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I love this movie so much

Truly Dreadful Film

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

For a 1930 film the picture quality was surprisingly good,most impressive was the crash scene ,where Colberts reckless driving causes the death and leads to her conviction. Considering this was a very early performance by her ,she plays the part very well- portraying a lack of sensitivity but without being malicious As good as she is ,I have to reluctantly admit that March steals the show -his pain and torment fill up the screen

Lydia (Claudette Colbert) is wealthy and selfish. She has no time for others as is illustrated when her maid Evans (Hilda Vaughn) is sent to prison for theft. Lydia's evidence could prevent Evans from going to jail but she forgets to turn up. She meets with O'Bannon (Fredric March), a lawyer who is committed to equal rights for rich and poor and although they fall in love, his principles do not sit comfortably with her behaviour. After a car accident in which a policeman dies, he takes the case for prosecution against her and she is sent to prison. How does she cope and what will O'Bannon do next?....The film is OK to begin with but every scene is just a little too long and so the film starts to drag. The cast are good but the story could have been told at a better pace and with a little more excitement. The way the film resolves itself is rather sudden and convenient for all involved.

MANSLAUGHTER is a highly engrossing early talkie melodrama with very early film performances of two of the great players from Hollywood's golden era, Claudette Colbert and Fredric March. Claudette Colbert stars as a spoiled heiress who believes there are two sets of laws, one for the rich and one for the poor. Young district attorney Fredric March believes quite the opposite - equal justice and punishment for everyone. They meet at a dinner party and romantic sparks fly and both are infatuated.But trouble is around the corner. March learns Claudette has attempted to bribe a young cop after being caught speeding by dropping her diamond bracelet on the ground and driving away which leads to a scene between them and any romantic possibilities crushed. And then Colbert's faithful maid Hilda Vaughn steals some of her jewels in a weak moment for her boyfriend and confesses. Self-centered Claudette however can't be bothered to remember the date of Vaughn's trial which results in her receiving a sentence of up to 15 years. Horrified to learn of the results, Claudette zooms off to see what she can do belatedly but her speeding this time results in a fatality and her being charged for manslaughter - and with the prosecuting attorney set to be March! This type of melodrama was extremely popular in the early days of talkies - Norma Shearer won much acclaim for THE TRIAL OF MARY DUGAN and a Academy Award nomination for A FREE SOUL, Mary Pickford won an Oscar for COQUETTE. Although I've never seen DUGAN, I can't help but feel Claudette Colbert's sterling performance even at this very early stage in her career topped them all. Her pampered socialite is a fully three dimensional character - selfish yes, but not an obnoxious, unfeeling person even when she is successful at getting things her way. She is matched by the dashing young March as the young man with ideals who cannot compromise his integrity even if it means prosecuting a woman he knows he is in love with, even as it tears at his heart.Emma Dunn is fine in a rare moneyed role as Colbert's loving and supportive aunt, Natalie Moorhead, generally cast as a menace in films, does well with her small part as one of Claudette's best friends but the standout in the supporting cast is the wonderful Hilda Vaughn who latter-day audiences surely know best as Jean Harlow's maid in DINNER AT EIGHT (1933) . Ms. Vaughn has a startlingly similar situation here as the put-upon maid on a spoiled socialite (with a diamond bracelet playing a key role in the proceedings again!!) but this role even gives her more to work with than DINNER and she has two wonderful little scenes in the prison when she and her former boss are finally on equal ground. (There's also a brief bit of unintentional humor for movie buffs with Louise Beavers' bit part as one of the inmates, seeing the two stars of the later IMITATION OF LIFE (1934) in jail side by side makes one wonder if that pancake corporation was on the up and up LOL.) Claudette Colbert and Fredric March were the perfect co-stars for each other, it's regrettable their only work together was so early in their careers and of their four films only DeMille's SIGN OF THE CROSS is easily seen. It's clear from MANSLAUGHTER that these were two stars who were wonderful from day one.

Depression moviegoers got a 2-for-1 treat with this melodrama. A festive romance, complete with water skiing and dance parties highlight the first half. An effective and convincing set up for the 'manslaughter' to follow.Claudete Colbert is mesmerizing as the unrepentant poor-little-rich-girl Lydia Thorne. She is too busy enjoying life's party to feel her conscience, bribing a cop rather than accept a speeding ticket. And when her maid is convicted of stealing her jewels, Lydia's bridge game is more important than a kind word to the judge. A word that would bring years of freedom to her maid's life.Enter straight shooting District Attourney Dan O'Bannon (Frederic March). He's busy schmoozing political heavyweights with "equal justice for rich and poor" when he falls under Lydia's spell.Miss Colbert literally sparkles in Archie Stout's photography. Principally backlit, her satin gown and diamond necklace shimmer in the star filter and complete the trap for O'Bannon and viewer alike. Lots of overhead and dolly shots keep the eye-candy coming. This beautifully mounted production gives no clue why Mr. Stout would be doing the cheapo John Wayne westerns 3 years later. Amazingly, Archie Stout would go onto shoot the sumptuously photographed Angel And The Badman for Wayne years later! An automobile accident (not a run over pedestrian as suggested above) triggers the second half of the film and the regeneration of our heroine, and not without delicious plot twists and turns.Great performances and production make this a must see for the avid talkie buff. And Claudette Colbert fans will be well pleased to find her already in top gear.