Interference

William Powell was reported dead in action. Now he lives a quiet life under another name. But for some reason, he has a medical exam, and goes to see Doctor Clive Brook. There he discovers that his "widowed" wife, Doris Kenyon is now married to Brook, and she is being blackmailed by Evelyn Brent, Powell's would-be lover, with some racy letters she wrote to Powell.

Paramount's first talkie picture is directed by Roy Pomeroy after all the other directors at the studio passed on it. Their worries about the primitive state of the recording equipment seem justified by the copy I looked at. Despite a print that was in decent shape, the sound is buzzy, echoes, and difficult to understand; frequently all that comes through is the timber of the actor. Add to that slow pace of the dialogue, and the movie creeps along, except for a brief section in which Brook is staging a scene to look like a suicide. I'm pleased to subtract this title from my must-see list, but wish it were better paced. Perhaps the silent version, directed by Lothar Mendes, moves along better.