The Lady in Question

The Lady in Question is a 1940 American comedy-drama romance film directed by Charles Vidor and starring Brian Aherne, Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford. It is a remake of the 1937 French film Gribouille.

This was the first of five films in which Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth appeared together, most famously in their second film, Gilda (1946). They also teamed together in The Loves of Carmen (1948), Affair in Trinidad (1952) and The Money Trap (1965). Their off-screen liaisons were soon transformed into an enduring, lifelong friendship.

Plot
While serving on a Paris jury André Morestan (Brian Aherne) persuades his deadlocked peers to vote for the acquittal of Natalie Roguin (Rita Hayworth), a young woman on trial for the death of a young man she had been seeing. Securing her acquittal, Morestan invites her to live and work at his bicycle and music shop when no one else will give her a job. However, he decides to keep her true identity a secret, which soon begins to raise doubts within his family. His son Pierre (Glenn Ford) soon falls in love with her, even though he knows who she is.

Eventually, Pierre steals some money from the store's till, and André is persuaded by a fellow former juror that Natalie was in fact guilty. He goes to the authorities, but learns from them that new evidence has turned up that completely exonerates her. All are reconciled and love wins out.

Cast

 * Brian Aherne as André Morestan
 * Rita Hayworth as Natalie Roguin
 * Glenn Ford as Pierre Morestan
 * Irene Rich as Michèle Morestan
 * George Coulouris as Defense Attorney
 * Lloyd Corrigan as Prosecuting Attorney
 * Evelyn Keyes as Françoise Morestan
 * Edward Norris as Robert LaCoste
 * Curt Bois as Henri Lurette
 * Frank Reicher as President
 * Sumner Getchell as Fat Boy
 * Nicholas Bela as Nicolas Farkas

Note: Future director William Castle, then working at Columbia as a dialogue director, plays one of the jurors.