# The Virtuous Sin > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Virtuous_Sin > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Virtuous_Sin.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Virtuous_Sin > Source revision: 1348420917 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 1930 film The Virtuous Sin Original poster Directed by George Cukor Louis J. Gasnier Written by Martin Brown Louise Long Based on a play by Lajos Zilahy Starring Walter Huston Kay Francis Kenneth MacKenna Cinematography David Abel Edited by Otho Lovering Music by Sam Coslow Ralph Rainger Distributed by Paramount Pictures Release date October 24, 1930 (1930-10-24) Running time 80 minutes Country United States Language English ***The Virtuous Sin*** is a 1930 American [pre-Code](/source/Pre-Code_Hollywood) [comedy-drama](/source/Comedy-drama) [film](/source/Film) directed by [George Cukor](/source/George_Cukor) and [Louis J. Gasnier](/source/Louis_J._Gasnier) and starring [Walter Huston](/source/Walter_Huston), [Kay Francis](/source/Kay_Francis), and [Kenneth MacKenna](/source/Kenneth_MacKenna). The screenplay by Martin Brown and [Louise Long](/source/Louise_Long) is based on the 1928 play *The General* by [Lajos Zilahy](/source/Lajos_Zilahy). A separate 1931 German-language version *[The Night of Decision](/source/The_Night_of_Decision_(1931_film))* was shot at Paramount's [Joinville Studios](/source/Joinville_Studios) in [Paris](/source/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 [Russian](/source/Russia) army during [World War I](/source/World_War_I). When her husband is sentenced to death by [firing squad](/source/Firing_squad) due to his [insubordination](/source/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](/source/Walter_Huston) as Gen. Gregori Platoff - [Kay Francis](/source/Kay_Francis) as Marya Sablin - [Kenneth MacKenna](/source/Kenneth_MacKenna) as Victor Sablin ## Critical reception Mordaunt Hall of the *[New York Times](/source/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.[1] ## George Cukor's reflection in 1972 In the book *On Cukor*, director [George Cukor](/source/George_Cukor) confided to biographer [Gavin Lambert](/source/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](/source/Kay_Francis) and [Walter Huston](/source/Walter_Huston), though."[2] ## Preservation status A complete print of this film is held by the [UCLA Film and Television Archive](/source/UCLA_Film_and_Television_Archive). However, the UCLA archive's website says the print is too shrunk for projection.[3] ## See also - *[The Rebel](/source/The_Rebel_(1931_film))* (1931) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Review"](https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9505E3D71F39E43ABC4A53DFB767838B629EDE), *The New York Times*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Parish73_2-0)** Parish, James Robert; Mank, Gregory W.; Stanke, Don E. (1978), [*The Hollywood Beauties*](https://archive.org/details/hollywoodbeautie00pari/page/73), New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House Publishers, p. [73](https://archive.org/details/hollywoodbeautie00pari/page/73), [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-87000-412-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-87000-412-3) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [UCLA Film and Television Archive website](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) ## External links - [*The Virtuous Sin*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021525/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) v t e Films directed by George Cukor Grumpy (1930) The Virtuous Sin (1930) The Royal Family of Broadway (1930) Tarnished Lady (1931) Girls About Town (1931) What Price Hollywood? (1932) A Bill of Divorcement (1932) Rockabye (1932) Our Betters (1933) Dinner at Eight (1933) Little Women (1933) David Copperfield (1935) Sylvia Scarlett (1935) Romeo and Juliet (1936) Camille (1936) Holiday (1938) Zaza (1939) The Women (1939) Susan and God (1940) The Philadelphia Story (1940) A Woman's Face (1941) Two-Faced Woman (1941) Her Cardboard Lover (1942) Keeper of the Flame (1943) Gaslight (1944) Winged Victory (1944) A Double Life (1947) Desire Me (1947, uncredited) Edward, My Son (1949) Adam's Rib (1949) A Life of Her Own (1950) Born Yesterday (1950) The Model and the Marriage Broker (1951) The Marrying Kind (1952) Pat and Mike (1952) The Actress (1953) It Should Happen to You (1954) A Star Is Born (1954) Bhowani Junction (1956) Les Girls (1957) Wild Is the Wind (1957) Heller in Pink Tights (1960) Let's Make Love (1960) Something's Got to Give (1962, unfinished) The Chapman Report (1962) My Fair Lady (1964) Justine (1969) Travels with My Aunt (1972) Love Among the Ruins (1975) The Blue Bird (1976) The Corn is Green (1979) Rich and Famous (1981) v t e Films directed by Louis J. Gasnier The Perils of Pauline (1914) The Exploits of Elaine (1914) The New Exploits of Elaine (1915) The Shielding Shadow (1916) The Seven Pearls (1917) Hands Up (1918) The Tiger's Trail (1919) Kismet (1920) Good Women (1921) A Wife's Awakening (1921) Silent Years (1921) The Call of Home (1922) Rich Men's Wives (1922) Thorns and Orange Blossoms (1922) Maytime (1923) Daughters of the Rich (1923) The Hero (1923) Mothers-in-Law (1923) Poor Men's Wives (1923) Poisoned Paradise: The Forbidden Story of Monte Carlo (1924) Wine (1924) White Man (1924) The Triflers (1924) The Breath of Scandal (1924) The Parasite (1925) Parisian Love (1925) Faint Perfume (1925) The Boomerang (1925) Out of the Storm (1926) That Model from Paris (1926) Sin Cargo (1926) Pleasures of the Rich (1926) Lost at Sea (1926) Streets of Shanghai (1927) The Beauty Shoppers (1927) Should Tall Men Marry? (1928) Fashion Madness (1928) Darkened Rooms (1929) Slightly Scarlet (1930) Mysterious Mr. Parkes (1930) The Virtuous Sin (1930) The Lawyer's Secret (1931) Silence (1931) The Strange Case of Clara Deane (1932) Forgotten Commandments (1932) Gambling Ship (1933) Downward Slope (1934) Fedora (1934) The Last Outpost (1935) Reefer Madness (1936) The Gold Racket (1937) Bank Alarm (1937) Sunset Murder Case (1938) The Marines Come Thru (1938) Murder on the Yukon (1940) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Virtuous Sin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Virtuous_Sin) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Virtuous_Sin?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.