Albert (Paul Lukas) is the head butler in a Baron's home, and is marrying Anna, a maid (Virginia Bruce, John Gilbert's real-life wife). On their wedding day, the new chauffeur (John Gilbert) arrives. It doesn't take long for Albert to start disliking Karl, who seems a little too interested in Anna and tries to seduce her when Albert is not around. Anna is an innocent and can't see him for what he is, which is an underhanded cad. In fact, Albert fires him, and Karl gets his job back by going to the Baroness and threatening to blackmail her.
Nice precode, with the interest in the film mainly because of Gilbert. This type of leading man went out of style. To see him now, looking by today's standards older than his 35 years, slight, and mustached, one could easily wonder what all the fuss is about. I think the fuss was about his acting and charm, both of which hold up very well today.
Of course when one hears his voice, there's nothing wrong with it at all, and it's still a question today as to what happened when he appeared in his first sound picture. Did Mayer speed up the sound? I am of the opinion that it was just a horrible choice of script, similar to the sound picture with Jean Hagen in "Singin' in the Rain." As Barry Paris points out in his excellent Garbo biography, people in those days were not used to phrases such as "I love you" being said in public, and they probably laughed nervously at some of that flowery language in the movie theater when "His Glorious Night" played. Gilbert was his own worst enemy due to his alcoholism.
This is a light precode with Paul Lukas as a very serious husband and butler and Gilbert as a cheerful con man. Well worth seeing for John Gilbert, especially if you're not familiar with his work. He was, after all, an early superstar, and he deserves to be remembered. By the way, his grandsons, John Fountain and Gideon Fountain, are both actors who appear occasionally in film, though they both are involved in other professions as well. His daughter, Leatrice, who was also an actress, just turned 90 on September 6.
Nice precode, with the interest in the film mainly because of Gilbert. This type of leading man went out of style. To see him now, looking by today's standards older than his 35 years, slight, and mustached, one could easily wonder what all the fuss is about. I think the fuss was about his acting and charm, both of which hold up very well today.
Of course when one hears his voice, there's nothing wrong with it at all, and it's still a question today as to what happened when he appeared in his first sound picture. Did Mayer speed up the sound? I am of the opinion that it was just a horrible choice of script, similar to the sound picture with Jean Hagen in "Singin' in the Rain." As Barry Paris points out in his excellent Garbo biography, people in those days were not used to phrases such as "I love you" being said in public, and they probably laughed nervously at some of that flowery language in the movie theater when "His Glorious Night" played. Gilbert was his own worst enemy due to his alcoholism.
This is a light precode with Paul Lukas as a very serious husband and butler and Gilbert as a cheerful con man. Well worth seeing for John Gilbert, especially if you're not familiar with his work. He was, after all, an early superstar, and he deserves to be remembered. By the way, his grandsons, John Fountain and Gideon Fountain, are both actors who appear occasionally in film, though they both are involved in other professions as well. His daughter, Leatrice, who was also an actress, just turned 90 on September 6.