The Washington Masquerade

The Washington Masquerade
The Washington Masquerade
Directed by	Charles Brabin
Screenplay by	John Meehan; Samuel Blythe
Based on	The Claw (La Griffe); 1906 play; by Henri Bernstein
Starring	Lionel Barrymore; Karen MorleyNils Asther; Reginald Barlow
Cinematography	Gregg Toland
Edited by	Ben Lewis
Music by	William Axt
Production; company	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributed by	Loew's Inc.
Release date	July 9, 1932;
Running time	88 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Washington Masquerade is a 1932 American Pre-Code drama film directed by Charles Brabin and written by John Meehan and Samuel Blythe. The film stars Lionel Barrymore, Karen Morley, Nils Asther and Reginald Barlow. The film was released on July 9, 1932, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.^[1]^[2] It was based on 1906 French play by Henri Bernstein.^[3] A New York World review drew comparisons with American Madness released by Columbia Pictures the same year.^[4]

Plot

After successfully freeing a wrongfully convicted boy from prison, attorney Jeff Keane is nominated and elected to the United States Senate. Although Keane had been aloof from politics, his crusade against big business becomes popular yet controversial. At a White House gala, Keane meets Consuela Fairbanks, a socialite whom he eventually marries despite his daughter Ruth's protestations.

After the marriage, Consuela confesses that she is heavily in debt and urges Jeff to resign and join lobbyist Alan Hinsdale's law firm. After discovering that Hinsdale is corrupt and that Consuela is having an affair with her former lover Henri Brenner, Jeff and Ruth open a Senate investigation of Hinsdale and his colleague Senator Bitler.

At an emotional testimony, an exhausted Jeff confesses to bribery during his dealings with Hinsdale but exposes the scandal for prosecution by the United States Attorney General. The stress causes Jeff to die of a heart attack at the end of his speech, and Stapleton later notes that "he loved his country enough to die for it."

Cast

Lionel Barrymore as Jeff Keane
Karen Morley as Consuela Fairbanks
Diane Sinclair as Ruth Keane
Nils Asther as Brenner
Reginald Barlow as Senator Withers
William Collier, Sr. as Babcock
William Morris as Senator Hodge
Rafaela Ottiano as Mona
C. Henry Gordon as Hinsdale
Berton Churchill as Senator Bitler
Henry Kolker as Stapleton

References

^ "The Washington Masquerade (1932) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
^ "Washington Masquerade". TV Guide. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
^ Goble p.38
^ Scott p.264

Bibliography

Goble, Alan. The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter, 1999.
Scott, Ian. Robert Riskin: The Life and Times of a Hollywood Screenwriter. University Press of Kentucky, 2021.