The Hole in the Wall

I used to correspond with Robert Florey, who directed the early-talkie Paramount feature, "The Hole in the Wall" (1929). He told me that Edward G. Robinson, one of the many stage actors hired by the studios for their vocal ability, sound pictures then coming into their own, tended to, in this, his first talkie, "play to the camera"; hence Florey having to lie to him as to which of the multiple cameras on the set was the active one! He also mentioned that, upon learning of a train derailment, he and his crew rushed to the site and worked footage of the wreck into the movie. He kindly put me in touch with Ernst Fegte (1900 -- 1976), who was his Art Director (Paramount not crediting this in their films back then, one doesn't see Fegte listed as such in the numerous online articles dealing with his impressive career). Fegte, if I recall correctly, was working in television at the time, employed by Filmways. Aside from Florey haranguing him, in his pronounced French accent, for "my ghosts" he wanted for the eerie walls of the crystal-ball set (the medium enacted by Claudette Colbert), he recalled nothing of the large spooks he depicted. So, to refresh his memory, I sent him a rare 8 x 10 linen-backed keybook still of the scene, and that was the last I ever saw of my photo or ever heard from Fegte!

Cordially, Ray Cabana, Jr.

The Hole in the Wall (1929)

** (out of 4)

Edward G. RObinson plays a man known as The Fox, the leader of a group of thieves. They get away with so many crimes due to help from a psychic but when she is killed the leader fears their criminal days are over. That's until they meet Jean Oliver (Claudette Colbert) who agrees to help them as long as they help her kidnap a child from a woman who caused her to go to jail.

THE HOLE IN THE WALL is a pretty ridiculous drama story that should have been re-written a few times before it was actually filmed. THe film has pretty much been forgotten today except to those who want to see two future legends in their talkie debuts. While the film is pretty stupid all around, the appeal of the two stars makes it worth watching.

As I said, the screenplay here is certainly the worst thing about the picture as the entire thing is just way too dumb to make you actually care about anything going on. The entire thing with the psychic just doesn't work and at times it becomes rather laughable. I'm guess since this was an early talkie the screenwriters just through everyone would be caught up in the dialogue that they wouldn't pay attention to how silly the story was.

The one good thing about the film is that it clocks in at just 63- minutes so it's certainly over before you know it. Both Robinson and Colbert are decent enough in their roles but I'm not sure anyone watching this in 1929 would have guessed that they'd go on to become legends.

"The Hole in the Wall" is an early part-talkie, well-directed by Robert Florey but saddled with a plot that Tod Browning might have cooked up for Lon Chaney on a bad day. Several themes beloved of Browning (and often used in Chaney's movies) are prominently used here, including a gang of crooks and phoney mediums, and (shades of "West of Zanzibar") a plot to corrupt an innocent girl in order to get revenge on her parent. The "hole in the wall" in this movie's title is in the crooks' hideout: it's a peephole with a periscope, which the phoney medium uses to spy on her victims, so that she can gain information about them before she meets them, and impress her victims with her "psychic" abilities.

Claudette Colbert (still learning the techniques of film acting) stars as Jean Oliver, who was sent to prison on false testimony by snooty society dame Mrs Ramsay. After spending several years in prison, now Jean is out and hell-bent on revenge. She plans to kidnap Mrs Ramsay's little daughter Marcia, and raise the girl as a thief in a Fagin-like environment. Jean hopes that Marcia will grow up to be an habitual thief, get arrested and acquire a criminal record ... and then Jean will get her revenge by revealing herself to Mrs Ramsay as the person responsible for her daughter's corruption.

The climax of the film is meant to be very exciting, when little golden-haired Marcia is a prisoner in the dockyards, trapped on a quayside ladder while the tide rises. Unfortunately, the untalented child actress who plays the kidnap victim keeps screeching "Mama! Mama!" over and over, on a very bad soundtrack. We're supposed to be concerned about the plight of a kidnapped child who's in danger of drowning, but I kept wishing the brat would shut her gob and quit yapping.

The soundtrack is VERY bad, and I don't think it's just because I saw a very scratchy old print of this film. In the late 1920s and early 30s, the Fox Movietone method of sound recording (which this film uses) was vastly inferior to the Vitaphone process used by Warner Brothers. I give credit to director Florey and his screenwriter (Pierre Collinge) for intelligently shaping the story to incorporate sound effects legitimately, at a time when many part-talkie films used sound effects merely for stunt purposes. But the dialogue is badly written, apart from its poor sound fidelity. Groucho Marx, who worked with the French-born Florey in "The Cocoanuts" later this same year, claimed that Florey had difficulty speaking English ... which might explain why Florey allowed such wretchedly bad dialogue to get past him in "The Hole in the Wall".

