Lady of the Night (1925)

Cast:
Norma Shearer ... Molly Helmer / Florence Banning
Malcolm McGregor ... David Page
Dale Fuller ... Miss Carr
George K. Arthur ... 'Chunky' Dunn
Fred Esmelton ... Judge Banning
Lew Harvey ... Chris Helmer
Gwen Lee ... Molly's Friend
Betty Morrissey ... Gertie

Produced and Directed by Monta Bell.
From a story by Adela Rogers St. Johns.
Cinematography by André Barlatier.
Film Editing by Ralph Dawson.
Set Decoration by Cedric Gibbons.

Box Office Information:
Cost of Production: $80,000
Domestic Gross: $235,000
Forgein Gross: $91,000
Total Gross: $326,000
Profit: $96,000

Background:

If Monta Bell made Norma Shearer a star in Broadway After Dark (1924) and The Snob (1924), then his work with her in Lady of the Night (1925) can be argued as the movie which made her unforgettable.

Or at least a superstar, on the level of the top stars of the 1920s.

Norma Shearer had progressed beautifully prior to Lady of the Night’s production. Following an apprenticeship in New York, in which she began as an extra in The Flapper (1920, with Olive Thomas) and moved into starring roles in A Clouded Name and The Devil’s Partner (both 1923), she made her first film in Hollywood under the direction of Reginald Barker. Pleasure Mad was Norma’s first movie for Louis. B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg, who subsequently loaned out her services seven times in the following two years before Lady of the Night.

After this movie, she was loaned out only once more, to United Artists for Walking Up the Town (1925, which Jack Pickford [Mary’s brother]). But of her existing silent movie career, Lady of the Night would become Norma’s second most fondly remembered feature, second only to The Student Prince (1927) and even surpassing He Who Gets Slapped (1924).

Lady of the Night was taken from Adela Rogers St. Johns’ Two Worlds, which focused on the life of two young women from two different worlds, both loving the same man. The film gave Norma the opportunity to play a dual role, which she confessed the tough Molly was her favorite of the two. “I liked playing Molly best,” she recalled. “I decided to slick back my hair and wear a beauty spot and split curls. I had a tight skirt, black silk stockings and heels so high I could barely walk. I tied a red tulle bow around my neck. With my hands on my hips and some chewing gum, I was all set up for business.”

Edwin Schallert, a critic for the Los Angeles Times, confirmed that “the make-up of the dance-hall girl is something new for Miss Shearer, especially as it is rather exaggerated.”

But Norma’s make-up was only one memorable aspect in the production of Lady of the Night.

Today this one is most popular for being the film debut of Lucille LeSueur, later known to Hollywood as Joan Crawford. The coming years of success for Norma seriously ruffled Joan’s feathers, as she felt she was overlooked at Metro Goldwyn Mayer because of Norma’s marriage to Irving Thalberg. This disdain was not helped due to Joan’s role in the film. She was used---without credit---as Norma’s double. “While Norma played the tough girl (full front, close up), I played the Lady (with my back to the camera). When she did the lady, I was the tough girl (with my back to the camera).”

The humiliating task began a life-long resentment of Norma in Joan’s eyes, which Norma later recalled were “the most beautiful eyes. They were the biggest eyes I had ever seen. But they didn’t trust me. I could see that. They never have.”

Norma and Joan Crawford continued to compete for good roles at MGM in the coming years, with their dislike of each other hitting an all-time high when they appeared in The Women (1939) together, their second and last film they would ever made with one another.

Lady of the Night was a critical and commercial success, cementing Norma as MGM’s top box office draw, a position she held until her retirement in 1942. It was the first movie in which she received the all-star treatment, getting solo billing above the rest of the cast in a large font, and getting all of the camera’s attention, stealing the spotlight from such memorable supporting actors as George K. Arthur and Malcolm McGregor.

With this Norma became the first established female movie star of Metro Goldwyn Mayer, which earned her the Queen of the Studio title when she married Irving Thalberg in 1927 and continued on with her top-notch stardom.