The Kiss Before the Mirror

This racy pre code courtroom drama is not very good,but it is well acted by a good cast. Frank Morgan plays a Viennese lawyer who defends his friend, Paul Lukas, who has murdered his wife played by an absolutely beautiful, Gloria Stuart(who has a brief,surprising nude scene-we see her back as she strips).Morgan finds himself suspecting his own wife, played by Nancy Carroll,of infidelity. The film is wonderfully photographed and does a good job showing us the life of these wealthy Austrians.The boyfriend,played by an early Walter Pidgeon,is shown in the opening scene in a magnificent home which is sumptuously decorated.The visual style as in many Whale movies is striking.Unfortunately,the original play that this is based on,seems unbelievable and rather florid, although the infidelity elements are not that dissimilar from Kubricks,Eyes Wide Shut, also based on a Viennese original.