GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Michael_Elliott The Woman Condemned (1934) ** (out of 4)Newspaper reporter Jerry Beall (Richard Hemingway) gets caught up with the beauty of Barbara (Claudia Dell) that he pretty much forces himself into her life. It happens at a perfect time because Barbara is accused of murdering a woman but she claims that she is innocent so it's up to the reporter to prove it.THE WOMAN CONDEMNED is pretty much the standard "B" mystery that you'd expect from Poverty Row. The only thing really notable about it is the fact that it would turn out to be the final directorial job for Dorothy Davenport, better known and credited here as Mrs. Wallace Reid. Davenport had a number of acting credits in her career but she did direct seven movies as well.As far as this film goes, in all honesty it's a decent time-killer for fans of the genre but it's doubtful too many people will be having a good time with it. The plot is extremely thick for this type of film as it seems something new is being added every few minutes but I'm going to guess that this was done to try and make the film seem smarter than it actually was. The murder doesn't happen until the 35-minute mark, which leaves about half a hour to get it solved.Hemingway was pretty bland in the role of the reporter so he didn't add anything to the picture. You can spot Jason Robards, Sr. in a small role. Then you've got Dell who doesn't get much to do other than to constantly looked concerned over this or that. Lola Lane appears in a very brief role but she's certainly a highlight to the picture.THE WOMAN CONDEMNED really doesn't have too much going for it. The biggest bonus is that it's just 65-minutes long so if you have that to kill and enjoy the genre then you might want to check it out.

mark.waltz This z grade mystery ponders along at a creeping hour, seldom revealing anything to give the viewer any clues if what's happening other than a radio singer being murdered and the wrong woman being accused of the crime. Lola Lane is the singer who finishes her session, goes home, lies around in bed and tries to avoid those concerned about her. When she is shot dead, Claudia Dell, who was lurking around trying to get a scoop on her, is arrested for her murder, although it's very apparent that she's innocent. Whoever thought up this twisted story had no idea of how to engage their audience or put a story down on paper. Dell overacts to the point of melodrama, but Louise Beavers adds a touch of life to this dreary fiasco.

classicsoncall Well now, here's the thing - for this movie to work, you'll have to accept the following - a woman who's murdered is alive again at the end of the movie, a detective stops interrogating the dead woman's fiancée because a newspaper reporter asked him not to, and that same reporter, smitten by a good looking blonde hauled into night court for suspicious behavior, winds up getting married to her in exchange for the judge letting her off the hook. Are you following me on this? I can't tell you how many times I paused and rewound the picture to repeat scenes that just didn't make any sense. In the end, the blonde (Claudia Dell) and the reporter (Richard Hemingway) remained married, but I have no idea how they came to that decision. In fact, I can't figure out how the film maker came to the decision to make this flick. Oh I suppose there's some entertainment value here for just the sheer nonsense of it all, but it would have been nice if even a couple of the pieces fit. Still, I'm not ready to add this one to my Top Ten Worst list. I think that night club scene with the feathered ladies might have saved it. But why was it in the movie? I just don't know.

kidboots Another point of interest is that it is directed by Mrs. Wallace Reid. After her husband's death she turned her hand to writing, producing, directing and acting. She only directed a few films and this, unfortunately, was the last. The star, Claudia Dell was a blonde beauty, who came to films with "Sweet Kitty Bellairs" (1930) but by 1931, she was already playing second female supporting parts. This film gave her a chance to play the lead.Jane Merrick (Lola Lane), sweetheart of the air, gives her farewell performance. She is frightened and after some cryptic phone calls to a menacing man (Mischa Auer) you get the feeling she is being black- mailed. Jim Wallace (Jason Robards) who cares for her, goes to a private detective agency to hire someone to keep an eye on her.The most novel part of the film is having a female investigator - although she isn't that good. Claudia Dell plays Barbara Hammond, who is caught trying to break into an apartment and is taken to night court. One of the reporters, Jerry (Richard Hemingway), is taken by her prettiness and concocts a story that she is his fiancée and is always playing practical jokes. The judge lets her off - but marries them before they leave!!! Barbara is hot on Jane's trail when she is arrested for Jane's murder!!! She seems to have secrets as well and refuses all help from her well meaning husband. A phone number leads Jerry to Dr. Wagner's private sanatorium - specializing in plastic surgery!!! Mischa Auer is the plastic surgeon, who says he was hired by Jane Merrick to remove a birth mark from her face.I found it enjoyable, if a bit fantastic. If Jane was in hospital - who was the dead person that Barbara found???? Who knows???Richard Hemingway's claim to fame is that he was once married to Irene Bentley - an actress more mysterious than Garbo!!!