Inquisição Moderna

A potentially interesting entry in Warner Brothers' series of crime dramas is weakened by an improbably wordy script, stagey performances -- Walter Huston, in this early role, seems to have no sense of where the camera is -- and an outright awful performance by Doris Kenyon, who, although fifth-billed, is actually the female lead.

Despite the ethnic types that inhabit the better Warners crime dramas, the Irishmen and Italians, this one seems to be inhabited solely by WASPS who wear impeccable, old fashioned clothing.

On the plus side, Loretta Young is in her luminously beautiful phase, an absolute pleasure to look at, although she isn't given much to do. David Manners is adequate as the juvenile lead and the idea of the story, how honest men can be driven to become criminals, is potentially interesting. But this movie doesn't live up to its potential.

This is a very well-acted suspense/message film that holds you in its grip the entire way. Other reviews have described the plot so I won't go into that here. The other reviewers seemed to want more violent action in the film, but the film wasn't intended to be an action film but rather make you understand how the characters feel and you can do that through words. I really enjoyed this and was very moved by all of the main characters. I found the acting of everyone gripping and believable and there are a number of twists and turns that make you unsure of how it will end. A wonderful film that I think most Walter Huston fans will especially enjoy although Doris Kenyon also gives a fine performance as well as do the entire cast.

Ruling Voice, The (1931)

** (out of 4)

Disappointing crime-drama from Warner has Walter Huston playing a racketeer who will stop at nothing to get as much power and money that he can. The daughter (Loretta Young) he hasn't seen in ten years comes home from Europe with a fiancé (David Manners) but when she learns what her father is really doing she turns her back on him. I'm a major fan of the three leads but sadly this melodrama is way too wordy and in the end it's a pretty boring film from start to finish. The biggest problem is the actual screenplay that doesn't offer very much except for tired dialogue that seems to keep coming and coming. Even the easiest of scenes contain way too much dialogue and the talking just keeps going to the point where you're ready to turn your hearing off just to get away from it. The screenplay is full of predictable things and not for a second will anyone believe the relationship between Huston and Young. There wasn't a single second where I actually believed that he would care about what she feels towards him. I mean, he hasn't bothered seeing her in ten years and all of the sudden he's just going to change his ways? Huston is decent in the role of the racketeer but no one is going to confuse this for one of his better performances. He does seem to be somewhat all over the place in terms of staggering away the set but I'm going to guess this has more to do with the director. Young is as beautiful as ever as this here was certainly a very high point in terms of those beautiful looks. Her performance hits all the right notes and she's wonderful in the sequence where she learns the truth about her father. Manners will always be best remembered for his role in the same year's Dracula but the more I see from him the more impressed I get. He perfectly fits the role of this nice guy trying to make money to marry Young. The film runs a rather short 72-minutes but you'd swear it was twice as long due to the non-stop talk and lack of any real action. Fans of the three leads might want to check it out if they plan to see everything they've done but others should stay clear.

As he is in "Night Court," Walter Huston is superb in this harsh early mob story. Some might think his change of heart over daughter Loretta Young sentimental but not I. It is psychologically plausible and doesn't sell out the rough nature of the story. Not much ends happily, though the path for Young and David Manners -- a highly improbable couple -- does clear.

Huston is probably best known for "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre." To me, he is first and foremost the fine American businessman in the lovely "Dodsworth." He was very convincing in these earlier unsympathetic roles, though. This movie pulls no punches and has some scary scenes. It doesn't seem at all dated. It could have been made 70 years later -- but teenagers wouldn't be interested so it wouldn't have been.

This is a super-corny, super-stupid story but just go with it - it's fabulous fun.....well, if like me, you like a cheesy unimaginative but fast-paced 1931 gangsterish drama that is.

Gangsterish? Organised crime crime is the central tenet of this but we don't have Tommy gun totting low lifes. Walter Huston's gang boss operates from a big fancy art-deco office, he has a board of directors and calls and minutes board meetings - the analogy of organised crime to big business whilst not being particularly subtle is strikingly put across.

What perhaps doesn't quite happen is any empathy with Walter Huston's character. As always he's fantastic bringing his unique zealous sincerity and honesty even to an agent of insidious evil. He's just a bit too nice, there's too much contradiction here to make him believable: he's the most loving father in the world and yet also deliberately responsible for dozens of babies starving to death.

I don't think we're meant to examine this that deeply. It's just a good old fashioned mellow melodrama. The story doesn't need to make too much sense, the characters don't need to be authentic or memorable and the direction doesn't need to dazzle. It's never going to win any awards but it's got three things going for it. 1) Walter Huston as always being brilliant, even in a bit of a naff role, 2) Loretta Young as always looking impossibly beautiful, 3) it's just so 1931........if someone asked you what was 1931/32 like in an American city, you'd simply show them this.