Editing A Free Soul

{{short description|1931 film}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = A Free Soul
| image          = A Free Soul (1931) film poster.jpg
| caption        = theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Clarence Brown]]
| producer       = Clarence Brown<br>[[Irving Thalberg]] (uncredited)
| based_on       = {{based on|''A Free Soul''<br>1927 novel|[[Adela Rogers St. Johns]]<br>''A Free Soul'' (1928 play)<br>by [[Willard Mack]] (uncredited)<ref name="AFI" />}}
| writer         = Dialogue continuity by<br>[[John Meehan (screenwriter)|John Meehan]]<br>Adaptation by<br>[[Becky Gardiner]]<ref name="AFI"
 /><br>'''Uncredited:'''<br>[[Philip Dunning]]<br>[[Dorothy Farnum]]<br>John Lynch
| starring       = [[Norma Shearer]]
| cinematography = [[William Daniels (cinematographer)|William Daniels]]
| editing        = [[Hugh Wynn]]
| studio         = [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]
| distributor    = [[Loews Cineplex Entertainment|Loew's Inc.]]
| released       = {{film date|1931|6|2|''NYC''|1931|6|20|''US''}}
| runtime        = 91 minutes
| language       = English
| country        = United States
| budget         = $529,000<ref name="Mannix">{{Citation | title = The Eddie Mannix Ledger | publisher = Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study | place = Los Angeles}}.</ref>
| gross          = $1.4 million <ref name="Mannix"/>
}}

'''''A Free Soul''''' is a 1931 American [[Pre-Code Hollywood|pre-Code]] [[Drama (film and television)|drama film]] directed by [[Clarence Brown]], starring [[Norma Shearer]], and featuring [[Leslie Howard]], [[Lionel Barrymore]], [[James Gleason]], and [[Clark Gable]].<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19310703&id=UVohAAAAIBAJ&sjid=K4gFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1271,493296&hl=en Norma Shearer, ''"Free Soul,"'' at Loews (''The Reading Eagle'', July 3, 1931, p. 10)]</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19310705&id=2RcxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bOEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1407,723644&hl=en "AMUSEMENTS / Norma Shearer, Loews, Stars in ''"A Free Soul"'' (''The Reading Eagle'', July 4, 1931, p. 10)]</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19310705&id=2RcxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bOEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1407,723644&hl=en "Norma Shearer in ''"A Free Soul,"'' Loews (''The Reading Eagle'', July 5, 1931, p. 10) includes photo of Lionel Barrymore and Norma Shearer]</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1970&dat=19310720&id=XicyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zOMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=902,1382570&hl=en "Fox California Has Norma Shearer Film" (''Berkeley Daily Gazette'', July 20, 1931, p. three) includes sketched reproduction of Norma Shearer's face]</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1842&dat=19310810&id=xSwsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_7kEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2397,1320812&hl=en ""Every Word they told You is True" This is Norma Shearer's Best! / ''"A FREE SOUL"''" (''The Florence Times-News'', August 10, 1931, p. three) includes photographs of Norma Shearer and other stories about the film and her career]</ref>

''A Free Soul'' became famous for Barrymore's climactic courtroom monologue, and he won the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] for his performance.<ref name="TCM">[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/1776/a-free-soul#articles-reviews "A Free Soul"]. [[Turner Classic Movies]]. Retrieved March 5, 2014.</ref> Gable made such an impression in the role of a gangster who bullies Shearer that he was catapulted from supporting player to leading man.<ref name="AFI">[http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=7362 "A Free Soul"]. [[American Film Institute]]. Retrieved March 5, 2014.</ref>

==Plot==
Defense lawyer Stephen Ashe, an alcoholic, successfully defends known gangster Ace Wilfong from a murder charge, despite his knowledge of Ace's other illegal activities. His upper-class family has all but disowned him and his free-spirited daughter Jan. Jan is engaged to clean-cut Dwight Winthrop, but their relationship is threatened when she meets Ace and becomes enamored of him and his exciting life.

As Stephen continues to slip deeper into alcoholism, Jan breaks her engagement with Dwight and begins a clandestine affair with Ace that grows into love. Ace asks a drunken Stephen whether he can marry Jan, but Stephen, offended by the request, angrily refuses, and when he discovers Jan in Ace's boudoir, he takes her home. They have an argument over their respective vices, and Jan proposes a deal: she will never see Ace again if Stephen will stop drinking. Despite knowing that he cannot keep his promise, Stephen agrees, and the two leave for a camping vacation along with Stephen's loyal assistant Eddie.

After three months of sobriety, Stephen buys a bottle of liquor and boards a train for an unknown destination. Jan returns home to find that her family has cut ties with her; feeling despondent, she visits Ace. He reacts angrily to her return and informs her that they will be married the next day. Jan slowly realizes what sort of man he really is and sneaks away. Ace follows Jan to her apartment and, after a brief confrontation involving Eddie and Dwight, tells Jan that she must marry him, and threatens that if she marries Dwight, Ace will have Dwight killed.

Dwight appears at Ace's gambling club and kills him, and then surrenders to authorities. He tells police that the murder was committed because of a gambling debt in order to protect Jan's reputation, although it will mean his own execution. Jan finds Stephen in a flophouse, seriously ill from his drinking binge, and brings him to Dwight's trial. Over the objections of Dwight and the prosecuting attorney, Stephen places Jan on the witness stand and elicits the full details of her relationship with Ace and the true reason why Dwight killed him. In an emotional appeal to the jury, Stephen takes the blame for everything that happened, explaining that because of his alcoholism, he had failed to be a proper father to Jan until it was too late. He then collapses to the floor, dead.

