Untamed

Untamed is a dusty old creaker that has the distinction of being Joan Crawford's first talkie after years of mostly forgettable silent films. The plot is about an oil heiress named Bingo (Crawford) raised in the jungle by her father. She's pretty much a wild child though nothing like Tarzan. More like a hillbilly or something I guess. She's uncouth, as the kids might say. Anyway her father is killed and his two friends (Holmes Herbert and an overacting Ernest Torrence) decide to take her to New York to become civilized. On the ship she meets Robert Montgomery and falls in love. Being this is Joan's first talking picture, I'll cut her some slack. Her acting in the dramatic scenes was pretty bad but she does better with the comedy. Overall, a curio but nothing more. If you're a die-hard fan of Joan's, check it out. Otherwise you're not missing anything.

"Bingo" is exactly the word! This film hits all the right spots and its not all about Joan Crawford, who simply sparkles. I fell totally in love with her character!

It is not by accident that IMDb lists 107 films by Director Jack Conway between 1912 and 1948. This was his 72nd film according to that chronology and his expertise shows. I found it thoroughly engrossing and continuously entertaining. I laughed aloud often -- some really great gags and a fine early sit-com.

I don't know much about the writer Charles E. Scoggins, but co-writer Sivia Thalberg is credited with 15 films and is the sister of Irving Thalberg. That ought to tell you this film deserves close attention. Don't allow yourself to think of it as "cornball" and just engross yourself in it. You won't be disappointed.

One of the first MGM soundies full of music, dance, drama and Joan Crawford! The early Crawford personality emerges as a feisty, likable, love-of-life character and she is wonderful! She is so different from her later 50's and 60's roles. If you have not viewed any of Crawford's silent movies or the early soundies, you should consider it. You can see the emergence of her acting abilities and even peg some of her acting characteristics that she carried with her throughout her entire 50 year career. Ernest Torrence is an engaging father figure, a marvelous character actor. Robert Montgomery (who appeared with JC six times) is the love interest torn between culture and animal. Lloyd Ingraham appears as the Crawford character's father early on. A must-see for film lovers interested in viewing early sound films.

''Untamed'' surprised & delighted me, in the way, that I've never seen Joan play such a sassy, upbeat role before...... It's totally different from all her other roles, and I don't think, she played another similar part after...... Joan plays her part ''Bingo'', so charmingly & adorably...... (in a way, naive & innocent) It's really not something, Joan fans are used to watching...... This proves again, Joan's versatility, and her capability to do comedy...... Even though, certain parts in ''Untamed'' were silly & offbeat...... I really didn't seem to care, or really noticed it...... Because, Joan & Robert Montgomery had such marvelous chemistry together..... (It's always a refreshing & fun experience watching them every time) They had so much give and take, in their scenes together....... ''Untamed'' is obviously dated, but in a classy, old fashioned way...... What ''Untamed'' has, that other same genre movie lacks today is, ''classy romance''....... I recommend Joan & Robert Montgomery fans to check out this movie...... Really wished Joan & Robert could've made movies together...... They're simply superb, each time they team together......

Both leads were perfectly cast in the silly romance Untamed. Joan Crawford played a wild gypsy, who, after being exposed to civilization for the first time, still acts like a savage beast. Robert Montgomery plays a refined society playboy who falls for Joan's beauty and tries to kindly educate her with better manners. She tries to scare off female competition, and Bob tells her she just can't go around threatening to punch people in the nose. "Why not?" she asks.

In her early, very pretty days, Joan eats up her scenes with energy and hilarious melodrama. The film itself is very dated, so I can't imagine anyone wanting to watch it unless they're a fan of the cast. Nowadays, it's looked at as misogynistic to try and tame a woman's wild impulses and get her to act like a "lady". But in 1929, it was very funny to watch the glamorous Joan Crawford embarrass herself in polite society. Give this movie a watch if you like her early days, and you'll be rewarded with a couple of dance numbers, as well as a song from Robert Montgomery!