Jon Mirsalis on Piano. Of all the screen versions of this tear-jerker about the "fallen woman" who deserts husband and child for a no-good young lover (Ruth Chatterton, Gladys George, Lana Turner, even Tuesday Weld have all played the title role), Pauline Frederick's is the most interesting. In its frank suggestions of the sordid sexual aspects of the plot, it is far less sugar-coated than it might have been for 1920, when weepers of this sort were all hearts and flowers. Aside from Frederick's incredibly complex and moving portrait of Madame X, the film remains of interest today for director Frank Lloyd's recreation of a French milieu, and for its visual craftsmanship.