Dwight is acquitted and, as Jan prepares to leave for a new life in New York, promises to follow her.

==Cast==
* [[Norma Shearer]] as Jan Ashe
* [[Leslie Howard]] as Dwight Winthrop
* [[Lionel Barrymore]] as Stephen Ashe
* [[Clark Gable]] as Ace Wilfong
* [[James Gleason]] as Eddie
* [[Lucy Beaumont (actress)|Lucy Beaumont]] as Grandma Ashe
* [[Claire Whitney]] as Helen
* [[Frank Sheridan (actor)|Frank Sheridan]] as Prosecuting attorney
* [[E. Alyn Warren]] as Bottomley
* [[George Irving (American actor)|George Irving]] as District attorney
* [[Edward Brophy]] as  Slouch
* [[William Stack]] as  Dick
* [[Roscoe Ates]] as  Man in men's room

==Production==
''A Free Soul'' was written by [[John Meehan (screenwriter)|John Meehan]] (dialogue continuity) and [[Becky Gardiner]] (adaptation) from the 1928 play by [[Willard Mack]], which was based on the 1927 novel ''A Free Soul'' by [[Adela Rogers St. Johns]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=naMhAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA308&lpg=PA308&dq=%22A+Free+Soul%22+1927+%22Adela+Rogers%22+%22St.+Johns%22 Copyright Office, Library of Congress, 1928. Catalog of Copyright Entries. New Series: 1927. Part 1, Books, Group 1, v. 24 : Nos. 1-148 (March, 1927 - March, 1928)]</ref> However, according to MGM publicity material, the story upon which this film was based first appeared serially in ''Hearst's International with Cosmopolitan'' magazine from September 1926 to February 1927.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=JBghAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA722&lpg=PA722&dq=A+Free+Soul+1927+Adela+Rogers+St.+Johns Copyright Office, Library of Congress, 1955. Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third Series: 1954: January-June. Part 1, Number 1: Books and Pamphlets, Including Serials and Contributions to Periodicals (January - June)]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wfpp.columbia.edu/pioneer/ccp-adela-rogers-st-johns/|title=Adela Rogers St. Johns – Women Film Pioneers Project}}</ref> Although onscreen credits list only the book by St. Johns, contemporary reviews list both the novel and Willard Mack's play.<ref name="AFI"/>

==Reception==
In a contemporary review for ''[[The New York Times]]'', critic [[Mordaunt Hall]] wrote:<blockquote>Talking pictures are by no means elevated by the presentation of 'A Free Soul' ... Nevertheless, it should be stated that Lionel Barrymore does all that is possible with his role. In fact, his is the only characterization that rings true, the other players being handicapped either through miscasting, the false conception of human psychology or poorly written lines. Norma Shearer may be the star of this film, but Mr. Barrymore steals whatever honors there may be. ... Undoubtedly all the members of the cast have ability, but the doings in this film benefit but little by their talents, except, as has been set forth, through Mr. Barrymore's portrayal. And even he has to compete with tremendous odds to be convincing.<ref name="nytreview">{{cite news |last=Hall |first=Mordaunt |date=1931-06-03 |title=The Screen: Infatuation and Love |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=29}}</ref></blockquote>The film was successful at the box office. According to MGM records, it earned $889,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $533,000 in other markets, resulting in a profit of $244,000.<ref name="Mannix" />

==Awards and honors==

'''[[4th Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]'''

'''Wins'''<ref name="Oscar">{{cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1932 |title=The 4th Academy Awards (1931) Nominees and Winners|access-date=February 27, 2014|work=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]]}}</ref>
* [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]: Lionel Barrymore

'''Nominations'''
* [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Directing]]: Clarence Brown
* [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]: Norma Shearer

==Home media==
''A Free Soul'' was released on DVD by Warner Home Video on March 8, 2008 (along with ''[[The Divorcee]]'', also starring Norma Shearer), as one of five pre-Code films in the ''TCM Archives - Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 2'' DVD box set.

==See also==
*[[Lionel Barrymore filmography]]
*[[Norma Shearer filmography]]
*[[Clark Gable filmography]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{AFI film|7362}}
* {{IMDb title|0021885}}
* [https://www.allmovie.com/movie/a-free-soul-am50927 ''A Free Soul'' at AllMovie]
* {{TCMDb title|1776}}
* [https://www.tvguide.com/movies/a-free-soul/review/123761/ ''A Free Soul''] at ''[[TV Guide]]'' (a revised version of 1987 write-up originally published in ''The Motion Picture Guide'')
* [http://pre-code.com/a-free-soul-1931/ Stills] at pre-code.com

{{Clarence Brown}}
{{Irving Thalberg}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Free Soul, A}}
[[Category:1931 films]]
[[Category:1931 drama films]]
[[Category:1930s legal films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:American courtroom films]]
[[Category:American legal drama films]]
[[Category:Films about alcoholism]]
[[Category:Films based on American novels]]
[[Category:American films based on plays]]
[[Category:Films directed by Clarence Brown]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Actor Academy Award–winning performance]]
[[Category:Films produced by Irving Thalberg]]
[[Category:Films set in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films]]
[[Category:Films based on works by Adela Rogers St. Johns]]
[[Category:1930s English-language films]]
[[Category:1930s American films]]