There's an exciting scene of a train crash on an elevated railway, and throughout the film the photography is excellent, as are the lighting and the shot-framing. This film's many good points outweigh its numerous bad points.

THE HOLE IN THE WALL is a crime melodrama where only one gun is seen fleetingly. Edward G. Robinson stars as "The Fox", leader of a small gang who has found a new racket that's a cinch, running a fake spiritual medium which finds out information about the belongings of rich believing clients which he then steals. When his "Madame Mysteria" is killed in a railway crash (an incredibly cheap "special effect" badly done with toys which even 1929 audience must have laughed at) he is without a female front for the organization. Within hours into the dungeon-like headquarters/business walks Claudette Colbert, fresh out of jail after being falsely accused of theft. Unable to find a job, she comes the headquarters having heard she might could find a place in the racket from sources she knew in the slammer. Robinson immediately sees her as his new medium and after a practice bit, she agrees to do it - in exchange for her own illegal scheme - she wants to kidnap the granddaughter of the woman who framed her and keep her, raising her as a crook she was accusing of being.

This 1929 melodrama is quite bad and yet rather interesting. This is mainly thanks to top-billed Claudette Colbert, clearly a natural for films, she gives a smooth performance in a highly wavering film. Edward G. Robinson does come not off quite as well and he is hampered by the heavy makeup often given men in mediocre early talkies, black lips and all. It's easy to see why Paramount kept her and passed on him. The big surprise is David Newell, the second lead, who does a very competent job as the good-looking young reporter who turns out to have been an old beau of Claudette's. Newell is very much the type of leading man Paramount loved - he definitely foreshadows Ray Milland and Fred MacMurray - yet his stint as a Paramount player was brief (he appears to have been let go during the massive cutbacks of late 1930 which saw Jean Arthur, Mary Brian, and many other secondary performers canned at the studio.) Newell was playing small parts in 1932 and by 1933 he was beginning an extremely long career as an unbilled bit player.

Meek character actor Donald Meek makes a rather unconvincing gang member and then there is a character supposedly purchased from a freak show named "Dogface" who is kept around inexplicably since he never really has anything to do in the story. Louise Closser Hale's grande dame is written so imperviously she's barely given pause to the fact that her granddaughter is missing with no leads. Actress Nellie Salvage, a minor player in silent films, has her only talking role as the ill-fated Madame.

The print I viewed was in quite good shape, however it ran only 63 minutes although there was no continuity problem suggesting it may have never been the 73 minutes IMDb lists it at. The movie is also a complete talkie, although there are a few seconds of non-sound when characters appear to be conversing but this was probably dropouts in the print.

The movie ends somewhat abruptly, as often appears to be the case in early Paramount talkies. The set designer and cinematographer do a considerably better job creating a fairly spooky, creepy ambiance than does director Florey. Worth seeing only as a curio - or for fans of the cast.

It's incredible to see how they managed to get every single aspect of filmmaking so wrong. Even the featured train wreck is a complete train wreck. It's so atrocious that you just keep watching to see if it can get worse - and boy, does it!

Just because this was made in 1928 is no excuse for how virtually unwatchable this picture is. 1928/29 productions from the likes of Von Sternberg, deMille, Arzner, Mamoulian and a few others are still watchable and entertaining today but this - this is so embarrassing you wouldn't want anyone to know you've actually seen it. People in 1929 can only have gone to experience this because of the novelty of seeing a talkie (even though much better alternatives were available). People today should simply avoid this.

The story, dialogue, direction, acting, photography, special effects are all as bad as bad can be. It's hard to which is worst but the story must be number one contender. Amazingly this is actually based on a real play which people actually paid money to see - apparently not a children's play either. It has to be one of the most stupid plots I've ever seen. I know that the police back then didn't have the highest of reputations but even my dog could have figured out what was going on with this bunch of con artists - the thickest bunch of criminals you'll ever see involved in the most unrealistic stupid, stupid racket ever.

If the plot isn't bad enough to make you wonder if you've been given LSD, wait until you've witnessed what Robert Florey considered acting. Yes that really is Edward G and Claudette Colbert but like the great Walter Huston in the equally awful GENTLEMEN OF THE PRESS, this demonstrates that without a director who knew what he was doing, the most talented of actors can appear like five year olds in a school nativity play.

It's also shocking to witness that era's sensitive and caring attitude towards mental health issues. For reasons completely and utterly unexplained, the gang keep "a lunatic" in their basement. Other than screaming like an animal every now and then, he doesn't seem to have any purpose whatsoever in the story. To deal with this inconvenience, someone suggests: Why don't you send him back to the carnival where he belongs? Incredible!

As awful as this is, you can't tear yourself away from this nonsense.