Madame X (1929) Director: Lionel Barrymore Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Starring: Ruth Chatterton (Jacqueline Floriot), Lewis Stone (Floriot), Raymond Hackett (Raymond Floriot), Holmes Herbert (Laroque) Release Date: April 19, 1929 Runtime: 95 minutes Format: Black & White | Mono | Drama | Early Sound Film Country: United States Language: English Genres: Drama | Melodrama | Crime | Courtroom --- Summary: Madame X tells the tragic story of Jacqueline Floriot, a devoted wife and mother whose life is destroyed when her husband banishes her after discovering her affair. Cast out of her home and separated from her young son, Jacqueline falls into a life of poverty and despair. Years later, when she kills a man to protect her grown son—now a lawyer unaware of her true identity—she faces trial for murder, defended unknowingly by her own child. Her silence in court seals her fate, leading to one of the most emotional climaxes of early sound cinema. --- Background: This 1929 adaptation of Madame X was MGM’s first sound version of the classic French stage play by Alexandre Bisson, which had already seen multiple silent adaptations. Directed by actor-turned-filmmaker Lionel Barrymore, the film was one of MGM’s prestige productions of the transition to sound, showcasing Ruth Chatterton’s powerful performance and the studio’s early mastery of dialogue-driven drama. It remains one of the defining “fallen woman” melodramas of the early talkie era. --- Trivia: Ruth Chatterton received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her performance. This was Lionel Barrymore’s directorial debut for MGM. The story was adapted more than a dozen times for film and television between 1916 and 1981. Known for its emotional courtroom scene, which helped establish Chatterton as one of the first great dramatic actresses of the sound era. Early sound synchronization in Madame X was praised for its clarity and restraint compared to other talkies of 1929. --- Hashtags: #MadameX1929 #LionelBarrymore #RuthChatterton #MGMClassics #EarlySoundFilm #1920sCinema #ClassicDrama #CourtroomDrama #PreCodeHollywood #FilmHistory #GoldenAgeOfHollywood #Melodrama