I have just one problem with "Mantrap". The beautiful print that has survived is a KodaScope cutdown, missing about ten minutes. I'll admit that the movie certainly runs fast and I imagine that all Clara Bow's scenes have been left in and that the shears have been taken to Percy Marmont and maybe Eugene Palette (who disappears about halfway through) and Tom Kennedy as well. Also, the original print was probably tinted. Certainly the lobby cards are tinted, although this was a pretty common practice, even back in 1926. What we have now of course, on an otherwise excellent Grapevine DVD, is a black-and-white copy. It's still a very good print, and Clara looks absolutely radiant -- particularly in all her close-ups. These, of course, were directed by her lover who actually sat so close to her, that he held her hands as he instructed her how to mime her lines. Yes, the lines were actually mimed or whispered so that any lip- readers in the audience could follow the action. I suspect, director Victor Fleming also took a hand in the photography as well, even though it is actually credited solely to Wong Howe. Anyway, even in its cutdown version, this is a movie that belongs on the shelf of every fan, young or old!
Review of Mantrap
