The Way of Youth

THE WAY OF YOUTH is a slow and rather unusually-plotted British drama about the perils of gambling and the negative effect it has on the lives of a young courting couple. Unfortunately it's one of the least interesting films I've watched from this era, as the viewer ends up feeling like the two central characters when they're sitting bored out of their mind fishing and suddenly realise the pointlessness of it all.

The back story is rather convoluted and involves a kindly grandmother who just so happens to run a gambling joint in Paris. The story sees her moving to London to reconnect with her estranged family, but the manager of the gambling joint (the delightfully named Monsieur Sylvestre) is a true rogue trying to rip everybody off. This pair get mixed up with a youthful tale of love, leading to confrontation for all involved.

The set-up does sound mildly intriguing but THE WAY OF YOUTH blows any kind of sense of momentum with long, drawn-out romantic scenes and indifferent dialogue which rings hollow. They should have made it more of an anti-gambling 'sensation' drama like they were doing in America. Diana Wilson is a very unappetising and unlikeable lead actress although Irene Vanburgh as her grandmother is a lot better. The youthful lead Sebastian Shaw was the guy who much, much later played the unmasked Darth Vader in RETURN OF THE JEDI. The worst part of the film is by far the excruciating piano-and-song number from the Western Brothers.