Best movie of this year hands down!

Truly Dreadful Film

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Director: CLARENCE BROWN. Screenplay: Bess Meredyth. Based on the novel, "The Green Hat" by Michael Arlen. Titles: Marian Ainslee, Ruth Cummings. Photography: William Daniels. Film editor: Hugh Wynn. Art director: Cedric Gibbons. Costumes designed by Adrian. Assistant director: Charles Doran.Copyright 10 December 1928 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures. U.S. release: 15 December 1928. Originally issued with a music score (including an original song by William Axt and David Mendoza called "Love's First Kiss") and sound effects, the film is now available only in a silent version with a new orchestral score composed by Carl Davis. New York opening at the Capitol: 20 January 1929. Current running time: 98 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Childhood sweethearts plan to marry, but the hero's father steps in and, fully intending to nip the romance in the bud, sends the lad off to Egypt. NOTES: Remade in 1934 as "Outcast Lady". COMMENT: Michael Arlen's steamy, best-selling 1924 novel of high society amours incurred the wrath of censors worldwide. It was eventually banned in many countries, including the U.S.A., England and Australia. Hence the movie's title change to the far more salacious "A Woman of Affairs". This is a sumptuous, yet beautifully made film, exquisitely photographed, most inventively directed, and superbly acted by an outstanding cast, not the least member of which, the young Douglas Fairbanks, almost steals the production from the divine Garbo herself. The new Carl Davis score has come in for quite a few brickbats, but I like it. For me, it perfectly captures the romantic mood induced by the story and its principal players. Yes, it's a familiar tale, but it's given a great workout here, thanks to solid acting which brings all the characters to life, really impressive (if mostly unobtrusive) direction and outstanding production values (including Daniels' attractively atmospheric camera-work). Garbo literally lights up the screen, even when her face is partly hidden by the green hat of Arlen's title. Incidentally, screenwriter Bess Meredyth and the caption writers have done a marvelous job condensing Arlen's wordy, over-written prose to the fast-moving story-line, succinct, realistic dialogue and descriptive inter-titles of the movie. As a result, the characters of the film are far more believable than their counterparts in the novel.

Adapted from the novel "The Green Hat", I would have retitled it "Two Gallant Ladies and The Men Who Messed Everything Up". However, even that doesn't do it justice. This is almost a feminist film. Garbo is one of the two of the last "Mad Merricks", not much more is said about the family name except that Diana is independently wealthy and somewhat reckless. In the opening scene she is driving her car wildly through the countryside with her first and only true love, Neville Holderness (John Gilbert), as a passenger. They have been in love since childhood and want to marry. However, Neville's dad, Sir Morton, does not want this marriage. No valid reason is given other than perhaps he does not want the pitter patter of little mad Merricks to end up being his heirs.Neville has no money in his own name, so his dad uses this fact to get Neville to agree to take a job in Egypt, before he marries Diana, so that he can earn some money and start a career. Dad just wants to separate the pair on the hope that they will forget about one another. Diana sees through the ruse, and Neville doesn't even bother to say a last goodbye -again, dad's idea. Complications, heartache, and tragedy ensue.The reason I say this is almost a feminist film is because the only two women in the film - Diana and Constance (Dorothy Sebastian) are the only virtuous people in the entire cast. Hugh (Lewis Stone), long time family friend of the Merricks, comes close, but near the end breaks a trust in doing what he thinks is a good deed. Jeffry, Diana's brother, is an alcoholic, Neville is ultimately a coward, his dad is a snob, and David Furness, who has always loved Diana and been Jeffry's hero since childhood, has his problems too. Problems so bad that Diana ruins her reputation in order to keep them secret so that the image that her brother Jeffry has of him can stay intact. In this way, she is a gallant lady. As for Constance, she is the girl of whom Neville's dad approves, so Neville marries her like the obedient son that he is. However, Constance is wise. She can see Neville and Diana are still in love, and does not blame either of them for something they cannot help. Thus she is also a gallant lady.I'll let you watch and see how this all works out. I think it is Garbo's best silent film. She gives a strong performance in a film with a good plot and a good cast surrounding her, and as always, her chemistry with Gilbert is wonderful. Highly recommended.

