Why Be Good?

On the 50th floor of a modern skyscraper in New York City, handsome young millionaire Neil Hamilton (as Winthrop Peabody Jr.) has a wild party to celebrate a new job managing his father's department store. In a poorer section of town, perky flapper Colleen Moore (as Pert Kelly) dances at fast-motion to "Sweet Georgia Brown" in a Charleston contest. A clear winner, Ms. Moore is also one of the thousand "cuties" employed as a clerk at Peabody's department store. Later, she hooks up with Mr. Hamilton at a hot roadhouse called "The Boiler". Moore angers her parents by arriving home late, but she really lives a virtuous life. However, Moore is late for work and ordered to see the new store manager...

Moore's last silent is very nicely produced, for its star, by John McCormick. Director William A. Seiter and his crew present Moore in a flattering light, and give us a tasteful peak at her underwear in a couple of scenes. Trying to make time with Moore before she meets Hamilton, amorously greasy Louis Natheaux (as Jimmy Alexander) is a stand-out. Carey Wilson's story was a standard for the time. A pretty clerk getting attention from an (ideally, department store) millionaire was a common fantasy. The plot was well-worn, and doesn't fit the "flapper" girl. Mary Pickford and Clara Bow had released finer films on the topic. Moore's best rags-to-riches story is, appropriately, "Ella Cinders" (1926)...

This was Moore's final "silent" film. She transitioned to the "talkies" as well-spoken, but without distinction. Moore was likely hurt by being so closely associated with a bygone era. She was #1 in the industry's "Quigley Poll" of box-office stars for 1926. "Why Be Good" finds its star acting almost purely with the exaggerated silent mannerisms associated with silents. In the past, Moore demonstrated some of the subtly and style which would prove useful in all-talking pictures; but, here, she makes her preference known. The recently re-discovered print of "Why Be Good?" is spectacular, and it survives with its beautifully rendered "Synchronized Musical Score and Sound Effects" track. Let's see more...

****** Why Be Good? (1929-02-28) William A. Seiter ~ Colleen Moore, Neil Hamilton, Louis Natheaux, Bodil Rosing

This is a simple but charming film showing why Colleen Moore became a star and an incarnation of the Flapper. She plays a working class girl who likes dancing and night life and dates with her boss-to-be (Neil Hamilton) without any of them knowing this. They like each other but will have to deal with doubts on their mutual behavior. The plot is not much, but the acting is fresh, the action follows a good pace and Miss Moore is natural, vivacious and convincing. The rest of the cast is also good, specially Bodil Rosing playing her sympathetic mother.

This film and Synthetic Sin were supposed to be lost but were located in Italy and carefully restored starting in 2012, and finally reissued for us all to enjoy. Thanks to the Vitaphone team, Warner, UCLA and Bologna archives, and to Joe Yranski, a film historian who gave the connection to locate the films. And this one is certainly worth it! The image quality is superior, a pleasure to watch as it should have been in its day. Even for a late silent from 1929 which was released with an added sonorized soundtrack with Vitaphone syncronized discs. This adds plenty of jazz music of the moment. The dialogues (titles), settings and clothes are amazingly modern, with a ceiling mirror ball in the dancing hall far ahead the 70s ones and high heeled sequined shoes. Mischa Auer, Andy Devine and Jean Harlow can be spotted as extras.

As a whole, highly recommended, and deserving to be known.

