The Unholy Garden

RONALD COLMAN spent a fair share of his early career as a criminal on the loose. RAFFLES and THE UNHOLY GARDEN are some prime examples. Unfortunately, neither one of these films is rated high on any list of Colman's film resume.

THE UNHOLY GARDEN gets its title from the swarm of criminals and thieves residing at a seedy hotel in the Sahara Desert, where a beautiful young girl (FAY WRAY) is trying to keep her father's hidden wealth from the prying hands of a bunch of hoods determined to get their hands on the loot. Along comes gentleman RONALD COLMAN, himself a thief, who charms the girl but makes the mistake of falling in love with her. He finds his conscience before the final reel.

It's all played in a wildly overacted fashion with actors given to the kind of emoting that went out with silent pictures. Colman is credible in the lead but everyone else seems to be playing to the balcony.

The plot is similar to many other such crime capers, one in particular being a film made around the same time called SAFE IN HELL, whereby a young woman runs away from authorities to a South Seas island and must stay at a run-down hotel surrounded by unsavory criminals.

Nothing distinctive here about the story's treatment. Its only interest is giving the viewer a chance to see the young Ronald Colman playing a romantic lead.

This is a pretty oddball film, plot-wise and characters. I've seen it a few times now and still can't make up my mind on how good it is - or not. It is dated of course, but who cares when you can be ogling Fay Wray at her peak!

Just how unlikely is the basic situation - a hotel in the middle of the Algerian desert full of cut-throats and thieves plus one trigger-happy old blind man and his beautiful daughter sitting on but protecting a useless fortune for years. The brainy fugitive rascal Colman appears and the cut-throats' plans to rob the old man suddenly coalesce and are dependent upon our dashing anti-hero finding the loot for them. All of the characters without exception are dislikeable but I'm afraid I don't know how faithful this is to the original book, or whether it was simply designed for the movie that way.

Never mind, Colman uses the opportunity splendidly to woo Wray, and the two couldn't look more beautiful as when splashed by the Goldwyn moonlight - others would have burst into song! He later goes Noble in a tortured climax, but hey that's Love!

To the Faithful: well worth watching - after "Raffles" it's definitely my next favourite Goldwyn Colman potboiler. To the Unbeliever: you won't get it, wait for a violent remake.

Unholy Garden, The (1931)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Decent little pre-Code about a blind old man (Tully Marshall) and his daughter (Fay Wray) who are staying at a hotel in the Sahara. The two keep themselves locked up in their room because there's a group of criminals in the lobby trying to come up with a way to get in the room and steal what could be millions from them. A suave criminal (Ronald Colman) then shows up and tries to get into the room and the daughter's heart his own way. THE UNHOLY GARDEN isn't a very well-known film but I found it to be a pleasant time killer thanks in large part to the performance of Colman who really shines here. The story itself is a mildly interesting one but at the same time you really have to suspend some disbelief that these cut-throats wouldn't have already gotten into the room and forced they way into finding out where the money was. There's a funny sequence dealing with the old man just shooting his gun off and I'm guessing this was the writers attempt to show that the criminals couldn't get in but I'm sure they could have came up with something else. The way Colman works his way into the room was at the same time a tad bit too easy. With that said, at just 74-minutes the film goes by very quickly and a lot of this is due to the very charming performance of Colman. It's almost as if the actor knew the material wasn't the greatest so he just really went all out in terms of charm. His character makes it easy to see why the daughter would fall for him but Colman is also brilliant at showing as slick this character is. This is especially true towards the end when he tries to save the daughter by lying to all the criminals to try and protect her. Wray, who would follow this up with such titles as DOCTOR X, THE VAMPIRE BAT, MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM and of course, KING KONG, is in fine form even if the screenplay doesn't do too much justice to her. The supporting cast includes Estelle Taylor, Warren Hymer and Lawrence Grant as a doctor who has murdered his three wives. The dialogue is at times fairly risky and there are many pre-Code elements, which are another plus. Overall, while the film certainly has some flaws it's still entertaining and that's the most important thing.

The acting style is dated, the production is low-budget, the characters are cartoonish, and the story is quite silly... but there is something about this movie I adore. There's no comparing Colman in RAFFLES to this role in THE HOLY GARDEN, as other reviewers have done - in the former, he's distinguished, elegant and urbane, an adorable, tame scoundrel any woman would be quite safe to be around (except for her heart, of course), but in THE UNHOLY GARDEN, the undercurrent of sexuality in his character will be a shock to anyone who is used to Colman in much less sensual, much more gentle roles. I'm used to seeing Clark Gable get this physical and sexual with his leading ladies, but Ronald Colman? Awesome! The dress-hooking scene with Estelle Taylor is delicious... If you are a Colman fan, you will adore this movie. If you're not, you may be one by the end - but don't expect to see him in other films in a role quite like this. In addition - lots of laugh-out-loud lines. What a shame the rest of the movie isn't as good.

Ronald Coleman Must have Thought when Sound Arrived in Hollywood that He Would Become an Even Bigger Star. What With a Voice that Could Melt Steel and the Coldest Femme Fatale Along with the Drop Dead Looks that Made Him a Silent Star. A Whole New World Would Open Up for the Likable Actor to Conquer.

It was Not to Be. Given Atrocious Projects He Very Quickly Became Box-Office Poison and Although He Continued Working for Decades, His Star was Never Again as Bright as During the Silents. The Double Life (1947) is a Welcome Exception.

In this Flop, Written by Ben Hecht and Co-Starring Fay Wray, a Very Busy Actress During this Period, Coleman is the Whole Show Surrounded by Unlikeable Clichéd Characters in a Dull, Dusty Setting.

The Film Never Really Clicks but is Mildly Engaging and Estelle Taylor as a Slinky Bad Girl Showing Some Pre-Code Vampiness, is a Highlight. But Warren Hymer as Coleman's Sidekick is a Distraction and Way Over the Top.

Overall, Pre-Code Fans Won't Find Much Here to Get Excited About and the Movie Mostly Just Lies There as the Desert Setting Isn't Very Exotic or Interesting. Worth a Watch for Pre-Code Completists, Fans of Coleman and Wray but Others May Find it Very Creaky. Not the Best Work of the Two Stars or Writer Hecht.