X

Join or Sign In

Sign in to customize your TV listings

Continue with Facebook Continue with email

By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.

Devotion

One of three young-adult sisters, Shirley Mortimer still lives at home with her parents in London. Considered the plain and unaccomplished one in not having a job, she is always relegated to the background, more like a servant than a family member. Rather than go with her parents on holiday to the continent, Shirley decides--with help from her friend Marjory Fielding, the only one who knows her plans--to strike out on her own for independence. She plans to work as governess for her father's young criminal-lawyer friend David Trent, who requires someone to look after his adolescent son Derek. Beyond the independence, Shirley wants the job in her immediate attraction to David himself when she met him when he came to the Mortimer house for tea one afternoon. The one catch for Shirley is that David is looking for a middle-aged woman for the live-in job, not wanting to appear improprietous with a young woman, so Shirley dons a disguise and transforms into middle-aged governess Mrs. Halifax. The situation becomes more complex when she: meets artist Norman Harrington, whom David is defending in a high-profile murder trial, which feels personal because Norman's situation is all too familiar to David.

Loading. Please wait...

Content not available in your region? ExpressVPN can help you stay connected wherever you are. Get 4 extra months FREE with TV Guide's exclusive offer.

Cast & Crew See All

Ann Harding
Shirley Mortimer
Leslie Howard
David Trent
Robert Williams
Norman Harrington

Awards

  • 1931 - Photoplay Award - Best Pictures of the Month (November) - winner
  • 1931 - Photoplay Award - Best Performances of the Month (November) - winner
  • 1931 - Photoplay Award - Best Performances of the Month (November) - winner
  • 1931 - Photoplay Award - Best Performances of the Month (November) - winner

You May Also Like See All

Three Colors: Red
Rear Window
Fanny and Alexander
Casablanca

Popular Movies See all movies

History of the World: Part I

1 hr 32 mins
Mel Brooks brings his one-of-a-kind comic touch to the history of mankind covering events from the Old Testament to the French Revolution in a series of episodic comedy vignettes.
47   Metascore
1981 Comedy, Documentary, Music

Yoh! Bestie

1 hr 35 mins
Thando is perpetually unlucky in love, but when her bestie returns from his travels with a fiancée in tow, she's forced to face a new emotion — jealousy.
2026 Comedy, Drama

The Wrecking Crew

2 hr 4 mins
Estranged half-brothers Jonny and James reunite after their father's mysterious death. As they search for the truth, buried secrets reveal a conspiracy threatening to tear their family apart.
67   Metascore
2026 Action & Adventure, Comedy, Suspense

Solo Mio

1 hr 36 mins
After being left at the altar in Rome, a man decides to go on his honeymoon alone.
48   Metascore
2026 Comedy, Drama

Popcorn Porn: Watching 'Zack and Miri Make a Porno'

1 hr 14 mins
This film follows the making of Kevin Smith's latest film, Zack and Miri Make A Porno.
2009 Documentary, Comedy

The 'Burbs

1 hr 42 mins
He's a man of peace in a savage land: Suburbia. When secretive new neighbors move in next door, suburbanite Ray Peterson and his friends let their paranoia get the best of them as they start to suspect the newcomers of evil doings and commence an investigation.But it's hardly how Ray, who much prefers to drink beer, read his newspaper, and watch a ballgame on the tube, expected to spend his vacation.
45   Metascore
1989 Comedy, Suspense