This 1932 Joan Crawford and Robert Montgomery Classic Is Finally Screening for the First Time in 90 Years

After being plagued by distribution and legal issues for the past 90 years, the murderous Joan Crawford and Robert Montgomery film Letty Lynton can finally be seen by the public — thanks to the efforts of the TCM Classic Film Festival, Warner Bros, and Crawford's grandson, Casey LaLonde.

The film will screen on Friday, May 1, at the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, California, but the journey to get the film seen was decades in the making. Originally released in 1932 and based on a 1931 novel by British writer Marie Belloc Lowndes, this pre-code film directed by Clarence Brown was a massive financial hit for MGM and proved to be highly influential in fashion, mainly for the ruffled sleeves Crawford wears.

Crawford starred as Letty, a socialite trying to get over a hopeless affair, when she meets Jerry, played by Montgomery. The two quickly fall in love on a boat, but things get complicated when Letty's former lover (played by Nils Asther) still wants to be with her. Letty soon turns to murder; the film was based on the real-life Scottish murder case of Madeleine Smith, who was ultimately not convicted.

The issues began when playwrights Edward Sheldon and Margaret Ayer Barnes claimed Letty Lynton was too similar to their 1930 play, Dishonored Lady, which was also based on Smith's murder trial. After the two won the case in federal court, the film was pulled from circulation in 1936 and has been unavailable to watch legally until now.

Since Dishonored Lady's copyright expired on Dec. 31, 2025, LaLonde argued that Letty Lynton could safely be released. In an Instagram post, he credited Warner Bros Library historian George Feltenstein for making the restoration possible, adding that the studio plans to release a 4K restoration on DVD and Blu-ray.

Other classics that will have their world premiere restorations at this year's TCM Classic Film Festival include All the President's Men, Alice in Wonderland, Network, Auntie Mame, Citizen Ruth, Out of the Past, and Barefoot in the Park. The festival runs April 30-May 3.