The Flirting Widow

The Flirting Widow is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Dorothy Mackaill, Basil Rathbone, Leila Hyams and Claude Gillingwater. It was produced and released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros.[2]

The Flirting Widow
Theatrical poster; Austin to the left, Mackaill in Fitzroy's lap (pretending to be overcome by the news of the "death" of her character's fiancé)
Directed byWilliam A. Seiter
Produced byWilliam A. Seiter
Screenplay byJohn F. Goodrich
Story byA.E.W. Mason
StarringDorothy Mackaill
Basil Rathbone
Leila Hyams
William Austin
Claude Gillingwater
Music byAlois Reiser
CinematographySidney Hickox
Edited byJohn F. Goodrich
Production
company
Distributed byFirst National Pictures
Release date
  • May 11, 1930 (1930-05-11)
Running time
72 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$179,000[1]
Box office$348,000[1]

The film's plot is based on the story "Green Stockings" by A. E. W. Mason. The film was remade in 1933 as Her Imaginary Lover at the Teddington Studios, the British branch of Warner Bros.-First National Productions.[3]

Plot

William Faraday refuses to let his youngest daughter, Evelyn, get married before her older sister, Celia. Celia, who has no interest in getting married, takes pity on Evelyn and her suitor Bobby and pretends to have gotten engaged to Colonel John Smith during a short vacation away from home. To avoid difficulties, she states that Smith has sailed to join the British Field Force in Arabia. When her father receives this news, he consents to Evelyn's marriage.

At Evelyn's insistence, Celia writes a love letter to her fiancé, never intending to send it. She later burns the magazine in which she hid the letter, unaware someone has posted it already. The letter is received by a real Colonel Smith stationed in Arabia. He is amused and curious.

After Evelyn's marriage, Celia publishes a death notice in the London Daily Times for her Colonel Smith. The real Smith decides to pay a visit to Celia, pretending to be a close friend of the deceased bringing some mementos. When he gives them to Celia, she is uncomfortable. She eventually realizes "Colonel Vaughan" is not who he says he is, but over the course of a single night, they fall in love.

Cast

Box office

According to Warner Bros., the film earned $234,000 domestically and $114,000 from foreign showings.[1]

Preservation

The film survives intact and has been broadcast on both television and cable. It is also preserved in the Library of Congress collection.[4]

References
  1. Warner Bros financial information in The William Shaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 10 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551
  2. The Flirting Widow details, ftvdb.bfi.org.uk; accessed September 23, 2015.
  3. The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:The Flirting Widow details, afi.com; accessed September 23, 2015.
  4. Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress, p. 59, c. 1978, The American Film Institute.
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