The Woman Accused (1933)

   "For the finish, the hero, as done capably by Cary Grant, wields a blacksnake whip on the gangster..."

With Nancy Carroll.

The Woman Accused - Review is taken from 'The Films of Cary Grant' by Donald Deschner (1973):

"Despite two of the silliest exhibitions of melodramatics, the exploitation campaign and Liberty mag tieup behind Woman Accused should aid materially in putting it across to average returns.  To counterbalance the pair of moronic scenes is a wow finish that had the audience cheering. 

Billed as the picture written by ten of the world's greatest authors, it is not conceivable that the literary names concerned could have permitted, let alone have written, the aforementioned offending sequences.  

First sequence that went smello was the deep-dyed villainy of Louis Calhern in an effort to build up a logical reason for the girl, Nancy Carroll, to kill him.  Second was the mock-trial during a "cruise to nowhere" which was carried to silly extremes.  Both can be touched up by judicious cutting.  

Unfortunate that Calhern and John Halliday have been handed such parts, that no amount of good trouping can surmount the amount of ham written into each line.  

For the finish, the hero, as done capably by Cary Grant, wields a blacksnake whip on the gangster, key witness against the girl, giving film fans probably their first real satisfaction at the manner in which a mobster should be handled.  After a perfect buildup as a menace, Jack La Rue brings audience applause when he turns into jelly after the larruping administered by Grant.  

Some novel directorial angles in the "Strange Interlude" treatment of the accused woman's fear and terror, and the atmosphere of the pleasure cruise.  Nancy Carroll's work is well-done and sincere and Norma Mitchell, as her maid, gives a sweet performance.  Latter's work here is of the quality that should win her a good play from the casting directors.  Such people as Irving Pichel, Frank Sheridan, Harry Holman and Donald Stuart are in for short, but capably done, bits." 

- Daily Variety

New Artwork by Rebekah Hawley at Studio36 -
Number 9 - The Woman Accused (Lobby Card Style)

Part Of

For more, see also:

The Woman Accused, On This Day, 17th February 2022

The Woman Accused, On This Day, 17th February 2021