I didn't know this was the original film version
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Kind Lady
mojo2004 — 13 years ago(June 14, 2012 09:38 AM)
When I started watching yesterday I wondered why Ethel Barrymore's name was missing from the credits? Then I realized that version was a remake. Having seen both I think the 1951 version is better. This film too many people knew about the gang in her house for nothing to have been done sooner. In the Barrymore version the 'Kind Lady' only had her maid Rose to really worry about her daily well being. The endings were completely different also.
Spoilers
In the 1935 version a banker has come to the house with a check which totals all of the lady's money. The intruder and his gang have cleaned out her bank account and plan to kill her & leave the country. The banker after being passed a note from the woman gets suspicious. The gang realizes it and try to detain him also but he throws a vase through the front window alerting police who are already outside. The woman's nephew-in-law realized he'd been lied to by the intruder who told him his wife's aunt had gone abroad.
In the 1951 version the intruder is moments away from having one of his henchmen throw the lady out an upstairs window so the police will think she went crazy & jumped. But with the help of the intruder's wife (who was against all that was done) she switches places with the body of her maid who the group had murdered earlier. The police break in and demand to see the woman who lives there. Shocking the intruder who didn't know his wife helped thwart the woman's murder.
Just for the record, I'm not a Dude, I'm a Dudette! -
aljaz_ciber — 12 years ago(November 27, 2013 12:31 PM)
It's been a while since I've seen the 1951 version but I liked it much better than this one. The remake version had a much stronger cast and it just felt more suspensful (I really liked that finale with the wheelchair). I also thought Aline MacMahon was kind of wasted in this movie, as she spent most of her time off screen in her room, while the 1951 version made greater use of Ethel Barrymore and added more depth to minor characters.
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PygmyLion — 3 months ago(December 17, 2025 03:54 AM)
I prefer the 1935 version. Basil Rathbone is outstanding in his role as the bad guy. Aline MacMahon is good as the kind lady. I liked Frank Albertson in the role of the nephew-in-law. The gang of thugs are pretty low and disgusting.