"Why Be Good?" is a cultural treasure, not only because it's one of the few extant Colleen Moore features of the silent era, but because it has been crisply restored and boasts one of most voluptuous synchronized soundtracks of any late silent feature. As Leonard Maltin explained in his post-broadcast discussion on Turner Classic Movies which aired Sept. 28, 2015, the soundtrack musicians included such jazz greats as Joe Venuti and Tommy Dorsey. Vintage numbers including "I'm Thirsty for Kisses and Hungry for Love," "If You Want the Rainbow, You Must Have the Rain," "Tall, Dark and Handsome," "Flapperette," "Changes," "Le Chant des Boulevards" and "That's Her Now" as well as era-evocative nuggets by William Axt, Hugo Riesenfeld and others, accompany the jaunty proceedings. If Moore was was ever better I'd like to see evidence. She had the face, the hair and the attitude that have come to epitomize "flapper." In early talkies WBG's leading man, Neil Hamilton had a stodgy presence, but is more palatable in silence; if Moore was the ultimate flapper of her time, Hamilton was her equal in the young WASP romantic lead department. Louis Natheaux as a vainglorious would-be dance hall Casanova is the most entertaining supporting player in the early scenes, while Bodil Rosing and John Sainpolis serve the scenario effectively as Moore's parents.

The film showcases in a well-appointed and neatly packaged way the controversies about the role of women at the time. Objecting to her father's strictures about dress code and leisure activities, Moore argues that if she works to contribute to household upkeep, then she has a right to look like she wants (bobbed hair, lipstick, revealing dresses) and do what she wants (stay out half the night dancing, drink illegal alcohol, smoke cigarettes and ride around with men she's just met – in moderation, of course). These conflicts had been hashed out in countless films , including Moore's own "Flaming Youth" (1923) before this one was released. WBG then could well be characterized as the Last Word on flappers.

Though not a part of the soundtrack, the popular song of the time "She's a New Kind of Old Fashioned Girl" perfectly suits the Moore character ("Underneath the paint / You will find a saint…")

recently restored--combined missing disk with footage--Vitaphone Project

This film is a great example of a supposedly lost film that was found due to the so-called 'Vitaphone Project'. Because early Vitaphone sound films consisted of both the film footage AND an accompanying record for sound, many movies seemed to be only available as sound discs or film footage. However, with the internet age, the Vitaphone Project has managed to track down BOTH copies of many films and film shorts--the record and film have finally been reunited! So, although "Why Be Good?" has been considered lost for years, here it is---for the first time in many, many decades.

Like many of these early sound films, it really is NOT a talking picture but a silent with a soundtrack. A few songs in the film also are sung live by the actors. Otherwise, it's a traditional silent film. As for the soundtrack, it's actually at times too invasive and generally too loud! I actually wish, at times, there was no soundtrack!

As for the film, it's a romantic comedy about flappers--in particular, Pert Kelly (Colleen Moore). Pert LOVES to party and goes out all the time with her friends in order to dance. One night, she meets a nice guy, Winthrop Peabody Jr. (Neil Hamilton) and they fall in love. Later, she learns that he's her boss at the department store! The problem is that Winthrop Sr. is worried that Pert might be a bit of a slut. After all, she loves to party, loves to dance and is clearly a flapper. So what's next? See the film.

This is a pretty good film and is one of the last silent-style films from Warner Brothers. The story is good and talks about the double- standard for ladies--the need to be fun, adventurous, rather slutty and yet chaste! My only real complaint is the ending--which seems to come rather abruptly.

Why Be Good? was shown at the Silent Film Festival 2015 in San Francisco, in a 1920's movie house with a live orchestra. You can't get better than that! The line to get in went around the block, but it was sooo worth it: a rediscovered and just-restored silent film at a packed art-house theater which happened to be built a few years before this film's original theatrical release, with live musicians playing along so marvelously, it's hard to top it.

We were given brochures and there was a pre-screening talk. It was there I learned that the film's star, Colleen Moore, died thinking all copies of the movie had been forever lost, including her reels which she'd given to a museum for preservation. But just like with Metropolis recently, someone at a cinematheque found a copy and after years of painstaking restoration work it was brought again to the world.

I loved it. Colleen was so great portraying a flapper, and in a full house she and the other actors sure made us laugh a lot. I was very impressed with the Art Deco sets, the ingenious Boiler Room scene, and the moral of the story which I won't spoil. But yes there was a moral in the midst of all the dancing and comedy, and it was one that made all the women in the theater cheer!

So big kudos to the restoration folks, and the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra for the superb live accompaniment. It makes me wish every movie I attended had live musicians now.