Private Lives

Private Lives (1931)

They knew what they wanted...only they didn't know what to do about it!

Amanda and Elyot are one another's former spouse. Elyot is remarried to Sibyl and Amanda married Victor. Unexpectedly, both honeymooning couples arrive at a hotel on the same day and are put in rooms with adjoining terraces. Things go well until Amanda sees Elyot on the adjacent terrace.

Date of release
1931-12-12
TMDB
6.5 / 10 (17)
Runtime
1h 24m
Genres
Comedy, Romance
Director
Sidney Franklin

Casting

Interesting facts

Private Lives is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Sidney Franklin. The screenplay by Hanns Kräly and Richard Schayer is based on the 1930 play Private Lives by Noël Coward.

Production

When Noël Coward's play proved to be a hit both in London and on Broadway, MGM executive Irving Thalberg bought the rights for a film adaptation starring his wife, Norma Shearer. Coward was uncertain if Shearer was capable of handling the sophisticated dialogue of his comedy of manners, but the actress confidently proclaimed, "I don't care what he thinks—he thinks in theater terms—I think in film terms. It doesn't seem to occur to Mr.

The studio filmed a performance of the play with Coward and Gertrude Lawrence, which the director and cast closely followed. According to Coward's biographer Cole Lesley, the playwright was pleased with the outcome and described the leading performers as "perfectly charming." The film's critical acclaim and financial success proved instrumental in helping Coward sell the film rights to several other plays.

Exteriors were filmed in Franklin Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains and Glacier National Park, Montana. The song "Someday I'll Find You" sung by Shearer and frequently heard as an underscore on the soundtrack, was written by Coward.

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