Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10987 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-03-15
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Black & White, Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 99 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
An extraordinarily racy movie for its time, The Wicked Lady was and still is as notable for its acres of heaving bosom as for its radical challenge to female stereotypes. This bodice-ripper about a bored aristocratic woman who turns highwayman just for kicks became a huge box-office success in post-war Britain, but Margaret Lockwood's eloquent bust proved a bit too expressive for Hollywood, so the film was expensively reshot for a sanitised US release. (From 1945 right up to Janet Jackson at the 2004 Superbowl, American audiences apparently have an enduring problem with those prominent parts of the female anatomy).

This is the definitive Gainsborough picture, a period romp crammed with cads, in which the camera gazes lasciviously down (it's all shot from a male eyelevel) at the low-cut ladies' dresses. But this time the female anti-heroine gives as good as she gets... and then some. Lockwood's Lady Barbara Skelton is quite gleefully amoral--more so even than Thackeray's arch-manipulator Becky Sharp from Vanity Fair--failing even to pay lip service to the moral standards of the 1940s, let alone those of the 17th century. It is she who wears the trousers (quite literally, in her highwayman guise) while the weak-chinned and weak-willed men around her crumble under the weight of their conventionality. Only James Mason's handsome dandy highwayman can keep up with her, but even he has to draw the line somewhere. Ultimately, social mores reassert their grip and Lady Barbara gets her comeuppance, but not before she's overturned every contemporary movie convention about femininity. "She was the wickedest woman ever seen on the screen", trumpets the original theatrical trailer on this otherwise bare-bones DVD release: it's still probably true even today. --Mark Walker

Synopsis
Margaret Lockwood stars as Lady Barbara Skelton, a beautiful 17th Century socialite who finds her life extremely dull in spite of marrying into money. In order to escape her banal existence, Barbara takes to highway robbery. One night she meets Captain Jackson (James Mason) and starts an affair. As Barbara's secret life of crime is discovered she has to murder to remain free. A strong female lead, great bitchy one-liners, and immoral goings on make this quite a wicked irresistible romp.

Customer Reviews

Adventure and Romance
This film, made during World War II is pure escapism. The story: Lady of the Manor by day, highwaywoman by night, is basically inaccurate, for in reality few travellers would have ventured to journey after dark, due to the atrocious condition of the roads. But this does not matter, for the romance and adventure contained in this picture is such that one can afford to take such liberties.
Gerry Jackson (James Mason) and Lady Skelton (Margaret Lockwood) compliment each other perfectly. One scene in particular, is a both humourous and poignant. It happens when they are robbing a coach, and Jackson sees a noblewoman whose blonde good looks are such a contrast to the dark-haired beauty of his beloved partner. He therefore gives a passionate kiss to the girl, much to Barbara`s fury; who gives the lass a slap in the face! The scene also demonstrates how Lady Skelton has to re-adjust her attitude to this new life. In the course of the robbery, Jackson "pistols" (i.e. shoots) the leading coach-horse. This upsets Barbara very much, and when they stop for a rest,the beautiful girl asks sadly, "Why did you shoot that horse? I`d rather kill a man any day" Her lover explains that no-one is more fonder of horses than he, but that such a measure is necessary to avoid pursuit and capture. Then this lovely aristocrat realizes she has to re-think her outlook on life in order to be with the man she loves. Altogether, a wonderful piece of drama.

John Harman

Lusty Restoration melodrama, with Margaret Lockwood as a hard-riding highwayman
"When she came," says Sir Ralph about his wife, Lady Barbara, "a dark shadow crept over our lives...but it's lifting." He's speaking to Caroline, who has always loved him with a passion that was pure and true. "We shall ride again in the sunshine," Sir Ralph continues, "...sing and laugh and know happiness...and love." For those who cannot foretell the fate of evil women, no matter how spirited and beautiful they may be, read no further. The Wicked Lady may be a lusty Restoration melodrama, detested by the critics yet Britain's highest earning movie in 1946, but it has enough interest to warrant watching all the way through. This is because of the story, which centers on a, well, a wicked lady, but a lady of great spirit and energy. She's as attracted to adventure as she is bored by respectability. Fiancé stealing, highway robbery, shooting and smothering are just the spices needed to keep her love alive, to paraphrase Lorenz Hart. The other element that makes the movie watchable is the actors, particularly Margaret Lockwood as Lady Barbara and James Mason as the charming, energetic highwayman, Jerry Jackson. Jackson knows he'll wind up kicking his heels with a noose around his neck at Tyburn, but he'd rather it be later than sooner...and in-between he'd just as soon enjoy Lady Barbara.

You must picture the times. The men wear higher wigs than the women, and their hats sport more feathers than most ostriches. Dress is elaborate and décolletage is on ample display. In fact, some scenes in The Wicked Lady had to be reshot before the film could be released in the States. It was thought too many Americans would feel threatened by Margaret Lockwood's bosom.

