4/10
Was this supposed to be a Buster Keaton movie?
26 December 2021
Two young people grow up best friends. Start to have feelings. Older brother comes back to town and is smitten with the girl. Simple, really.

Problem is, I don't think the film-makers knew whether they were making a comedy or a romantic triangle. Or they just made terrible casting decisions and made up a movie on the fly.

Firstly, we get the youthful hijinks of Ramon Navarro and Joan Crawford. Navarro comes across as a ''punchable brat" and Crawford is already too smokin' hot to be playing the innocent girl. Total mismatch.

But it gets worse. The older brother is played by 50-year-old mug Ernest Torrance.

The only dramatic tension for me is wondering how Crawford got stuck in this dog of a movie.

If the younger brother had been Buster Keaton he could have really sold the comedy bits and Torrance would have fit. Just cast a way-less glamour-girl.

If the older brother had been John Gilbert you would have had a legit triangle and some swashbuckling, to boot.

The other problem is the condition of the print. First half is in great shape, but it soons deteriorates to a point where it looks like it was once a ''lost" movie and someone discovered the final two reels in the wine cellar of some Brazilian film collector.
0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed