Ébrios de Amor

I watched and enjoyed this old first of the talkies. I it always cool for me to think of what life must have been prior to the depression and all of todays discoveries and new way of life. My mother was born in 1921, so I think of her life then. She would have been eight years old at this time. The cars , the actors, the dress is very nice and wonderfully done. I watch quite a lot of these old movies of this era, most were still silent at this point. This must have been one of the first of the 'talkies'. Just think what it was like to have no TV but to basically go to the movies for all you watched including news reals. It must've been great living in these days.

This film is sociologically fascinating but dramatically rather weak. It also would make a good case study for a psychology class, as Norma Shearer's character (Lally) has to deal with others who are variously manipulating, controlling and irresponsible (I won't spoil it by telling you who does what). The sociological fascination comes from the depiction of the idle rich who ride polo ponies, go to Lake Michigan resorts, dress smartly and tolerate `modern' young women like Lally - and from the dynamic between men and women. The dialogue seems unusually terse by 1929 standards - much is left unsaid, and the film is better because of it. Shearer is quite good; she carries the film with apparent ease. Unfortunately, Belle Bennett is clearly ill at ease with sound. She was quite popular and acclaimed for her silent work, especially Stella Dallas, but here she brings little life to her role.

I rate this movie highly not because it's all that great but because it's a fascinating piece of movie history. There are no seamless edits - the end of one take often doesn't match up with the beginning of the next. Scriptwise, more is implied than said. In one conversation, Norma Shearer is clearly about to say the word "mistress", but bites her lip and spits out the name of her father's paramour instead. Yet fifteen minutes later she's standing in a slip while brushing her hair, and her nipples are clearly outlined through the fabric. Shocking, I tell you! My favorite scene was the dance sequence, which features a wonderful, haunting piece of music called "Blue Is The Night" by Fred Fisher.

Overall this movie was interesting as an exercise in contrast and comparison with modern films. There are better films from that era - there were probably better films made that week - but I didn't mind spending 65 minutes with these people. I was duly entertained.

The movie has a somewhat overheated, strained quality to it, much like a soap opera and is primarily of interest for Norma Shearer's performance, which received a nomination for Best Actress for the 1929-30 Academy Awards, which she lost to herself, winning instead for her performance in The Divorcee, a better role in a much better film. Ms. Shearer was THE actress at the time and did quite well for many years. A good movie that could have been better and largely a curio now.

Time travel realized. Its so cool to be able to watch something this damn old. Norma Shearer has a really neat look, pretty but unlike todays starletts, she's believably pretty. Distinctive profile, and sorta googly eyed, and a great body. These films were made before the dreaded Hays Codes, so you get some really sexy shots of her. No bras in those days I guess. The movie is dopey, but on the same level as most of todays television, so its bearable. But again, I study more than watch these old ones, and try to get a feel for what it was like to live back then.