The Lady of the Lake (1928) User Reviews

Scottish history Walter Scott style...

[binapiraeus · 6/10 · 6 February 2014]

This is a very nice example of the way Walter Scott imagined and wrote about Scottish history, customs and ideals, and it's beautifully transformed to the screen, with (for the time) marvelous photographing of the Scottish Highland landscape, and quite decent (although at times a bit exaggerated) performances especially of Percy Marmont and pretty young Benita Hume.

It's all there just like in the books: the clan rivalries on the one hand, and the noble attitude towards strangers as well as the strict obeying to the code of honor on the other - and even in the end the generous act of reconciliation, which provides a perfect happy-end for the young lovers... Sir Walter would have liked it!

Yes, it may look pretty dated for today's standards, both optically and thematically; but real friends of silent cinema, or of Walter Scott's tales, won't mind...

Very Disappointing

[JohnHowardReid · 4/10 · 25 March 2013]

As the Press Book credits are somewhat different from those published on IMDb, I think the easiest way to handle the matter is to reproduce them here in full:

Benita Hume (the lady), Percy Marmont (James Fitzjames), Lawson Butt (Roderick Dhu), James Carew (Lord Moray), Haddon Mason (Malcolm Graeme), James Douglas (himself), Sara Francis (Blanche), Leo Dryden (Allan Bayne), Hedda Bartlett (Margaret), J. Nelson Ramsay (Brian).

Director: JAMES A. FITZPATRICK. Screenplay: James A. Fitzpatrick, Angus Macphail. Based on the poem by Sir Walter Scott. Titles: Sir Walter Scott. Photography: James Wilson, Bert Dawley, Leslie Rowson. Music adapted and conducted by Nathaniel Shilkret, played by The Victor Concert Orchestra. Song: "Eileen, Sweet Eileen" composed by Nathaniel Shilkret. Producer: Michael Balcon.

A Gainsborough Picture, released in the U.K. through Select Films: December 1928. Sound version released in the U.K.: July 1931. Original U.K. length: 5,168 feet. 57 minutes (at sound speed). Not copyright in the USA by Fitzpatrick Pictures. U.S. release: 1 November 1930. Los Angeles opening: 11 October 1930. 5 reels. 4,749 feet. 52 minutes.

COMMENT: Admittedly, he's unflatteringly photographed, but Percy Marmont makes a woeful lead in this ploddingly faithful adaptation of Sir Walter Scott's now dated and well out-of-fashion epic poem. The lovely Benita Hume doesn't shine over-brightly either. As might be anticipated, James A. Fitzpatrick has angled his camera at some very picturesque Scottish locations (which are not particularly well served in the current Alpha DVD), but when it comes to other directorial functions, Fitzpatrick is much less adept. Students of Scottish history might gain something from the movie, but for the rest of us, it comes close to failure.

The Lady of the Lake review

[JoeytheBrit · 6/10 · 3 May 2020]

Adaptation of the Walter Scott poem is a decent watch, although the version available online appears to be missing a reel midway through, which makes things a little confusing. Authentic Scottish locations help convincingly recreate the look of old Scotland.