Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

bkoganbing If I had been Irene Dunne in The Secret Of Madame Blanche I might have thought twice about eloping with charming wastrel Phillips Holmes.. Sadly she met his ironfisted father Lionel Atwill only after they were married. Dunne plays a singer and does get to show her vocal talents in this film which is always appreciated. Holmes who does nothing, but spend dear old dad's money in various hedonistic pursuits. Of course dad does not even try to channel Holmes into some useful profession where he could have an income. What he wants and frankly I thought this a hoot, he wants to have him get a seat in Parliament with of course an arranged marriage with a woman of the proper station. Atwill has really no redeeming qualities as a father. He just wants to dominate his kid. Eventually he forces Dunne to give her child over to him to be raised in the image. As the kid grows up to be Douglas Walton he truly is a chip off the old Atwill/Holmes block.Fast forward to the World War I years and Walton while AWOL gets himself in a big jackpot and he also meets Dunne with no idea she's his mom. Atwill told him she was dead.I won't go any farther except to say that the whole thing has a Madame X quality to it. It does work out better for the principal cast members.The Secret Of Madame Blanche is a property very unlikely to be remade. Still the cast led by Dunne, Holmes, Atwill, and Walton does pull it together.

MartinHafer This is a film that probably won't please everyone. Viewers looking for a film with a lot of realism and a plot that is lacking plot holes would probably find it pretty tough going. Plus, those who aren't particularly inclined to watch old fashioned soap operas might also balk at seeing this film. So be it. However, for a lover of classic Hollywood films who accepts all the irony and melodrama without being too critical, the final product is lovely to watch and very satisfying.Now I must admit that usually a film with this many weepy scenes turns me off a bit, but the writers, directors and Irene Dunne manage to weave a tale so well that my sometime cynical nature was kept in abeyance. Plus, the amazingly awful and evil character played by Lionel Atwill was one of his best roles--one that will definitely make an impression on the viewer. Now I must admit that the impossibility of the final third of the film was at first a bit hard to take, but when the plot wrapped up like it did, I found I just didn't care--I wanted the hokey Hollywood ending and enjoyed it thoroughly. An excellent weepy film--similar to, but in many ways superior to MADAME X and SO BIG! If you liked this film, try Barbara Stanwyck's STELLA DALLAS--another great weepy melodrama.

elpep49 another winner is this Madame-X-type film about mother love. She plays a classy stage performer who marries the spoiled son (Phillips Holmes)of a selfish rich man (Lionel Atwill). The son commits suicide after the father cuts him off and Dunne then loses the baby to the evil old man. She fends for herself over the next 20 years in French bars. A curious set of coincidences reunites mother and son during WW I. Anyway, Dunne is wonderful--as usual--as the mother and gets to age (as in Cimarron) into a spunky old lady. Irene Dunne remains one of the most underrated stars of the 30s, excellent in drama, comedy, or musicals. She's also one of the most likable.

Poseidon-3 This is a close cousin of the classic (and often-filmed) "Madame X", but with some minor plot differences that make it worth watching. Fans of Lana's 1966 "Madame X" and the other versions may be curious about its predecessors and similar movies. In this one, Dunne gives a warm, heartfelt (and as is often the case with her) a startlingly contemporary and comfortable performance. Her work in the '30's tends to transcend the span of time and come off fresh now, SEVENTY YEARS later!! When her character ages, this quality is almost totally lost as she is buried in make-up and unnecessarily old-ladyish garb, wig etc.... (The most her character can conceivably be is 50 or so, but she looks like Bette Davis in "A Pocketful of Miracles"!!) Her mannerisms take over until it appears that Molly Shannon from SNL has stepped in to play the part! However, her early scenes, where her romance blossoms with the rich young man who loves her, are the best. She glows. Her scene with her little baby boy is also worth the price of admission alone. The child is adorable and the scene is spontaneous and beautiful. Like most of these tales, the deck is stacked WAY against the leading lady and it gets to be almost ridiculous, but the film is most definitely worth watching as a curio. The screenwriters Hackett and Goodrich were often called upon to translate plays and books to the screen. This was their first try and they do a decent, if occasionally trite and contrived job (this was a different era of film making, though.) It is laughable to think that Irene Dunne has no Academy Award, yet Paltrow, Tomei and Sorvino do..... Crazy!