Maison de danses

"Maison de danses" is Maurice Tourneur's second talkie ,after "Accusée ,levez-vous";this is a routine melodrama : an orphan becomes a glamour dancer in a "maison de danses"(an obsolete term today) where she is wooed by three men ready to kill each other for her. But everything will work out fine, thanks to a mistaken identity ,in a facile denouement.

The best is the beginning,which first shows a thermometer ,then a harbor overcome by the heat where people are sleeping in the midday sun ; it really takes the film out of the filmed stage production ;Charles Vanel's presence is also an asset ,but it's a far cry from Tourneur's masterpieces "Volpone" and "la main du diable".