Private Lives (film)
| Private Lives | |
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Film poster
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| Directed by | Sidney Franklin |
| Produced by | Irving Thalberg |
| Written by |
Hanns Kräly Richard Schayer Based on the play by Noël Coward |
| Starring |
Norma Shearer Robert Montgomery |
| Music by | William Axt |
| Cinematography | Ray Binger |
| Edited by | Conrad A. Nervig |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
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Release date
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Running time
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84 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Private Lives is a 1931 American Pre-Code comedy film directed by Sidney Franklin. The screenplay by Hanns Kräly and Richard Schayer is based on the 1930 play Private Lives by Noël Coward.
Elyot Chase and Amanda Prynne, divorced after a tempestuous marriage, are dismayed to discover they both have opted to honeymoon with their new spouses at the same hotel on the French Riviera. Elyot finds his bride Sybil's questions about Amanda annoying, while Amanda wishes her new husband Victor would stop referring to Elyot every chance he gets. When Elyot discovers Amanda on the terrace their adjoining suites share, he insists he and Sybil immediately depart for Paris, the same plan Amanda proposes to Victor. The two ex-spouses quarrel with their new mates, both of whom set off in search of peace and quiet.
Left to reminisce, Elyot and Amanda rekindle their relationship with a kiss and make a pact to put an end to any verbal battles when either one utters the name "Solomon Isaacs." The two then abandon and flee to St. Moritz, but before long they begin a spat that evolves into a major fight about a phonograph record, which Amanda breaks over Elyot's head, an action that leads to total destruction of their hotel room. Rushing out, Amanda meets Victor and Sybil, who have tracked down the prodigal duo, and everyone becomes involved in the dispute. Things finally calm down, and the two couples meet for breakfast the next day, but when Victor and Sybil begin to fight, Elyot and Amanda walk out and depart the resort by train.
When Noël Coward's play proved to be a hit both in London and on Broadway, MGM executive Irving Thalberg bought the rights for a film adaptation starring his wife, Norma Shearer. Coward was uncertain if Shearer was capable of handling the sophisticated dialogue of his comedy of manners, but the actress confidently proclaimed, "I don't care what he thinks - he thinks in theater terms - I think in film terms. It doesn't seem to occur to Mr. Coward that we both may turn out to be right!" She personally suggested Robert Montgomery, who already had appeared in three films opposite her, for her co-star.
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