High Voltage (1929)

Director:

Howard Higgin

Writers:

Elliott J. Clawson (story)
James Gleason (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

29 June 1929 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A busload of passengers gets stranded in a snowstorm and take refuge in an abandoned church, where they run into a mysterious man who may be on the run from the law.

Plot Keywords:

Church | Stranded | Snowstorm | Beautiful Woman | Bus

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

William Boyd	...	Bill (The Boy)
Carole Lombard	...	Billie Davis (The Girl) (as Carol Lombard)
Owen Moore	...	Det. Dan Egan (The Detective)
Phillips Smalley	...	Henderson (The Banker)
Billy Bevan	...	Gus (The Driver)
Diane Ellis	...	The Kid

Also Known As:

Wanted (UK)

Runtime:

63 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System) | Silent

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

Pathé Exchange

Stranded passengers in an abandoned church

HIGH VOLTAGE (Pathe, 1929), directed by Howard Higgin, is an early film talkie about a bus carrying numerous passengers attempting to cross Nevada's alkali flats in the dead of winter. Among the passengers are Billie (Carole Lombard), a lady fugitive being taken back to prison in handcuffs by Detective Dan Egan (Owen Moore); a young girl called "The Kid" (Diane Ellis); J. Milton Hendrickson, a rich banker (Phillips Smalley), who feels money can buy him anything; and a bus driver (Billy Bevan) who constantly refrains, "Please, Paaaleaze." The bus gets caught in a blizzard some miles from the nearest town. Seeking shelter by walking through deep snow, the passengers stumble onto an abandoned church to keep warm. While there they notice the church is occupied by a mysterious man named Bill (William Boyd) who might also be a fugitive from justice. But for the time being, the guests must take orders from the level-headed Bill in order to survive the ordeal of possibly freezing to death.

HIGH VOLTAGE is not top-of-the-art cinema, in fact, forgetting when this was made (1929), it's either horrible or unbearable, whichever a viewer prefers. In spite of an interesting premise, the movie is hampered by bad dialog that at times is laughable, and at 63 minutes, the film seems a lot longer that what it is. William Boyd, the cinema's future cowboy matinée, Hopalong Cassidy, and Carole Lombard (billed Carol), the future screwball comedienne in such classics as MY MAN GODFREY (1936) and NOTHING SACRED (1937), are both effective as the tough guy and gal, but in spite of their presence, they can't seem to rise above inferior material. Other low points include Owen Moore passing the time singing an Irish song or two by the church organ. There are times in which the movie suffers from some distorted sound recording, especially during the outdoor scenes when the passengers walk about to get exercise, throwing snow balls at each other, and finding The Kid suddenly falling through the ice, etc., the latter being one of the few scenes to perk up some excitement.

Available on video cassette and later DVD, HIGH VOLTAGE is only recommended to lovers of bad cinema, or to film buffs wanting to see it only as a curio. (*)