When he was barnstorming the country to promote films like Solomon and Sheba (1956) and War and Peace (1959), King Vidor often claimed that his best films were his silent features. Of course, having no access to these pictures, we didn't believe him. But now it seems that King was not kidding. Big-budget pictures like Love Never Dies (1921), The Big Parade (1925), Bardelys the Magnificent (1926), The Crowd (1928) reveal the artistic hand of a master. Now you can add Wild Oranges to this roster. True, compared to the above titles, it's on a small scale, but nonetheless it comes to a great climax and makes for an equally engrossing 88 minutes. If you really want to be picky, you could complain that Virginia Valli is not very attractively photographed, made up and costumed. But that is part of the reality of her appeal to the spruce, manly, admirably reticent yet handsome hero. For his part, the attraction too is evident, despite his denial.
As you can see from the cast list, this is a picture with only five characters (six actually, if you count Mrs Woolfolk), and King does wonders in the way he keeps the story moving along most suspensefully, despite the fact that we can guess how it will all turn out. The director is assisted by his players, of course. Despite his self-effacement, Frank Mayo is superb in the lead role. It could be complained that Virginia Valli is a little too fidgety, but its part of her characterization and seems perfectly natural under the circumstances. More to the point, Nigel de Brulier way overdoes the bug-eyed act, but he's not in the picture all that much. Even the dog has a larger and far more important part to play. Ford Sterling strikes exactly the right note in his relationship with Mayo. Not too chummy, but loyal. However, in the acting league the movie is definitely stolen by Charles A. Post who possibly delivers here the outstanding performance of a remarkable career on both sides of the camera. Oddly, he bears a strong resemblance in both appearance and acting to Peter Whitney in the 1945 "Murder, He Says".
As you can see from the cast list, this is a picture with only five characters (six actually, if you count Mrs Woolfolk), and King does wonders in the way he keeps the story moving along most suspensefully, despite the fact that we can guess how it will all turn out. The director is assisted by his players, of course. Despite his self-effacement, Frank Mayo is superb in the lead role. It could be complained that Virginia Valli is a little too fidgety, but its part of her characterization and seems perfectly natural under the circumstances. More to the point, Nigel de Brulier way overdoes the bug-eyed act, but he's not in the picture all that much. Even the dog has a larger and far more important part to play. Ford Sterling strikes exactly the right note in his relationship with Mayo. Not too chummy, but loyal. However, in the acting league the movie is definitely stolen by Charles A. Post who possibly delivers here the outstanding performance of a remarkable career on both sides of the camera. Oddly, he bears a strong resemblance in both appearance and acting to Peter Whitney in the 1945 "Murder, He Says".