WAC Double Features: Madame X

Beautiful Jacqueline Floriot deserts her family for an illicit affair. Betrayed by love and scorned by her husband, she descends into a life of depravity. Years later she murders a brute who plans to reveal her past and is defended by a young lawyer she does not know is her own son. Double the heartache is yours in these two versions of the classic story of a woman's virtue lost and a mother's devotion found. The 1929 version, starring Ruth Chatterton, is directed by Lionel Barrymore (both earned Academy Award nominations* for their work). Gladys George stars in the 1937 version, directed by Sam Wood, whose resume extends from the sublime (Goodbye, Mr. Chips) to the sublimely ridiculous (A Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races).

• drama