West of Broadway

Not a great film - it's got far too many dangling loose ends for that - but decent, and better than its reputation. John Gilbert has some really fine scenes, including stoically reacting to his fiancée (Madge Evans) dumping him when he returns from WWI, and cruelly trying to rid himself of a lower class woman (Lois Moran) he marries out of spite the same evening he meets her. The scene after he sleeps with her is particularly chilling. Moran is fine too, aided in part by her character being so likeable and principled, and also because she's charismatic and really delivers in the scenes where she asserts herself.

Much is made of Gilbert's transition to sound films and the downward trajectory he was on in his personal life, which of course led to his early death less than five years later. From my perspective his voice is just fine, and he suffers only because it may not match the viewer's imagination built up over all of his years as a strong leading man in silent films. The morning after his "gin marriage" in the film, Gilbert plays up the character's alcohol problems by shaking and twitching from the DT's, which is poignant given his own struggles.

Some other things to watch for:

• The dancing girls in the nightclub lying on their backs and then proceeding to the equivalent of 'the wave' with their legs.
• The moment when the Swedish friend and Chinese servant blissfully discover they enjoy the sensation of rubbing each other's bellies. I was not a fan of how lame and stereotypical the characters were overall, but this playfully gay moment was something only possible pre-Code.
• The really nice scenes with the characters out on horses on the ranch. The moments between Moran and the cowhand (Ralph Bellamy in his first year of appearing in films), and then later Moran and Gilbert are really quite nice, and close to modern romantic comedy, not bad for 1931.

It's really unfortunate that the film was not fleshed out more, and with so many commenting on studio politics and the deliberate sabotage of Gilbert's career, I was left wondering if that played a hand in editing it down to a too-short 67 minutes. It may leave you hanging on several plot points and characters, but it's entertaining nonetheless.

I'm always leery about a plot that begins with a drunk marrying a girl for almost no reason, only to find out the next day what a mistake it was. And the plot gets worse as people seem to behave without reason. I couldn't believe a minute of the film. (Preview audiences laughed at the goings on.) Still, it is a good film to watch if only to dispel any myths about Gilbert's voice being the cause of his demise as a star in the sound era. His voice is not high-pitched or squeaky (which I had heard) but is rather strong, low-pitched and quite good. You could see he still was an excellent actor. Beautiful Lois Moran was excellent as Gilbert's co-star; I wondered why she virtually quit making movies after 1931. There was one comedy scene I liked, with El Brendel and Willie Fung speaking their broken English and trying to understand each other. Otherwise, even the comedy relief, mostly supplied by El Brendel, was pretty bad.

I was surprised at how much I liked this movie... It is so much better than I thought it would be, Gilbert is so handsome it's startling, he sounds great, the character is interesting and his co star Lois Moran, is charming. It has the feel of an early 30's style romantic farce, which it is , and I absolutely do not understand what people are talking about when they say this film is not good ...My interest is inborn, John Gilbert is my grandfather and until my mother wrote Dark Star after researching his life throughly, I knew little of him. I had never seen his films. I have seen most of them by now and am as much a fan as anyone. I know he must have suffered terribly towards the end of his career and life, but his films, silents and talkies, are simply wonderful to watch, even to a modern mind. As my mother points out in her lectures on his films, the silent film is an art form that stands on its own to the informed observer. Gilbert's talkies, including West Of Broadway are well worth watching.

An alcoholic millionaire heads WEST OF BROADWAY to his Arizona ranch to shake off the paid date he married during a drunken binge.

According to cinematic legend, all the talkie MGM films starring John Gilbert were dreadful - the result of a bitter hatred between Gilbert (the highest paid star in Hollywood, with a $1.5 million contract) & studio boss Louis B. Mayer. A determination on Gilbert's part to fulfill the contract, and a campaign instituted by Mayer to destroy Gilbert's career - including spreading the rumor that Gilbert's voice was `high & feminine', culminated in several unwatchable movies.

Not entirely true. The Studio had a huge financial investment in Jack Gilbert and was not going to completely cut its own throat by showcasing him in nothing but dreck. However, of the 8 MGM talkies in which he appeared as solo star (1929 - HIS GLORIOUS NIGHT; 1930 - REDEMPTION; WAY FOR A SAILOR; 1931 - GENTLEMAN'S FATE; THE PHANTOM OF PARIS; WEST OF BROADWAY; 1932 - DOWNSTAIRS; 1933 - FAST WORKERS) most were certainly rather ghastly. WEST OF BROADWAY, however, was quite decent, and, indeed, fully representative of the material the studio was producing in 1931.

Gilbert gives a dignified performance, with the occasional flash of talent that shows what he might have been capable of had MGM worked harder to give him better material. He is given excellent support by pert Lois Moran, who puts real honesty into her portrayal of a poor girl who grabs her only chance of happiness.

El Brendel, popular dialect comedian of the period, gets some much needed laughs out of his pseudo-Swedish role, although his bizarre tickling sequence with house boy Willie Fung is sure to raise a few eyebrows. Lovely Madge Evans as the woman who jilts Gilbert, Ralph Bellamy as a noble cowboy, Hedda Hopper as a society snob & Gwen Lee as a floozy all do well with their supporting roles. Movie mavens will recognize an uncredited John Miljan as an obnoxious cad.

The film is helped immensely by outdoor location filming during the ranch scenes.

Finally, about The Voice. There was nothing at all strange or unnaturally high about Gilbert's voice. As a matter of fact, it was of medium range & rather cultured & refined. Which was the crux of the problem, of course. While it is possible that no voice could have ever matched the perfect one viewers heard in their minds while watching his strong, virile silent roles, the reality was very different from what they wanted to hear (imagine Robert Montgomery's voice coming out of Clark Gable's mouth.) Gilbert was doomed from his first scene in his debut talkie; his war with Mayer only intensified the agony. He would die in 1936, forgotten by most of his former fans, at the age of only 36.

This picture features John Gilbert who appears to have suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from WWI, and then marries Lois Moran on the rebound while drunk. She then pursues him across the US to prove she really loves him. El Brendel, "Swedish", not Hispanic as you might suppose from the name, is featured as ethnic comic relief. Perhaps more interesting for latter day viewers is the question of what was so charismatic about John Gilbert to silent screen audiences. While his acting (and voice) is adequate, it's certainly not outstanding, and while handsome, his appearance is leading-man ordinary (does anyone else think his nose is too big when seen in profile?).