She Was a Lady is a 1934 American comedy drama film directed by Hamilton MacFadden and starring Helen Twelvetrees, Donald Woods, Ralph Morgan and Monroe Owsley. The film was produced and distributed by Fox Film, one of the major Hollywood studios. The screenplay was by Gertrude Purcell, based on the 1934 novel She Was a Lady by Elisabeth Cobb.
Sheila Vane, the daughter of an English aristocrat and a maid, is raised in Montana where her parents settled after he was rejected by his family after marrying outside of his class. While working at a guest ranch, she encounters the playboy Tommy Traill who falls in love. However she rejects him to fulfil her father's wish that she should return to England to reclaim her rightful place as part of the Vane family. On arriving at their country estate Vane Manor, she is treated dismissively by her aunt and uncle who fear that the scandal will ruin their own daughter's upcoming prospects as debutante. Sheila's grandfather, meanwhile, is still the family butler. Returning to America in New York City Tommy invites her to meet his father. However he proves dismissive of her, believing that she is a social climber and unaware of her aristocratic background.