The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931)
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The Sin of Madelon Claudet Movie Review
The Sin of Madelon Claudet is a 1931 melodrama directed by Edgar Selwyn and starring Helen Hayes. It’s a serviceable, but overall typical soap opera.
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“I wish Spaniards wouldn’t put
so much tragedy in their music;
they ask for love with so many tears“
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It tells the story of a wrongly imprisoned woman who turns to theft and prostitution in order to support her son. Needless to say, the entire plot of this movie hinges more on the improbable side, and definitely entirely on the soapy side of things.
Of course the early thirties were a time of melodramas and soap operas which were extremely popular way back then, and I personally have a soft spot for some of the greater ones, but this surely isn’t such a film. It’s fine and not bad per se, but also not good either as the story only has a couple of emotional beats that are great, but otherwise it was too forgettable and silly.
Let’s talk about Helen Hayes who is, yes, the only legitimate reason to see this slim flick. And she’s very good in the role, there is no doubt about it. She excelled in some of the later parts of the film, and although too theatrical at times, she sold the emotional parts very well.
This is literally her movie and it rests squarely on her shoulders. Had she not managed to pull the performance off, it would have been a bad movie, but thankfully she did. But then again, the movie rests on her a bit too much and she’s good, but not great. Her Academy Award win was obvious having in mind how incredibly baity this role was from the start, especially in the time jumps.
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The other players in The Sin of Madelon Claudet aren’t all that memorable themselves whereas the pacing is so bad, and the movie isn’t particularly engaging, especially in the middle parts. The third act is easily the best and most effective and I wish the rest of it was as good. It has too much dialogue and not enough cinematic qualities to it leading to a pretty theatrical-looking and sounding picture.
The Sin of Madelon Claudet is a theatrical and highly implausible melodrama which literally is a soap opera in its silly, unbelievable plot point after plot point. The third act is very effective though and Helen Hayes really delivered a strong performance which was important as the entire movie rested squarely on her shoulders. But it was still an obvious Oscar-bait role, and expectedly so it got her the award.
