As her agent says of Norma Shearer in this film, "she don't do nothing' but what she does.... Oi! How she does it!". This insubstantial but tasty little showbiz bonbon doesn't make great demands on Ms Shearer other than to look radiant; and it's her decision to restyle her chic 20's bob into an afro that provokes the big rift between her and partner Oscar Shaw that consumes most of the second half of the film.
Eventually realising what a storm in a teacup this all is, barely ten minutes from the end (SPOILERS COMING) the film's makers finally decided a bit of silent film melodrama was called for and postpone the inevitable reconciliation we've all been waiting for to instead throw in an outrageously over-the-top climax involving a child in peril and axe throwing. It wasn't necessary; an hour contemplating the handsome Ms Shearer in close-up has been a more than satisfactory way to pass the time, although the climax gives her a chance to do a bit of serious emoting for good measure. (They don't bother to tell us what became of the kid who fell off the balcony, but presumably she came out of her mishap unscathed.)
Eventually realising what a storm in a teacup this all is, barely ten minutes from the end (SPOILERS COMING) the film's makers finally decided a bit of silent film melodrama was called for and postpone the inevitable reconciliation we've all been waiting for to instead throw in an outrageously over-the-top climax involving a child in peril and axe throwing. It wasn't necessary; an hour contemplating the handsome Ms Shearer in close-up has been a more than satisfactory way to pass the time, although the climax gives her a chance to do a bit of serious emoting for good measure. (They don't bother to tell us what became of the kid who fell off the balcony, but presumably she came out of her mishap unscathed.)