumper (1933) - Articles - TCM.com"](https://web.archive.org/web/20121017232627/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/1926/Parachute-Jumper/#articles-reviews). *Turner Classic Movies*. Archived from [the original](https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/1926/parachute-jumper#articles-reviews) on October 17, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2024. ## External links - [*Ex-Lady*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023993/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) - [*Ex-Lady*](https://web.archive.org/web/1/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2445/enwp) at the [TCM Movie Database](/source/Turner_Classic_Movies#TCMdb) (archived) - [*Ex-Lady*](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/3154) at the *[AFI Catalog of Feature Films](/source/AFI_Catalog_of_Feature_Films)* Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Ex-Lady](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ex-Lady). v t e Darryl F. Zanuck Producer Old San Francisco (1927) The First Auto (1927) The Jazz Singer (1927) Tenderloin (1928) The Show of Shows (1929) Three Faces East (1930) The Doorway to Hell (1931) Little Caesar (1931) Illicit (1931) The Public Enemy (1931) The Man Who Played God (1932) The Rich Are Always with Us (1932) Doctor X (1932) Life Begins (1932) The Cabin in the Cotton (1932) Three on a Match (1932) 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932) Parachute Jumper (1933) 42nd Street (1933) The Working Man (1933) Ex-Lady (1933) The Bowery (1933) Blood Money (1933) Moulin Rouge (1934) Looking for Trouble (1934) Born to Be Bad (1934) Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back (1934) The Mighty Barnum (1934) Folies Bergère de Paris (1935) Les Misérables (1935) Cardinal Richelieu (1935) Call of the Wild (1935) Metropolitan (1935) Thanks a Million (1935) The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo (1935) Professional Soldier (1935) The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936) It Had to Happen (1936) A Message to Garcia (1936) Under Two Flags (1936) The Road to Glory (1936) Poor Little Rich Girl (1936) Sing, Baby, Sing (1936) Pigskin Parade (1936) Seventh Heaven (1937) Slave Ship (1937) Wee Willie Winkie (1937) Wake Up and Live (1937) Thin Ice (1937) Lancer Spy (1937) In Old Chicago (1938) Happy Landing (1938) International Settlement (1938) Kentucky Moonshine Always Goodbye (1938) Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938) Just Around the Corner (1938) Little Miss Broadway (1938) My Lucky Star (1938) Submarine Patrol (1938) Jesse James (1939) Tail Spin (1939) Wife, Husband and Friend (1939) The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939) Rose of Washington Square (1939) Stanley and Livingstone (1939) The Rains Came (1939) Hollywood Cavalcade (1939) Swanee River (1939) The Little Princess (1939) The Grapes of Wrath (1940) Little Old New York (1940) The Man I Married (1940) The Return of Frank James (1940) The Great Profile (1940) Brigham Young (1940) Down Argentine Way (1940) The Mark of Zorro (1940) Hudson's Bay (1941) Tobacco Road (1941) The Great American Broadcast (1941) Blood and Sand (1941) A Yank in the R.A.F. (1941) How Green Was My Valley (1942) Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake (1942) Sex Hygiene (Short) (1942) To the Shores of Tripoli (1942) This Above All (1942) Thunder Birds (1942) The Purple Heart (1944) Wilson (1944) Winged Victory (1944) The Razor's Edge (1946) Gentleman's Agreement (1947) Fury at Furnace Creek (1948) The Snake Pit (1948) Pinky (1949) Twelve O'Clock High (1949) No Way Out (1950) All About Eve (1950) David and Bathsheba (1951) People Will Talk (1951) Viva Zapata! (1952) The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952) The Egyptian (1954) The View from Pompey's Head (1955) The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956) Island in the Sun (1957) The Sun Also Rises (1957) The Roots of Heaven (1958) Crack in the Mirror (1960) Sanctuary (1961) The Big Gamble (1961) The Longest Day (1962) The Chapman Report (1962) The Visit (1964) Writer as Mark Canfield The Desired Woman (1927) (story) Maybe It's Love (1930) Baby Face (1933) (story) Crack in the Mirror (1960) as Melville Crossman Tenderloin (story) (1928) State Street Sadie (story) (1928) Thanks a Million (story) (1935) A Yank in the R.A.F. (story) (1941) Thunder Birds (original story) (1942) China Girl (story) (1942) The Purple Heart (story) (1944) as Gregory Rogers Find Your Man (Rin Tin Tin story) (1924) The Lighthouse by the Sea (Rin Tin Tin story) (1924) Three Weeks in Paris (story, screenplay as Darryl Zanuck) (1925) The Midnight Taxi (story) (1928) as self A Broadway Butterfly (1925) Red Hot Tires (1925) Hogan's Alley (1925) The Caveman (scenario) (1926) The Little Irish Girl (adaptation) (1926) The Social Highwayman (1926) Footloose Widows (1926) Across the Pacific (adaptation) (1926) The Better 'Ole (screenplay) (1926) Tracked by the Police (Rin Tin Tin story) (1927) Old San Francisco (1927) The First Auto (story) (1927) Good Time Charley (story) (1927) Noah's Ark (story) (1928) My Man (story) (1928) Hardboiled Rose (story) (1929) Madonna of Avenue A (story) (1929) Say It with Songs (story) (1929) The Life of the Party (1930) Little Caesar (story – uncredited) (1931) The Dark Horse (story) (1932) Lady Killer (story – uncredited) (1933) Folies Bergère de Paris (contributing writer – uncredited) (1935) G Men (story) (1935) This Is My Affair (story – uncredited) (1937) Alexander's Ragtime Band (contributing writer – uncredited) (1938) The Great Profile (story – uncredited) (1940) Ten Gentlemen from West Point (1942) People Virginia Fox (wife) Richard D. Zanuck (son) Dean Zanuck (grandson) v t e Films directed by Robert Florey One Hour of Love (1927) The Romantic Age (1927) Face Value (1927) The Life and Death of 9413: a Hollywood Extra (1928) The Hole in the Wall (1929) The Cocoanuts (1929) The Battle of Paris (1929) Skyscraper Symphony (1929) The Road Is Fine (1930) My Wife's Teacher (1930) Love Songs (1930) Black and White (1931) Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) The Man Called Back (1932) Those We Love (1932) Girl Missing (1933) Ex-Lady (1933) The House on 56th Street (1933) Bedside (1934) Registered Nurse (1934) Smarty (1934) I Sell Anything (1934) I Am a Thief (1934) The Woman in Red (1935) The Florentine Dagger (1935) Going Highbrow (1935) Don't Bet on Blondes (1935) Ship Cafe (1935) The Payoff (1935) The Preview Murder Mystery (1936) Till We Meet Again (1936) Hollywood Boulevard (1936) Outcast (1937) King of Gamblers (1937) Mountain Music (1937) This Way Please (1937) Daughter of Shanghai (1937) Dangerous to Know (1938) King of Alcatraz (1938) Disbarred (1939) Hotel Imperial (1939) The Magnificent Fraud (1939) Death of a Champion (1939) Parole Fixer (1940) Women Without Names (1940) The Face Behind the Mask (1941) Meet Boston Blackie (1941) Two in a Taxi (1941) Dangerously They Live (1941) Lady Gangster (1942) The Desert Song (1943) Roger Touhy, Gangster (1944) Man from Frisco (1944) God Is My Co-Pilot (1945) Danger Signal (1945) The Beast with Five Fingers (1946) Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948) Rogues' Regiment (1948) Outpost in Morocco (1949) The Crooked Way (1949) The Vicious Years (1950) Johnny One-Eye (1950) Adventures of Captain Fabian (1951) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ex-Lady](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex-Lady) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex-Lady?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.