Michael Arlen's "The Green Hat" was the most sensational novel of its time. In 1924, the year it was published, it was the top selling novel. The story of a wild young widow with a notorious past, it bought London's Mayfair of the 1920s to life with it's rich tapestry of characters. It also shocked readers with allusions to homosexuality and sexually transmitted diseases. When MGM (of all studios) decided to make a movie of the novel - the name of the book or any allusion to it was not to be mentioned, hence the name "A Woman of Affairs". And it was definitely cleaned up.Diana, David and Neville have been friends since childhood, but Diana and Neville had a special bond. Diana Merrick (Greta Garbo) and her dissipated brother Jeffry (Douglas Fairbanks Jnr.) are determined to live their lives in the pursuit of pleasure, earning them a bad reputation. Jeffry worships David (Johnny Mack Brown) and is drinking himself to death because of what he perceives is Diana's offhand treatment of David. Douglas Fairbanks Jnr. gives the performance of his young career as the alcoholic Jeffry (in the book he and Diana were twins). Jeffry has an unhealthy hero-worship of David and Fairbanks seems to really get inside his character.Neville (John Gilbert) is offered a post in Egypt and is eager to take it as it means he and Diana can be married when he returns. Diana believes his father has organised the job to part them as he is very disapproving of her lifestyle. They decide to elope but Neville's father hears of it, hurries him off to Egypt and so prevents the marriage. Years of waiting has Diana turning to David. They marry but Diana does not return his love. He commits suicide on their honeymoon and it is implied that he has found out something horrible about her past. The title says "He died for - decency" and Diana puts up with a lot of allegations and rumour.Years pass and Diana is back in London to visit her critically ill brother, who has never recovered from David's death and is drinking himself into an early grave. Neville is about to marry giddy Constance (pretty Dorothy Sebastian), who proves during the film that she has just as much character and honour as the rest of them. Dr. Hugh Trevelyan (Lewis Stone) has always been Diana's protector and supporter and it is he who informs her of her brother's death (she has spent the night at Nevilles).Diana suffers a nervous breakdown and I think it is this hospital scene in which Greta Garbo lifts this film to it's highest sphere. Neville has sent roses to her room but when Diana awakes and finds them gone she deliriously wanders through the hospital in search of them. "I woke up - and you weren't there" says Diana as she crushes the flowers in her arms. Everyone in the scene (Gilbert, Sebastian, Stone) seems transfixed as Garbo goes through this astonishing performance. The film is not over yet. Sir Morton Holderness (Hobart Bosworth), Neville's father has never held a very high opinion of Diana. He learns the real reason for David's suicide - he was an embezzler and Diana gave up her reputation for his honour - not to mention paying off his debts secretly. For the last time Diana proves she is a "gallant lady" by driving her car into the tree that had always symbolized her and Neville's love and leaving Neville and Constance free to begin their lives together.Greta Garbo is mesmerizing - you can't watch anyone else while she is on the screen. John Gilbert shows none of the personality and passion that characterizes his acting - he definitely takes a backseat to Garbo in this movie. In case you are wondering the exquisite Anita Louise plays Diana as a child. Director Clarence Brown did a wonderful job with a scenario which couldn't be faithful to the book to appease the vigilant censor.Highly, Highly Recommended.

I love silent films but I will be the first to admit that some plots from the early days of film tend to look a bit old fashioned and silly today. While A WOMAN OF AFFAIRS is definitely still watchable, it sure doesn't age well and today many who watch it will find the plot silly--I know I sure did! Despite the presence of the often overrated Greta Garbo, this film lacks believability. Don't believe any reviews that give this film astronomically high ratings simply because they love Garbo--the script is just too flawed to merit scores of 9 or 10.Greta and John Gilbert are in love. However, her family and his are enemies and John's father does his best to keep them apart. John is a bit of a weenie and reluctantly agrees to listen to his dad and take a job in Egypt instead of marrying Garbo. In his mind, he intends to work and make his fortune, then return to marry her. Naturally, though, this absence destroyed their plans and eventually both marry others.She marries a man who turns out to be an embezzler and kills himself on their wedding night. They don't even get a chance to consummate their marriage. However, and this makes no sense at all, Greta spends the rest of the movie being true to her husband--preserving his image as a nice guy. Without telling people, she manages to pay off all his debts and allows everyone to think she drove him to suicide (which, by the way, was really cool to watch)! This was dumb because there was no legitimate reason for this self-sacrifice--especially when Greta's brother (played by a young Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) refuses to ever talk with her or see her again and pretty much everyone else treats her like a leper. Heck, when Gilbert marries, it's AFTER this incident--if he'd known the truth, he and Garbo surely would have married. Garbo could easily have told everyone--thus avoiding LOTS of trouble and such glaring holes can't be ignored. Later, however, Garbo's one true friend tells Gilbert and his nasty father the truth and everyone agrees that she's a living saint and everyone (including the wife) give Gilbert permission to divorce and marry Garbo!!! Talk about contrived and stupid! So if the plot is so bad and tough to believe, why does it still earn a 6? Well, the film is lovely to look at due to nice cinematography. Also, the acting is good and they make the most of a convoluted and dopey plot. Plus, while nowadays you'd laugh at such silly and contrived plotting, for 1928 it wasn't so bad--audiences made allowances for such plot devices.Also, note that because this film came out before the new tougher Production Code it was grittier and had plot elements that would not have been allowed if they film had come out in 1934. Starting that year, Hollywood needed to have permission to show such violent deaths or talk positively about divorce--something that they never would have granted.