Barbara Worth is a beautiful, bored young woman who, as amusement, steals the fiancé of her best friend, Caroline, and marries him. But the life of a well-to-do country squire in the person of Sir Ralph Skelton turns out to be boring beyond belief. When she loses a treasured brooch gambling, she decides she'll get it back after she hears of the exploits of Lucky Jerry Jackson, a highwayman. She does...and she finds the excitement as addictive as a drug. "Think of the exhilaration, the excitement and the danger," Barbara says. "Once a man has taken to the road, all else must seem tame and insipid. I don't see how he could ever give it up." Then, while holding up another carriage, she finds herself facing the real Jackson. Of course, it's not long before they form a rollicking partnership in bed as well as on the road. One thing leads to another...a spot of smothering, high-stakes robbery, a betrayal, the usual things...and before long Lady Barbara has paid the price, a bullet in her side, and alone as she dies. As we all know, a beautiful woman's sins must be washed away in blood, hers.

This may sound like a thousand other heavy-breathing romances, but The Wicked Lady after all these years still entertains. The plot's spice comes from the very idea of the heroine not being a heroine at all. Lady Barbara almost makes us sympathize with the boredom of her married life. Her husband, Sir Ralph (Griffin Jones), is a good-looking, honest man with all the charisma of a piece of toast. One of her husband's retainers, old Hogarth (Felix Aylmer), constantly spouts personal doom from the Bible. Barbara, taking to horse and pistol and robbing carriages at night, finds this activity not only spices up her life, but makes her too tired to spice up the life of her husband. Her evil (pronounced in the movie, "eee-viil") nature is highly entertaining, even when she holds down a pillow over a sick man's face.

Most importantly, the two leads shine. Margaret Lockwood was one of the most popular British actresses during the Forties. She had great looks, but she also was intelligent, humorous and knew her craft. Whatever the thing is that makes some actors vivid through the camera, she had it. James Mason as Jerry Jackson just about steals the film every time he's on screen. "Do you always take women by the throat?" asks Barbara when Jackson has his hands around her neck to demonstrate who's in charge. "No," says Jerry, "I just take them." Mason brings everything -- threat, romance, charm -- to those five words. The next year, 1947, Mason would star in Odd Man Out, one of his greatest films, then it would be on to Hollywood.

It seems to me that older movies can be enjoyed best when a person first takes a little time to learn about the film and the actors. Take Griffin Jones, the actor who plays Sir Ralph. He's skilled playing a conscientious and honorable man who makes a bad decision in marrying Barbara but tries to make the best of it. It's not a performance, however, that will stick in your mind. But if you've had the opportunity to see him as Narcy, the thoroughly vicious gang leader in 1947's They Made Me a Criminal, you'll wind up with a good deal of appreciation for his skill. And when you learn he was the father of Gemma Jones, who played Louisa Trotter in the terrific television series, The Duchess of Duke Street, it's an added pleasure.

The DVD of The Wicked Lady looks very good.

Timeless Story of Love and Treachery
Childlike Caroline is set to marry Ralph Skelton, a handsome magistrate. Although the marriage is arranged, the two are quite fond of each other, Caroline being hopelessly in love with the man but quite shy to say so.

Caroline, being the sweet and generous person she is, invites her cousin Barbara to attend the wedding. However, Caroline fails to see that Barbara is an opportunistic schemer, and when Barbara sets her sights on Ralph for his money, nothing will get in her way.

Truly believing that Barbara is in love with Ralph, Caroline steps aside and lets them marry, despite her own heartbreak. Barbara on the other hand, is keen enough to Marry Ralph, however, is smitten with one of the guests at the wedding and already regretting her decision to marry for money.

As time passes, Barbara finds herself growing rather bored with her way of life, and while gambling with her husband's friends, she loses her broach (belonging to her deceased mother - a beloved piece of jewellery) as part of a bet and is desperate to get it back.

Posing as the famed highway man Captain Jackson, Barbara dons a mask, dresses as a man and wields a gun to hold up the carriage of her husband's friends in desperation to get the beloved piece of jewellery back. What she finds is that she has a natural talent for highway robbery, and loves the danger and excitement.

It seems, however, that this would lead her into meeting the real Captain Jackson, a Handsome roguish scoundrel who inflames her desires. Finally, she has all the excitement she could ever want, but eventually, there will always have to be consequences she didn't plan for and the only way to handle them is to show her truly wicked side.

This is one of the best black and white movies of the 40s, without a doubt. It has fun, romance, adventure, a little bit of comedy, all rolled into one. While the acting is somewhat questionable at times, we have some very fine performances by James Mason and Margaret Lockwood, and while having a somewhat complicated storyline at times, the movie is easy enough to follow. It's also interesting to note, that these events, while very loosely, mind you, are based on true events.

One thing I would mention is that the sound quality on the DVD is a little low, so you may need the volume up a little more than average.