High Voltage

In spite of the fact that this film stars Carole Lombard, I recommend that you pass on this one. The story is that a bus is trying to cross Nevada's alkali flats when a winter storm hits and forces the passengers to take refuge in an abandoned church miles from the nearest town. Carole Lombard plays Billie, a young woman being taken to prison. The other passengers include the cop that is accompanying Billie, a young girl, a banker, and, of course the bus driver. The group enters the church to find they are not alone. Bill (William Boyd) has found shelter there too, has a large stash of food, and wants to order everyone around.

This is one of those films in which a bunch of characters of diverse backgrounds are forced to sit through a crisis and talk about themselves. However, "Petrified Forest" this is not. Because it is an early sound film the director seems to think somebody has to be saying something all of the time, whether or not it is interesting or done in a non-monotonous tone. It will be the longest hour in your life. The only thing worse than boring stilted conversation is boring stilted conversation you can't hear well.

This starts out with a fairly interesting story idea, and it also offers Carole Lombard (it always seems strange when she is billed without the 'e') in the role of a young convict. The rest of it, though, is undistinguished, with parts of it being of rather low quality. Even while making allowances for it being an early sound-era movie, there is a lot of dead time that makes it hard not to notice the low production values.

The story starts when a bus and its passengers get stranded in a snowstorm, and they take refuge in a church building, only to find that someone else is already there. The situation focuses on the strained relationships that develop when the varied personalities are thrown together for an indefinite period. It could have led to some tense, even memorable drama, but it never really develops more than an occasional moment of suspense.

Lombard's character gets most of the attention in any scene that she is in. As the bus driver, Billy Bevan gets a couple of good moments of comic relief, but some other lines that were probably intended to be funny just fall flat. Owen Moore and William Boyd have characters who are natural rivals for one another, but their scenes never pack the punch that they could have. Neither of them shows enough presence to make a formidable foe for the other.

While "High Voltage" does have a few worthwhile moments, most of it is just too routine to be anything more than a typical feature of its era and genre.

OK the movie is none too clever, but I did enjoy one or two things. I was impressed that the filmmaker allowed off-screen dialogue although obviously hampered by the difficulty in being unable to have different sound levels. I guess I was most impressed by my first encounter with William Boyd. I guess his hokey, folksy voice went a long way in his future career as "Hopalong", but I must say that I was bowled over by his assured performance and his naturalistic style which for the late twenties was a breath of fresh air. He was particularly impressive in his reflective and thoughtful facial expressions. I sense that his style was ahead of its time and that he could have been a great actor in the Gene Hackman mould in the modern movies.

Eighty six years before Tarantino made THE HATEFUL EIGHT, Pathé used a remarkably similar story to made this surprisingly modern claustrophobic study of what happens when five strangers take refuge together from a blizzard in an abandoned church.

OK, this is a very early talkie but it doesn't display the characteristic problems which a lot of 1929 pictures suffered from. The sound recording, the use of sound effects and the modern approach of hearing different people speaking at the same time and from different rooms makes this feel newer than most very early talkies. Similarly the acting, although still "old school" is so much more natural than you'd expect from a 1929 film. If you didn't know when this was made you might guess it was from the mid-thirties?

This isn't just something to watch out of academic interest. Whilst it's interesting to see what Pathé Exchange were doing before they were taken over by RKO, it's actually worth watching because it's entertaining. It's a little silly to compare this with THE HATEFUL EIGHT but the tension Tarantino created and the intensity and sense of immediacy is skilfully embroidered into this too. For such an old film it's refreshingly intelligent with a script that explores how real believable people (not lazy, one-dimensional stereotypes) interact. Imagine a 1929 version of the tv programme, Big Brother!

William Boyd gives a particularly impressive performance and had he not evolved into a cowboy actor, based on this, you could imagine him becoming a major star. Carol Lombard, although not quite there yet, isn't too bad either especially considering that this was her first talking role - however by 1929 standards, she's brilliant!

Made in 1929 when talking films were still finding their feet, most of the action in this claustrophobic film takes place in an abandonded church.

Several people take shelter from a snow storm when their bus breaks down. Carol Lombard plays Billie, "the girl", who is being taken back to prison. Owen Moore plays "the detective". Diane Ellis (who tragically died in 1931 on her honeymoon) plays "the Kid".Handsome William Boyd plays "the boy", an escapee, who at first is gruff but then becomes a big help to the snow bound inmates. He and Lombard fall for each other and have real chemistry in their scenes together.

It is short on action and very long on talking (and corny dialogue at that) but at 70 minutes it is mercifully short.

Carole Lombard was at the start of a super career when she made this film. She had been in a few shorts including "The Campus Vamp" and "The Swim Princess".

William Boyd had been a successful leading man in the 20s and the next year (1930) would see him in his first western - "The Painted Desert" - after which he would have a long career as Hopalong Cassidy. He proves, in this film, he had a flair for dialogue and a very natural acting style. Both he and Lombard try hard to rise above the trite dialogue. It is clear that they are destined for bigger things.

Owen Moore, who had been in films from the earliest days and was Mary Pickford's first husband plays the detective.

Billy Bevan, a silent comic, was the bus driver.