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Just perfect...

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

1952's "The President's Lady" cast Charleton Heston and Susan Hayward as Andrew and Rachel Jackson, the very controversial couple that once faced charges of bigamy when her first marriage wasn't actually final upon their union. That film covered many years of their relationship, so it was appropriate that the two stars aged throughout the film. In "The Gorgeous Hussey", it is the quite different Lionel Barrymore and Beaulah Bondi who play this couple, already aging, with him about to be elected president and her ailing as a result of both the affects of smoking a pipe and the sadness by how her reputation as a supposed fallen woman has affected his public image. The women of Washington are all resentful of a pipe-smoking first lady (who sadly never makes it into the White House) and their resentments and extremely petty jealousies move on to his surrogate daughter, Peggy Eaton, whom they consider beneath high society in a still infant nation.The film shows these women (among them Alison Skipworth and "The Wizard of Oz's" Clara Blandick) gossiping non-stop, so viciously that you wish the president could pass a law against it that would put each of them into solitary confinement. The hysterically funny Zeffie Tilbury has a great moment telling off the hags in this social circle and gets a good wink in later when the wives of the president's cabinet meet with Barrymore who is revealing some changes.Peggy is played by Joan Crawford, the only historical character she ever portrayed, the widow of a Naval hero (Robert Taylor) and now wife of the Secretary of War (Franchot Tone) whose love for one of Barrymore's rivals (Melvyn Douglas) was cause of scandal of its own and lead to murder. James Stewart, still a rising young star, has a small role as one of Crawford's confidantes, and Louis Calhern plays a political villain. A lot of real-life American heroes of this time (the 1830's and 1840's) appear in the story, so in spite of its somewhat inappropriate title, this is a fairly good history lesson of the early years of our country, then only 24 states and even then faced with trouble.This is a film also about rising above ridicule and the importance of understanding why gossip is a vile evil which needs to be continuously smashed. It is obvious as to why these petty women hate both Rachel and Peggy; They are ladies who remained free from the temptations of the tongue and were true to themselves, their men and their ideals. The society women are more concerned with status, power and a misused sense of respectability which makes them keep their husbands prisoners and is ultimately the disease which destroys them.Powerfully acted, especially by Crawford and Bondi, it is extremely well directed by Clarence Brown who directed many of MGM's most lavish epics of the time. Lionel Barrymore gives his all to the powerful role of Andrew Jackson and in spite of bellowing many of his lines is riveting.

When girlish innkeeper's daughter Joan Crawford (as Margaret "Peggy" O'Neal) develops into a beautiful young woman, many men in 1823 Washington, DC desire her. Ms. Crawford finds sailor Robert Taylor (as "Bow" Timberlake) attractive, but Crawford is saving herself for Virginia Senator Melvyn Douglas (as John Randolph). Meanwhile, boyish Jimmy Stewart (as "Rowdy" Dow) pastes fake sideburns on his cheeks, and pines for Crawford. She brushes off Mr. Stewart, and gets kissed by Mr. Taylor. Though she still loves Mr. Douglas, Crawford marries Taylor after a fight with Douglas, who thinks Crawford is too young for marriage.Shortly after the wedding, Lieutenant Taylor is called away for three months, to the West Indies.Crawford waits in Washington with an older couple who consider her a companion and ward, politically savvy Lionel Barrymore (as Andrew "Andy" Jackson) and his pipe-smoking wife Beulah Bondi (as Rachel). After five years, Mr. Barrymore becomes the seventh President of the United States. Though a woman, Crawford is a political adviser of sorts, which encumbers gossip. Crawford's real-life husband, Franchot Tone (as John H. Eaton), also enters the picture. With strong direction by Clarence Brown and photography by George Folsey, MGM production values manage to sustain the years. Otherwise, this historical fiction succeeds as neither.***** The Gorgeous Hussy (8/28/36) Clarence Brown ~ Joan Crawford, Lionel Barrymore, Melvyn Douglas, Robert Taylor

Joan Crawford stars in The Gorgeous Hussy, often referred to as her only historical drama. This is a myth. During her silent years, Crawford was the star of other historical films (Across to Singapore, Rose Marie) and westerns. She also went on to star in Johnny Guitar in 1954, set at the turn of the century, which became one of her most famous films. When reviewers say Crawford was too modern for historical pictures, they conveniently forget the terrific reviews she received for Rose Marie in 1928, now a lost film, and her electric presence in Johnny Guitar.The Gorgeous Hussy is not a popular film. Many writers claim that Hussy was a disastrous box-office flop, which is not true. It actually made back all of its huge production cost (Hussy was an MGM prestige picture) and turned in a small profit. A lot of people went to see Gorgeous Hussy in its day--more people than saw other films referred to as hits, such as No More Ladies, and yet the high production did not allow it to make a significant enough profit to be considered a hit.

Joan Crawford shines in this movie, despite what many of her detractors have said about her. I have read many articles about how she was not right in this role and that she was much better in contemporary films and not period dramas, such as this. But I will tell you that they are wrong. This is one very entertaining film and it holds your interest from beginning to end. Everything about this film is breathtaking, the sets, the costumes, the acting (not only from the leads, but also the minors), and even the make-up is very good. Just take a look at Charles Trowbridge and his likeness of Martin Van Buren--amazing!! This film has it all and this film puts another jewel in the Crawford crown of great acting!!