Road to Paradise

"Road to Paradise" is a 1930 film starring Loretta Young in a dual role.

Mary Brennan is a lovely young woman who is in with thieves who raised her. One night at a Chinese restaurant, they all spot her lookalike, Margaret Waring, who is very wealthy. The cons decide to go to her house while she's out, using Mary as her double, and rip her off. Of course, things don't go off without a couple of hitches.

This film, even though it's short, seems long as it moves slowly. It's a very early sound movie, and the actors hadn't yet perfected the speech rhythms.

Loretta Young is luminously beautiful - here, she's about 17 years old. She does a wonderful job of differentiating between the two women as well. Worth seeing for her, not much else.

Completely bonkers story, weird hammy acting but on the plus side, two Loretta Youngs! Even as a comedy - which I hope this is meant to be - this is a dreadful pile of nonsense. It shouldn't be but inexplicably it's quite a fun watch.

Although director William Beaudine is best known for the Will Hay comedies, his main body of work was churning out literally hundreds of cheap quickies like this. Clearly the maker of WINDBAG THE SAILOR must have had a sense of humour and that permeates all the way through this. The only way for Beaudine to turn such a ridiculous story into a picture without dying of boredom must have been to subversively make it as an absurdist comedy. Either that or he was just a terrible director?

No, he's not a terrible director - the visuals, the fluidity and even the sound recording is pretty reasonable. Considering this was made on Warner's cumbersome old sound on disc equipment, you have to concede that he showed quite some skill. Despite these excuses, it's still a pitiful story.

Because nobody really takes this seriously you can simply enjoy the fun everyone clearly had making this. With a plot where a bunch of armed robbers shoot a guy's girlfriend then that guy instantly falls in love with one of the gang who tried to murder his girlfriend because she looks like the her, how could anyone imagine this was a proper film? .....but gentlemen , if Loretta Young robbed you and was responsible for the attempted murder of the love of your life, wouldn't you fall in love with her? Come on - it's Loretta Young!

Don't let your brain stop you from watching this, just lower your expectation bar to zero and you might just enjoy it.

Please make an effort to view this early talkie drama even if you're not a Loretta Young fan. Here is a fluidly filmed thriller showing an overlooked director at the height of his great powers.

Before you glance back at the top of the page and go "William Beaudine? No way!", I know this is the guy whose name appeared in big, cursive letters before the Bowery Boys did their stuff. Yes, this IS the director of "Bela Lugosi Meets A Brooklyn Gorilla", "Green Hornet" TV shows, and finished his career with the unforgettable "Billy The Kid vs. Dracula". I couldn't believe it either, but after watching 1925's "Little Annie Rooney", I was so impressed that I checked his biography. Not only was the same man, his numbers were amazing. Beaudine directed over 250 feature films in 51 years, numerous TV shows (including 70 "Lassie" episodes), and at the time of his death was recognized as Hollywood's oldest active director. I then purchased and viewed Mary Pickford in "Sparrows". The performances he coaxed from these children was only surpassed by the splendid visuals he arranged. And on the strength of this, I chose to view "The Road To Paradise".

The film concerns itself with two crooks [one high-line, one common] who have raised an orphan girl. While discussing their next caper, she ARRIVES. A perfectly composed frame fills with a face both radiant and smiling as though she's surprised by a best friend. I've seen Loretta Young all my life, but NEVER have I seen her look so natural and personal. George Barraud and Jack Mulhall as her crook 'parents' comport agreeably and soon draw their ward, Mary (Young) into their latest scheme. While discussing the crime, Mary reveals one of her para-normal talents to be that of mind reading (made possible by her highly empathetic nature). I won't discuss the plot further, but should point out Loretta has a dual role which is handled flawlessly. Don't waste your time trying to catch a split screen or double because you won't. I still framed sequences and can assure you, the director has gotten away with it.

The film creates unrelenting tension throughout. Unlike other early talkies, "drawing room" scenes are broken into many different set-ups with the viewers' perspective constantly changing. These shifts are small and you never get lost in the room. Another plus is a very nice rooftop sequence with many different set-ups.

Mr. Beaudine filmed this as "Cornered", a 1920 silent. Write me if you know where I can see it.

There is nothing of highways or of heaven in this film, so I don't know why it was named as it was. Loretta Young plays a foundling raised by a couple of thieves who decide to rob rich girl Margaret Waring, who looks just like Loretta's character, Mary Brennan, trading on the fact that the two are physically identical. Unfortunately once inside the rich girl's darkened mansion things begin to go awry. The rich girl's boyfriend shows up (Jack Mulhall) and Mary must make him believe she is the real thing - she does all too good a job of it. Then the real Margaret Waring reappears at the house unexpectedly, there's a shooting, Mary's accomplices desert her, and the police arrive at the scene to find two Margaret Warings, one of whom is unconscious.

So what's goofy about the plot besides what I've mentioned? Well, there's a rather far-fetched mind reading plot device that figures heavily into matters, the fact that the police are examining every tree for evidence yet manage to miss the forest, and that Jack Mulhall's character can fall in love based on three sentences from someone who is - at the time - just trying to get rid of him.

The whole thing is a rather suspenseful yet fun mystery/comedy of errors. It really is one of Warner's better early talkie efforts. What's really amazing here is that Loretta Young was only 17 when she made this one yet she can hold her own with any of the older leading actresses of the day that made such drawing room dramas.

Road to Paradise (1930)

** (out of 4)

Incredibly far fetched drama about a young woman (Loretta Young) who helps two criminals rob from her look alike. This is certainly a film you'd have to see to believe because the story is so far fetched that you can never take it serious. The screenwriter made the mistake of making this a drama when it probably would have worked better as a screwball comedy. The ending is so out there you can't help but laugh when it's supposed to be dramatic. Young gives a good performance in her duel role but the rest of the cast is pretty dull. Directed by William Beaudine.