Indiscreet

Indiscreet was directed by legendary Leo McCarey and starred superstar Gloria Swanson as a woman who hides her past only to find her ex-boyfriend has taken up with her sister. Dumb plot but played for laughs. Swanson was a marvelous light actress and she looks great here. She sings well and, in only her 3rd talkie, has mastered the new medium. Swanson had a great voice and you hear it here--all the inflections and phrasing-- 20 years before her masterpiece, Sunset Boulevard. What a talent. Too bad after The Trespasser in 1929 her films did not do well at the box office. Ben Lyon is the handsome leading man. Monroe Owsley is the creepy boyfriend. Maude Eburne is funny at the aunt. Arthur Lake, Barbara Kent, Nella Walker and Henry Kolker co-star.

Indiscreet is a pleasant film in the vein of a P. G. Wodehouse farce with many charming moments. The dialogue is consistently sharp, often amusing, and is similar to the comedic repartee of later films by Preston Sturges, Billy Wilder, and Frank Capra.

The plot revolves around a coquette, Geraldine Trent (Gloria Swanson), who finds the perfect man (Ben Lyon), only to be tempted by an old flame (Monroe Owsley). The choice she makes is easily predictable to connoisseurs of romantic comedy, but the plot is of secondary importance due to the presence of Gloria Swanson.

Prior to viewing Indiscreet, I had never seen Swanson in any other film aside from Billy Wilder's mesmerizing Sunset Boulevard. To see Swanson in this film is to be in awe of her magnetism and talent as an actress. A far cry from some 'one-note' comediennes of the silent era, Swanson imbues an otherwise shallow character with a layered personality. She is truly a forgotten gem of early cinema.

In contrast to Swanson's star power, Ben Lyon is flat and devoid of charm as her love interest. Supposedly one of the more popular stars of Hollywood, I fail to see any justification for such laurels. Indeed, a cardinal sin of any film is when the villain or rival is more charming and attractive than the hero. This film is guilty of that sin with a far more interesting Monroe Owsley cast as the rival.

Despite the lackluster performance of Lyon and some predictable elements, Indiscreet is an entertaining film. At the very least, watch Indiscreet to glimpse a young Gloria Swanson at the height of her powers.

Indiscreet (1931)

"I guess I'm just a modern girl with an old fashion conscience." This is Gloria Swanson's character facing what must have been a nearly universal problem of a young woman in the 1920s and 30s. (The parallel these days would be the problem many women face of choosing between career and family.) The problem is severe here, because it has to do with love. And women were expected to save their virtue (at least physically) for the one they would marry. And if they did not "wait" (as no doubt many or most did not, one way or another), should the "tell" the one they are to be with for good.

This is a lot to handle--it's real, it matters, and it treads on themes not easily touched in movies without being too frank. Luckily this is pre-Code Hollywood and there was room for diving in, a little.

The best parts of this movie are simply incredible. The writing and acting in the long scene about twenty minutes in is as tender and honest and nuanced as it gets. The man playing against Swanson in this section is good, an excellent support who doesn't overplay his hand, but it's Swanson who makes it a sincerely felt and penetrating.

The filming throughout is fairly simple. Sometimes there is a sense of camera movement to help inhabit the space, but more often it's about tight framing and composition, which is just a step from the frozen camera on a tripod. This pushes more importance on the actors, their movements and expressions.

Swanson is most famous as a silent actress. This is partly because she really was a legendary silent star (her most famous movies might be "Sadie Thompson" in 1928 or the earlier "Don't Change Your Husband", but she also did a quasi-pre-cursor to this, "The Scarlet Letter" in 1926). But Swanson is also the great silent icon in Billy Wilder's 1950 "Sunset Blvd," and this oddly is her greatest fame (and for good reason, she's amazing, as is the movie). But here, in 1931, we have an early talkie with Swanson doing just fine in normal voice, even singing some.

The director here, it might be fun to note, also directed such enduring gems as the two versions of the same story, "Love Affair" and "Affair to Remember," as well as a pair of snappy Dunne/Grant movies. This one shows the early talent for comedy and serious drama rolled into a single movie with surprising force.

To be clear, there are lots of this movie that don't rise up. It's all entertaining and generally well executed (you have to overlook a couple of hammy secondary characters). But it doesn't gel or show even the originality of the movies of its own time, let alone over time. If you like this era and these themes, or Gloria Swanson, do check it out. Avoid the easily downloaded version (legally) on the internet--the sound is atrocious and fragmented.

This 1931 release is weighed down by too much wan dialogue (further impaired by a damaged soundtrack). Gloria Swanson, playing some sort of sophisticated commercial artist, dumps her philandering boyfriend (weasly-faced Monroe Owsley as… what else? an irresponsible party boy) for a novelist (charmingly played by Ben Lyon), only to discover months later that her innocent younger sister (Barbara Kent) is now engaged to the cad, whereupon she plots to undo the union. Inserted into this rather unexciting scenario are two good DeSylva, Brown & Henderson numbers, both sung by Swanson ("If You Haven't Got Love" and "Come to Me," the latter sung twice); the music to "One More Time" is heard in a night club scene. If this seems odd for a straight comedy-drama, the reason is that DBH originally wrote the script as a musical. Too bad their plan didn't pan out. Swanson commands the screen but some of the situations she is required to play have dated badly. There are a couple of cute bits of slapstick worked in at a breakfast gathering and a ship's deck, but it's mostly routine and worth a look and listen only if you're a fan of any of the stars or if you like DeSylva-Brown and Henderson songs.

Indiscreet is a delightful surprise. One of only six films Swanson made in the 1930's this is a refreshingly sexy and sophisticated comedy about relationships. Swanson positively glows as a wealthy young woman betrayed by the sleazy Monroe Owsley and loved by the effervescent Ben Lyon. Maude Eburne gives strong comic support, and Arthur Lake is hilarious as a simple country boy. But it is Swanson all the way - she looks fabulous and acts even better. The scene where she feigns madness is as good an audition for "Hamlet" as I've ever seen. And she even sings - and very well!

This is a great fore-taste of the wonderful sophisticated but slightly anarchic comedies Leo McCarey would later make like "The Awful Truth" and "Ruggles Of Red Gap" - and with Swanson exuding sex and wit this film is a real winner.