Frente a Frente

Charming silent comedy, wherein Mary Astor, a Midwesterner who somehow became an impoverished Italian princess, decides to visit her old hometown, and Aunt Louise Fazenda and Uncle Lucien Littlefield. For plot reasons not worth going into, she infiltrates the household and at first impersonates a dressmaker, and reestablishes contact with old flame Lloyd Hughes. Complications, as they say, ensue, and the happy ending's never far away. After playing so many heavy-breathing romantic leads, this must have been a pick-me-up for Mary, who's gorgeous and spirited, and she's well paired opposite the unassuming Hughes. There's a lovely small-town atmosphere, the title cards are witty, and it has pace.

Mary Astor is Princess of a province in Italy. She decides to take a vacation and visit her family and old hometown ... which is in America's Midwest. Sound far-fetched enough? If you get a chance to see this film you will discover that things don't improve significantly, as the damage has been done.

Mary Astor is lovely but it is never explained how she got to be a Princess. In the long run, you will find it's irrelevant, like the rest of this movie. Louise Fazenda tries her best as Astor's mother but the storyline is against her. Lloyd Hughes plays Astor's hometown pal and boyfriend and is appealing - hadn't seen him before but is like Fred MacMurray in mannerisms and appearance.

I don't know what attraction such a film had for 20's audiences but it has even less nowadays. I don't recommend it unless you are a Mary Astor fan, but since this is a silent, you can't hear her voice. Additionally, it's billed as a comedy but humor is at a premium except when Lucien Littlefield is on screen, so it's more of a drama than a comedy.