View source for Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise)

{{short description|1931 American film by Robert Z. Leonard}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise)
| image          = Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise) Lobby Card.jpg
| caption        = Lobby card
| director       = [[Robert Z. Leonard]]
| producer       = Robert Z. Leonard
| based_on       = {{based on|''Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise'', 1917 novel|[[David Graham Phillips]]}}
| writer         = Paul Bern et al<ref>{{cite web |title=''Susan Lenox'' (Her Fall and Rise) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022453/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_ov_wr#writer |website=IMDb |publisher=IMDb.com |access-date=13 October 2024}}</ref>
| screenplay     = [[Leon Gordon (screenwriter)|Leon Gordon]]<br>[[Zelda Sears]]<br>[[Edith Fitzgerald]] <br>[[Wanda Tuchock]]
| starring       = [[Greta Garbo]]<br>[[Clark Gable]]<br>[[Jean Hersholt]]<br>[[Alan Hale, Sr.|Alan Hale]]
| music          = [[William Axt]]<br>[[Leo F. Forbstein]]
| cinematography = [[William H. Daniels]]
| editing        = [[Margaret Booth]]
| distributor    = [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]
| released       = {{Film date|1931|09|10}}
| runtime        = 76 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $580,000<ref name="Mannix">{{Citation|title=The Eddie Mannix Ledger|publisher=Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study|place=Los Angeles, California}}</ref>
| gross          = $1.5 million <ref name="Mannix"/>
}}{{Italic title|force=true}}
'''''Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise)''''' is a 1931 American [[Pre-Code Hollywood|pre-Code]] [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] film directed and produced by [[Robert Z. Leonard]] and starring [[Greta Garbo]] and [[Clark Gable]]. The film is based on a novel by [[David Graham Phillips]]. It is the only screen pairing of Garbo and Gable, who did not like each other.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hazelton |first=Lachlan |title=Glimpse of Gable: The Thirties |publisher=Penny Publishing |year=2016 |isbn=9780958007511 |location=Australia |pages=35–39}}</ref> The notoriety of the novel alone caused British censors to ban the film's release. Following several edits, it was finally approved in the UK with a new title, ''The Rise of Helga''.<ref>[http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/950/Susan-Lenox-Her-Fall-and-Rise-/articles.html ''Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise)''], tcm.com; accessed August 8, 2015.</ref>
==Plot==
[[File:Susan-Lenox-Garbo-Gable.jpg|thumb|left|[[Greta Garbo]] and [[Clark Gable]] in ''Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise)'']]
Helga Ohlin is an illegitimate child born and reared in an abusive home. Her uncle Karl Ohlin arranges for her to marry lout Jeb Mondstrum, but she meets Rodney Spencer, an architect renting a cabin down the road.
When Rodney leaves the cabin, Jeb and Helga's father find her. She flees again and boards a train, where she meets a circus troupe. She joins them as a dancer and writes to Spencer asking that he meet her in Marquette, and she adopts the name Susan Lenox. While the police search for her on the train, the leader of the circus group Wayne Burlingham hides her in his quarters and then takes advantage of her.
Helga meets Rodney in Marquette, but they have a misunderstanding because of her indiscretions with Burlingham, and he leaves. She moves to New York and becomes the mistress of politician Mike Kelly. At a dinner party at Kelly's penthouse, Susan invites Spencer under false pretenses. When he arrives, they have another misunderstanding, and he once again leaves.
Susan is desperate and learns that Spencer has left his home, destination unknown. She vows to search for him, and eventually she lands in [[South America]] working as a dancer in a dance hall. She is romanced by American Robert Lane, who wants to marry her. But Susan longs for Spencer and vows to "rise or fall alone."
A barge with men working in the swamps arrives at the port, and they arrive at the dance hall with Spencer among them. Susan and Spencer meet, and after some arguing, they finally rekindle their relationship.
==Cast==
* [[Greta Garbo]] as Susan Lenox
* [[Clark Gable]] as Rodney Spencer
* [[Jean Hersholt]] as Karl Ohlin
* [[John Miljan]] as Wayne Burlingham
* [[Alan Hale, Sr.|Alan Hale]] as Jeb Mondstrum
* [[Hale Hamilton]] as Mike Kelly
* [[Hilda Vaughn]] as Astrid
* [[Russell Simpson (actor)|Russell Simpson]] as Doctor
* [[Cecil Cunningham]] as Madame Panoramia/Pansy
* [[Ian Keith]] as Robert Lane
==Reception==
In a contemporary review for ''[[The New York Times]]'', critic [[Mordaunt Hall]] wrote: "It is in some respects quite an interesting production. There is Miss Garbo's compelling performance, splendid camera work and praiseworthy atmospheric effects, but the dialogue is often choppy and most of the incidents are set forth rather hurriedly. ... This film tells its story without much in the way of drama. Things happen according to schedule and one rather anticipates more than a few of the developments."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hall |first=Mordaunt |date=1931-10-17 |title=Trouble, Trouble, Trouble |page=20 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>
According to MGM records, the film earned $806,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $700,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $364,000.<ref name="Mannix" />
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0022453}}
* {{AllMovie title|48018}}
* {{TCMDb title|950}}
* {{AFI film|4756}}
{{Robert Z. Leonard}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Susan Lenox (Her Fall And Rise)}}
[[Category:1931 films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films]]
[[Category:Films based on American novels]]
[[Category:Films directed by Robert Z. Leonard]]
[[Category:1931 drama films]]
[[Category:Circus films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Wanda Tuchock]]
[[Category:American drama films]]
[[Category:1930s English-language films]]
[[Category:1930s American films]]
[[Category:Films scored by William Axt]]