{{short description|1930 film}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}} {{Infobox film | name = The Virtuous Sin | image = TheVirtuousSinPoster.jpg | caption = Original poster | director = [[George Cukor]]<br>[[Louis J. Gasnier]] | producer = | writer = [[Martin Brown (writer)|Martin Brown]]<br>[[Louise Long]]<br>Based on a play by [[Lajos Zilahy]] | starring = [[Walter Huston]]<br>[[Kay Francis]]<br>[[Kenneth MacKenna]] | music = [[Sam Coslow]]<br>[[Ralph Rainger]] | cinematography = [[David Abel (cinematographer)|David Abel]] | editing = [[Otho Lovering]] | studio = | distributor = [[Paramount Pictures]] | released = {{Film date|1930|10|24}} | runtime = 80 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = | gross = }} '''''The Virtuous Sin''''' is a 1930 American [[Pre-Code Hollywood|pre-Code]] [[comedy-drama]] [[film]] directed by [[George Cukor]] and [[Louis J. Gasnier]] and starring [[Walter Huston]], [[Kay Francis]], and [[Kenneth MacKenna]]. The screenplay by Martin Brown and [[Louise Long]] is based on the 1928 play ''The General'' by [[Lajos Zilahy]]. A separate 1931 German-language version ''[[The Night of Decision (1931 film)|The Night of Decision]]'' was shot at Paramount's [[Joinville Studios]] in [[Paris]].
==Plot== Marya is married to medical student Victor Sablin, who finds it impossible to deal with military life when he is inducted into the [[Russia]]n army during [[World War I]]. When her husband is sentenced to death by [[firing squad]] due to his [[insubordination]], Marya offers herself to General Gregori Platoff in order to save him. When the two unexpectedly fall in love, Victor — not caring that his life has been spared — threatens to kill his rival. His determination to eliminate the general falters when Marya confesses she is not in love with her husband — and never was.
==Cast== *[[Walter Huston]] as Gen. Gregori Platoff *[[Kay Francis]] as Marya Sablin *[[Kenneth MacKenna]] as Victor Sablin
==Critical reception== Mordaunt Hall of the ''[[New York Times]]'' called the film "a clever comedy with a splendid performance by Walter Huston" and added, "There is a constant fund of interest in this picture's action. It is one of those rare offerings in which youth takes a back seat.<ref>{{Citation | url = https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9505E3D71F39E43ABC4A53DFB767838B629EDE | newspaper = The New York Times | title = Review}}.</ref>
==George Cukor's reflection in 1972== In the book ''On Cukor'', director [[George Cukor]] confided to biographer [[Gavin Lambert]]: "It wasn't much good. I'd be in great shock if they [film restorationists & historians] rescued this one. I remember that I enjoyed working with [[Kay Francis]] and [[Walter Huston]], though."<ref name=Parish73>{{citation |last1=Parish |first1=James Robert |last2=Mank |first2=Gregory W. |last3=Stanke |first3=Don E. |title=The Hollywood Beauties |year=1978 |publisher=Arlington House Publishers |location=New Rochelle, New York |isbn=0-87000-412-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/hollywoodbeautie00pari/page/73 73] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/hollywoodbeautie00pari/page/73 }}</ref>
==Preservation status== A complete print of this film is held by the [[UCLA Film and Television Archive]]. However, the UCLA archive's website says the print is too shrunk for projection.<ref>[http://cinema.library.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?Search_Arg=virtuous+sin&SL=None&Search_Code=FTIT&PID=CLABX7EI8BCWVVyDJbgR23Dy18WaX&SEQ=20111224124026&CNT=50&HIST=1 UCLA Film and Television Archive website]</ref>
==See also== *''[[The Rebel (1931 film)|The Rebel]]'' (1931)
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb title|id=0021525|title=The Virtuous Sin}}
{{George Cukor}} {{Louis J. Gasnier}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Virtuous Sin, The}} [[Category:1930 films]] [[Category:1930 comedy-drama films]] [[Category:American comedy-drama films]] [[Category:Films directed by George Cukor]] [[Category:American films based on plays]] [[Category:Films set in Russia]] [[Category:Films set in the 20th-century Russian Empire]] [[Category:Films set in the 1910s]] [[Category:American black-and-white films]] [[Category:Paramount Pictures films]] [[Category:American multilingual films]] [[Category:1930 multilingual films]] [[Category:1930 English-language films]] [[Category:1930 American films]] [[Category:Films scored by Ralph Rainger]] [[Category:English-language comedy-drama films]] [[Category:Films based on works by Lajos Zilahy]]