A Lady to Love

A Lady to Love is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film directed by Victor Sjöström and written by Sidney Howard. It stars Vilma Bánky, Edward G. Robinson, Robert Ames, Richard Carle and Lloyd Ingraham. The film was released on February 28, 1930, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Bánky and Robinson appeared in German-language version also produced and directed by Sjöström. Otherwise with a different cast, it was released a year later in the United States as Die Sehnsucht Jeder Frau.[1]

Tony, a prosperous Italian vineyardist in California, advertises for a young wife, passing off a photograph of his handsome hired man, Buck, as himself. Lena, a San Francisco waitress, takes up the offer, and though she is disillusioned upon discovering the truth (particularly since her first sight of Tony is after an accident that saw him break both of his legs), she goes through with the marriage because of her desire to have a home. While first irritated at Buck, she falls weak for him after the wedding that sees her kiss him. He leaves for a time, which leads Lena to decide to take on the effort of serving as Tony's nurse for three months to have something to do. Buck returns at the time that Tony is finally able to use crutches, but she finds that she does in fact have love for her husband.

Mordaunt Hall in The New York Times praised Robinson but finds the rest lacking: "The picture lacks a pictorial mobility, but its range of acting, as offered by Mr. Robinson, from the lightest humor of emotions, as depicted during the scene when he discovers himself forsaken by his loved ones, is most gratifying."[2]

In 1958, the film entered the public domain (in the USA) because the claimants did not renew its copyright registration in the 28th year after publication.