Afraid to Talk

The period of LAW AND ORDER, one of the best westerns of the thirties, and not only, because of its realism and brutality, raw violence. Here we are far from this kind of stuff. What is daring here is the corrupt politicians shown in a very brilliant, intelligent way. This film proves that Edward L Cahn was a pretty good director in his early career. I can not believe that he later made so many lousy pictures, without any ambition.... This one is a genuine film noir, really worth, and what a shame that so few moviegoers have seen it, especially here, in France, my homeland. A must see. And during this first decade of the talkies, there are many of them. Don't ignore them if you find any one....

It's a crusading against corruption thing, with performances that don't quite hit the mark. It's worth noting that Louis Calhern plays a crooked lawyer in much the same way he would almost two decades later in THE ASPHALT JUNGLE, but the character here is a smirking, one-dimensional weasel.

I was going to give this a "watchable" but about two thirds of the way through, there is a scene in which they give Eric Linden the third degree (having recently seen ARE THESE OUR CHILDREN?, I thought he deserved it), when suddenly a light bulb hanging from the ceiling is set wobbling, the shadows come out and you remember that Karl Freund is the DP. Freund transforms this average picture into something very good, with ur-noir techniques.

This 1932 Universal feature, directed by action-crime specialist Edward L. Cahn, is a powerful study of urban corruption that is still timely today. Although only 72 minutes long (what a lesson today's filmmakers could learn in that department!!!), the film presents a complete urban society--law enforcement, judiciary, city administration, Mayor's office, organized crime--and a completely corrupt system. Eric Linden plays a bellhop at a swank hotel who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time his life to be destroyed although he has done nothing wrong. He's simply not "well connected." Simultaneously, corrupt cops conspire with a corrupt DA and a corrupt judge to keep graft-paying mobsters from suffering any harm. The society depicted in the film is corrupt, although there are honest and well-meaning individuals in any particular department who do their best to fight the corruption and to stand up for honest working people--however, those individuals are either destroyed or ignored or frozen out and they have little effect. As a pre-Code film, Afraid to Talk does not pull any punches, and its ending is something you'd never see in a corporate product playing the multiplexes here in 2002. The film moves at a fast pace, and the last five minutes perhaps move at TOO fast a pace, but in its own way the pacing helps to create the feel of inevitability that gives the film its unique fatalistic feel. I watched this with a group of 30 people, all of whom were speechless, realizing the sad, painful truths the film depicts. Afraid to Talk is a forgotten classic that packs a powerful punch, and still does today, 70 years after its initial release. If you ever get a chance to see it, don't miss it.

Like Gangster Pictures? "Afraid To Talk" may be the best of this genre ever made. It tells a story of corruption in which traditional ethical guidelines are erased, in which there are no 'good guys' or 'bad guys'- they're all bad. It was directed in breathtaking and expert fashion by Edward L. Cahn, who directed many crummy B's of the 50's and 60's, and this must be his best picture.This is a pre-code gangster picture and by my reckoning better than "Public Enemy" or "Little Caesar" and despite the fact that there is no big name gangster-type star here.

In addition, this is a Universal production, which goes against the 30's Hollywood slogan that, "If it's a Universal it's a Horror". Somehow this backwater studio produced this taut, well-acted, hard-hitting movie and did it in 72 minutes worth of film. The baddest of the bad guys is Louis Calhern, doing his dastardly best (or worst) as a treacherous Asst.District Attorney. In this corner, as a hapless hotel bellhop, is Eric Linden, who is married to munchkin-like Sidney Fox, in a thankless role as a housewife. Other career crooked politicians in the cast are Berton Churchill, Edward Arnold and Robert Warwick. Look for Mayo Methot, Bogie's first wife,as a gang moll.

Afraid To Talk has never, to anyones or any publications knowledge, been shown on TV, and is not available in any format except 35MM. Do not miss it if the opportunity ever arises. I was also impressed to learn of the existence of political corruption elsewhere - I'm from N.J. and I thought we invented it.

There's a relentless sense of despair and hopelessness which you're more used to seeing in a miserable 1940s crime drama. Lacking however are characters you care about. There's no jolly pre-code fun here.

Although it's obviously made by a director and cinematographer with some artistic flair, it's not enough to overcome Universal's bargain basement production approach to filmmaking. The life-blood has been drained from this leaving it cold and unemotional.

Cagney's PUBLIC ENEMY was a character you could emotionally connect with. That's what makes some old films as watchable and entertaining now as when they were made. I don't believe anyone could ever warm to Eric Linden. He's the sort of person whom you wouldn't be surprised to learn had indeed been beaten up. You can't empathise with his character at all and because the rest of the whole entire cast are thoroughly unlikeable, it's difficult to get involved.

As an authentic and genuine reflection of early thirties corruption endemic in the 'Cesspool on the Potomac,' to quote the Simpsons, this is outstanding. It's a very intelligent and thoughtful picture. As a movie however it's just too cold to grab you. Compare this with 1932's NIGHT COURT to see how political corruption and social injustice can be made into a real punch-you-in-the-stomach hard hitting melodrama. OK, NIGHT COURT is a bit far fetched whereas this is much more grounded but the grim, nasty reality this portrays is just unrelentingly depressing.

There's something else which isn't right about this. Although we've got pretty Sidney Fox and Mayo Methot, ninety nine percent of the running time seems like you're in a female-free zone. Too many men. Lots of horrible, miserable, serious and angry grey men - some however wear different hats.