Le Baiser devant le miroir

James Whale, the director of FRANKENSTEIN and BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN already proved that he was not only a horror and fantasy film maker, but also a solid director in any domain. This tremendous little and short film offers, proposes a very unusual and unpredictable plot which the scheme has not been used much since. I have rarely, if not never, seen this before. Maybe I am wrong. Anyway, the much talking is unavoidable for a 1931 and it is the only flaw of this feature. The quality of the copy I just saw was excellent and this enhances the great photography of this film. Unfortunately the last part, last reel, smashes the whole material. The ending is awful, I expected far more. But this film remains a gem.

Though Universal had acquired prestige with the Oscar-winning ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930), it was still not regarded as a major studio at the time; consequently, most of their productions were allotted a B-movie budget and barely lasted over an hour and a quarter (this one, in fact, clocks in at 68 minutes) – even those made by their top director of the era, Whale! In fact, this one is partly filmed on the memorable Expressionist sets from his first great success FRANKENSTEIN (1931) – notably the forest, laboratory and university auditorium, converted here to a private garden, prison cell and courtroom – which lends the whole added texture and renders it fascinating viewing for horror buffs!

Even so, this proves a melodrama with a uniquely tense and compelling premise: a lawyer defending his best friend, accused of killing his faithless wife, begins to suspect that his own spouse is cheating on him – so that his impassioned (and sensationalistic) speech, tinged with personal angst, results in the acquittal of the murderer! Marked by elaborate camera-work (courtesy of the renowned Karl Freund), the film also features constant mirror imagery (playing on the all-important theme of duplicity). The acting often resorts to histrionics (Paul Lukas, in his first of 3 roles for the director, as the defendant virtually spends the whole trial with face buried in his hands!) but is nonetheless impressive – especially Frank Morgan's protagonist lawyer, since he is mostly known for befuddled comedy roles!; also on hand are Gloria Stuart (appearing as the murder victim and, thus, killed off in the very first scene!: she also worked 3 times with Whale, including 2 of his horror classics), Walter Pidgeon (an early role as her lover) and Charley Grapewin (as Morgan's assistant, who is something of a frustrated philosopher!).

Interestingly, Whale felt he could improve upon the film and remade it just 5 years later as WIVES UNDER SUSPICION (in which Morgan's brother Ralph played the accused!); however, though I recall liking it quite a bit when I watched it 5 years ago {sic}, I feel this is the superior version (if still some way behind his seminal horror work)...since, by then, the director's career was already in decline and, so, the resources were even more meager!

In The Kiss Before the Mirror, both male leads are given the opportunity to play against type. Paul Lukas plays a murderer, and Frank Morgan plays a responsible lawyer who gets influenced by Paul's power of suggestion and starts to have very dark thoughts. This movie might not stand the test of time in many ways, but if you like the cast, you might want to rent it.

Paul starts off married to Gloria Stuart, but when he catches her with her lover, a very young Walter Pidgeon, he kills her. He tells his best friend and lawyer Frank that he started to suspect Gloria was being unfaithful when she dolled up in front of the mirror and he could tell it wasn't for him. As he describes his motives to Frank and the emotional torture he felt before the murder, Frank starts to notice similar behaviors in his own happy marriage to Nancy Carroll. . .

Yes, the subject matter and directing style is a bit dated in this film. Modern audiences might not find it appealing to watch a movie about a man killing his wife and justifying it; a gender-reversal would perhaps be more tempting. However, it is fun sometimes to curl up on a rainy afternoon and watch a very old movie to see how people acted back them and how films were made. Frank Morgan wasn't always the Wizard of Oz, and Gloria Stuart wasn't always the old lady who survived the Titanic. If you like this type of courtroom thriller, check out Night Court for a plot with three times as many twists and turns.

This is not a horror movie. James Whale is best known for those. (His 1936 "Showboat," on the other hand is my absolute favorite movie musical, bar none.) This one is a brief but insightful character study.

Frank Morgan plays a famous lawyer engrossed in a murder case. He finds himself identifying with the jealous husband of a beautiful woman.

He identifies a little too strongly. He begins to see in his own wife the behavior of his client's wife.

Morgan's wife is played by one of the most charming of early movie actresses: Nancy Carroll. I've seen her primarily in light comedy, where she is absolutely charming. She has a quirkiness that resembles that of Janet Gaynor. And she physically resembles the ultra-sexy Clara Bow.

Her career was short, apparently by her own choice. This is one of her best roles. And, though it's atypical and little known, it's a very fine example of James Whale's masterful touch.

The only other James Whale movie that I have seen, except for his classics, "Frankenstein," "Bride of Frankenstein" and "Invisible Man," was "the Old Dark House." I liked "the Old Dark House," but it wasn't a masterpiece like the other three.

I have never seen "Wizard of Oz" title character Frank Morgan in a leading role, so I always assumed he was a character actor, but he easily carries the film in this case. His wife is played by Nancy Carroll who starred in some 35 films from 1928 to 1935. She is quite fine. Gloria Stuart, famous for the Titanic (1997) has appears briefly in the film. Jean Dixon, as a very sharp statuesque woman lawyer nearly steals the picture with a sharp sense of humor.

The movie is about obsession, love and murder. Whale does a wonderful job of balancing comedy with tense scary moments as he did in "Bride" and "Invisible Man." The movie is very humanist and really solidifies the idea of him being a great auteur director. There's an hilarious scene of two gay newspaper men commenting on the trial. The movie is tight and short, barely over an hour, so it can't be called a masterpiece, but it does manage a lot of emotional intensity for a film of this length and this time period.