Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Slander House (1938)
Madame Helene Smith (Adrianne Ames) operates a swanky salon for renovations of women's faces and bodies, with her partner Mazie Mason (Pert Kelton) who grew up with Helene on New York's not-so-swank Tenth Avenue. Mazie is in love with newspaper columnist Terry Kent (William Newell), who frequents the place for juicy items as the salon is a gathering place for the town's rich and near-rich ladies. Terry calls it a "scandal house" and, if he had known the title would be changed to "Slander House" before release, would have deemed it as such. Upper-crust Doctor Herbert Stallings (George Meeker), with mandatory pencil mustache, is in love with Helene, who isn't all that taken with him. Enter Ruth DeMilo (Esther Ralston), statuesque showgirl and gold-digger de luxe, quickly followed by Pat Fenton (Craig Reynolds), dashing young man-about-town, who sees and quickly falls in love with Helene, despite the fact she uses Madame as a title. He takes her to a cabaret where she is insulted by Fenton's attorney, George Horton (Edward Keane), who tells her that Fenton, the cad, has hired him to check her background. Fenton decks Horton in the ensuing brawl, and Helene, mortified and somewhat hacked, exits alone. In trying to avoid Fenton, whom she really loves, Helene inadvertently jumps in Horton's car, who, evidently always in the market for on-the-side sweeties, tries to make love to her, This second escapade involving Helene and her husband makes Mrs. Horton convinced that the two are having an affair and, in utter despair (it says here), she tries to commit suicide by gulping down a bottle of hair dye. brings her husband to her bedside, where a tender reconciliation between the ever-ready Horton and his stand-by-her-man wife takes place.
Director: Charles Lamont
Audio/Visual: sound, b&w
Starring: Adrienne Ames, Craig Reynolds, Esther Ralston, George Meeker, Pert Kelton.
Running Time Is Approximately 65 minutes