Alimony Madness – DVD

Dubbed the "Tiger Woman" in scandalous newspaper headlines, Mrs. Joan Thurman is on trial for the murder of Eloise Thurman, her husband's ex-wife. As evidence is presented, a dark sordid tale emerges. John Thurman, once a leading architect, has been crushed by the alimony demands of his greedy ex-wife, who led a life of luxury, leaving John unable to provide for his family. Court testimony uncovers the sequence of events that caused his current wife, Joan, to explode in a homicidal rage.

Helen Chandler was a major star on Broadway in the 1920s. She made a brief foray to Hollywood in the 1930s, where she landed her most notable role as the fragile Mina, who is defiled by Bela Lugosi in the 1931 classic, Dracula. Alimony Madness, a Mayfair Pictures production, was directed by "Breezy" Eason, who helmed the Gene Autry classic serial, The Phantom Empire (1935). Eason was one of Hollywood's leading second-unit directors whose work included spectacular action sequences in Ben-Hur (1925) and The Charge of The Light Brigade (1936), as well as the burning of Atlanta in Gone With The Wind (1939) and the Custer massacre in They Died With Their Boots On (1941). Leon Waycoff also appeared with Bela Lugosi in the Universal classic Murder In The Rue Morgue (1932). Later, as Leon Ames, he would have notable roles in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), They Were Expendable (1945), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) Father Of The Bride (1961) and the 1958 hit TV series Mr. Ed.

• drama