Madame X

Madame X is a 1929 American pre-Code drama film directed by Lionel Barrymore and starring Ruth Chatterton as a fallen woman who longs to be reunited with her son. The film is based on the 1908 play Madame X by French playwright Alexandre Bisson (1848-1912). Plot Jacqueline Floriot is thrown into the street without any money by her jealous husband Louis when he discovers that she had been involved in an affair. She is not permitted to see their four-year-old son, and she soon sinks into depravity. Twenty years later, she has become the mistress of Laroque, a cardsharp. When he discovers that her husband is now the attorney general, Laroque tries to blackmail him. Desperate to shield her son from her disgrace, she shoots and kills her lover.