lyrast Review of Behind That Curtain

Behind That Curtain (1929)

Only if you must have every Chan film!

[2/10 · 27 November 2008]

This film is a real oddity. It's supposed to be the first "Charlie Chan" film but that's like calling Casino Royale {1967} the first James Bond film. In a sense it is, but it's certainly not in the tradition established by Sean Connery. Likewise here, only more so. Chan is only in the film a few irrelevant minutes and isn't played by Warner Oland. "Behind That Curtain" is an example of how poor the early talkies could be--even if they had an acceptable plot. In this case the actors are very uncomfortable with dialogue, often sounding artificial and stilted. Sometimes they seem to be projecting their voices and enunciating each word with excessive care as if making sure that an audience could hear them. The result is that a sense of emotional spontaneity is completely absent in scenes where its presence is vital. Perhaps the best scene in the film is at the point where the heroine, Eve, {Lois Moran} discovers her husband's infidelity. There is no dialogue and Moran conveys more feeling than at any other point in the film because she is playing, in effect, a silent part. There are other moments when she seems to be expressing a sensitive emotional reaction. Then she talks and the moment is shattered. She is quite beautiful and expressive, and if this film had been made as a silent, I think it would have been quite acceptable--if no classic. An interesting feature is the presence of Boris Karloff as a manservant. He has the best voice in the film!