Like almost all of Ann Harding's Pre-Code films, she plays a woman who is NOT especially virtuous or has a past (i.e., a skank). I always found it odd that she was repeatedly cast this way, as she looked sweet and refined--not having that vampish or sexy quality such a character should have.
The film begins with Harding getting a phone call from a blackmailer. You have no idea WHAT she's done, but it's obvious she'd bothered by this call and soon goes to her husband to ask for money. A bit later, you see the blackmailer and his weak assistant. He treats this helper like dirt and the man threatens to kill the blackmailer. Only minutes later, Harding visits the blackmailer and the two struggle with a a gun--and it goes off. Harding dashes away--worried that she might get caught and that the man might survive! What occurs next you'll just have to see for yourself.
As for this film, it's very talky--something that is common in many of the early talking pictures. Instead of looking like a movie, it plays more like a play--a very, very cramped play. What I mean by this is that the film is mostly set-bound and the actors generally stay in the middle of the screen huddled near each other. This is not accidental, as early sound technology was pretty archaic and the actors needed to stand close to the microphones--much closer than they would in the 1930s. Also, like a play, there isn't much in the way of incidental music--mostly because, once again, they hadn't perfected this either. Believe it or not, in films from 1929 (give or take a year or so), the music you do hear often was played by an orchestra just next to the set--just off-camera! Adding the music later was a process still in the future. As a result of all these factors, the film comes off rather poorly--with little energy or excitement. I think if the film had been made just a year or two later, it would have been a lot better. However, I'll give the film a 5 simply because compared to other 1929 films, it's not that bad and is reasonably entertaining.
The film begins with Harding getting a phone call from a blackmailer. You have no idea WHAT she's done, but it's obvious she'd bothered by this call and soon goes to her husband to ask for money. A bit later, you see the blackmailer and his weak assistant. He treats this helper like dirt and the man threatens to kill the blackmailer. Only minutes later, Harding visits the blackmailer and the two struggle with a a gun--and it goes off. Harding dashes away--worried that she might get caught and that the man might survive! What occurs next you'll just have to see for yourself.
As for this film, it's very talky--something that is common in many of the early talking pictures. Instead of looking like a movie, it plays more like a play--a very, very cramped play. What I mean by this is that the film is mostly set-bound and the actors generally stay in the middle of the screen huddled near each other. This is not accidental, as early sound technology was pretty archaic and the actors needed to stand close to the microphones--much closer than they would in the 1930s. Also, like a play, there isn't much in the way of incidental music--mostly because, once again, they hadn't perfected this either. Believe it or not, in films from 1929 (give or take a year or so), the music you do hear often was played by an orchestra just next to the set--just off-camera! Adding the music later was a process still in the future. As a result of all these factors, the film comes off rather poorly--with little energy or excitement. I think if the film had been made just a year or two later, it would have been a lot better. However, I'll give the film a 5 simply because compared to other 1929 films, it's not that bad and is reasonably entertaining.