Framed

This is a solid gangster film. It's interesting as it is precode and it's very sinister on multiple levels.

The plot does take twists and turns and it keeps you interested. The performances are solid, sufficient, believable, but seeing once is enough....

The career of Evelyn Brent probably peaked in the end of the silent era. She made three pics with von Sternberg (Underworld; Last Command; and The Dragnet) and a solid effort with William Wellman (Woman Trap) and did make the jump to talkies, but none of HER pics were successful. This one is mostly straight revenge, taking out her emotions through the cop's son, played by a very young William Holden. Brent has an undisputable presence, and an intriguing nose, and her gowns and dresses are frequently revealing...one or two are cut so low in the back that they would be fashionable and mildly daring today. Fans of early talkies will love this!

The cop's son, as correctly identified in the cast list, is played by Regis Toomey, not by "a very young William Holden" as stated by another viewer.

William Holden (I) (1918-1981) did not enter films until 1938.

The William Holden (II) in this film (1862-1932) is a much older character actor, who plays Inspector McArthur, and who is no relation to his better known latter day namesake.

Considering the six year gap between their two careers, there is really no reason to confuse the two actors.

For further information on Regis Toomey, consult his webpage.

Police Inspector William Holden tells Evelyn Brent that his men have killed her father during an arrest. She decides she will have her vengeance. It takes five years before it becomes a possibility, when she's singing at her lover's night club. Ralf Harolde is a gangster himself, but neither he nor Miss Brent know that Regis Toomey is Holden's son until he tells her, and she sees his love for her a path to revenge.

There's a lovely ur-noir sequence that opens the movie with Miss Brent being interrogated by the police, and the darkness in the cinematic world persists for the first ten or fifteen minutes, until the somewhat soap-opera-like plot takes over, with Toomey improbably naive.

That's not the William Holden who was a major star from about 1940 through his death in the early 1980s. This was an earlier fellow with the same name; he died in 1932 at the age of 69 after a long career on stage and in film.

Creaky, but Sometimes Clever, this Early Talkie was Headlined by Evelyn Brent, Hardly a Household Name. But Her Acting Ability, Especially Making the Transition from the Silents, is Obvious and She Shines in this Male Oriented Gangster Film.

Regis Toomey, in an Early Role, is Underused and Bland, but as Brent Carries the Film it Plods Along with the Expected Datedness that Plagued the Era from 1927-to about 1933. Hollywood's Transition from Silents to Talkies was, Like All Births, Painful at Times.

This One Fares Pretty Good, but Cannot Escapes the Confines of its Playdate. Worth a Watch to See the Unknown Brent and as a Bridge Roughly Traveled as Filmdom was Finding its Feet with New Technology. The Opening and Closing are Stylistic and Connected, the Middle Meanders a bit, but Manages to be Entertaining Enough to Recommend.

Note...There is very little Pre-Code Inclusions worth noting and the Film would have passed the Censors with no problem.