SLANDER HOUSE

US, 1938, 65 minutes, Black-and-white.
Adrienne Ames, Craig Reynolds, Esther Ralston, George Meeker.
Directed by Charles Lamont.

A slight film of its time, one of the many directed by Charles Lamont who in later decades went on to direct comedies, especially Ma and Pa Kettle films.

The synopsis in the IMDb is useful in introducing the film, style and content.

Madame Helene Smith operates a swanky salon for renovations of women's faces and bodies, with her partner Mazie Mason who grew up with Helene on New York's not-so-swank Tenth Avenue. Mazie is in love with newspaper columnist Terry Kent, who frequents the place for juicy items as the salon is a gathering place for the town's rich and near-rich ladies. Terry calls it a "scandal house" and, if he had known the title would be changed to "Slander House" before release, would have deemed it as such. Upper-crust Doctor Herbert Stallings, with mandatory pencil mustache, is in love with Helene, who isn't all that taken with him. Enter Ruth DeMilo?, statuesque showgirl and gold-digger de luxe, quickly followed by Pat Fenton, dashing young man-about-town, who sees and quickly falls in love with Helene, despite the fact she uses Madame as a title. He takes her to a cabaret where she is insulted by Fenton's attorney, George Horton, who tells her that Fenton, the cad, has hired him to check her ... Written by Les Adams <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>