L'intruse

This film was a delight and incredibly watchable. I highly recommend watching this film, which I believe ranks alongside such films as "Stella Dallas" and "Now Voyager." This is definitely of the Woman's Picture genre and a film that you are certain to enjoy.

I know this review is about "The Trespasser;" however, I must first write a few words about "Sunset Boulevard" to frame my discussion.

Like many fans of Gloria Swanson, I have always blurred the lines of reality between Gloria Swanson the actress and her portrayal of the fictitious character, Norma Desmond, from "Sunset Boulevard." I first viewed "Sunset Boulevard" as a teenager growing up in the 1970s. I was one of those viewers who really rooted for Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) and wanted her to succeed in her "return" to motion pictures.

It is sad that Gloria Swanson was not able to appear in films of such caliber as "The Trespasser" after making "Sunset Boulevard." With my personal background viewership in mind, I found "The Trespasser" (1929) to be incredibly riveting, which is not always the case when viewing movies of this deep vintage.

Gloria Swanson's caliber of performance comes very close to matching her work in "Sunset Boulevard." I have not viewed much of her work that occurred between "The Trespasser" and "Sunset Boulevard," but have read that this interim work was of lesser quality.

I think that Gloria Swanson required a strong director who could bring out a good performance. Underneath any performance, there must be emotional substance to flesh out the dialogue (Method Acting). Otherwise, the words ring hollow and forced.

I think that the timing of this production provided Gloria Swanson with the perfect emotional storm to bring some method acting to her role in "The Trespasser." She desperately needed a hit film that would get her out of financial debt from the never to be finished "Queen Kelly".

I think that her underlying financial angst gave emotional depth to her performance. She seems to be at her best when her character is also in the midst of intense emotional desperation.

I hope you enjoy watching Gloria Swanson succeed in "The Trespasser" as much as I did. Norma Desmond would be proud.

This film essentially begins in Chicago with a young man by the name of "Jack Merrick" (Robert Ames) and a woman named "Marion Donnell" (Gloria Swanson) deciding to get married that very night and spend their honeymoon at a nice hotel overlooking Lake Michigan. Unfortunately, not long afterward, Jack's extremely wealthy father "John Merrick Sr." (William Holden) soon learns of their elopement and angrily rushes over and to convince Jack to have the marriage annulled. Although Jack reluctantly agrees, he does so only because of the negative publicity the elopement might have in the press and tries to reassure Marion that they will soon be married again in a more formal setting. Needless to say, Marion is not at all happy with this new development and leaves Jack that very day. The scene then shifts to 18 months later with Marion on the verge of a nervous breakdown due to her trying to working so hard and trying to support a young child who was born 9 months after she broke up with Jack. To make matters even worse, the newspapers have just printed an article describing the marriage of Jack to an equally wealthy young woman named "Catherine 'Flip' Carson" (Kay Hammond) which depresses her even more. What she doesn't realize, however, is that she will one day meet Jack again and its then that she will eventually have to make the most difficult decisions in her life. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this turned out to be a better film than I initially expected due in large part to the acting of Gloria Swanson who was subsequently nominated for an Academy Award for her performance. Admittedly, as with most early sound movies made during this time, the overall film quality wasn't that great and some allowances might have to be made for that. Be that as it may, I thought that this was an entertaining movie and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

Famous United Artists film from 1929 with Gloria Swanson in her smash-hit talkie debut. I saw this at the George Eastman House in Rochester last week; it has the only known complete print and it's a beautifully restored version.

Swanson stars as a private secretary who marries a wealthy man's son. But their honeymoon is interrupted by the angry father who bullies the son into getting an annulment to "test" Swanson, while they "gussy her up" for their society friends. Swanson storms out but the boy doesn't follow. Later she reads about his marriage to a "proper" girl in Europe. So she decides to never tell him about the baby from their honeymoon night. Later she reads about a terrible accident and the other wife's injuries. But by then Swanson has shacked up with her boss and living off him even though he is married. Everything comes to a head when the boss dies and Swanson tries to go straight but can't make a living to support herself and her baby. Re-enter the first husband, his crippled wife, and treacherous father.

Pure soap but it's very well done and Swanson (with her 2nd Oscar nomination for this gem) is totally great. Opening scene is a long dolly shot moving in toward her office where she has her back to the camera as she types. Her first words are "and how!" as the 'can-do" secretary. Up thru the honeymoon Swanson is bright and funny as the happy bride. She was a terrific comedienne. But when the story turns tragic, Swanson really comes into her element as the suffering mother, the high-living floozy, and finally the contrite penitent.

Robert Ames is the husband, Henry B. Walthall is the office manager, Kay Hammond is the crippled wife, Blanche Frederici is the nanny, Purnell Pratt is the boss, William Holden is the mean father, Henry Armetta is the barber, Mary Forbes is the boss's wife (in fabulous clothes and jewelry), and Stu Erwin shows up as a reporter.

Swanson sings "Love, Your Magic Spell Is Everywhere" and "My Tormented Heart" in the Italian version.

A pity this film will likely never be released on DVD. The Trespasser is a great moment in a great star's career.

The Trespasser (1929)

*** (out of 4)

Strange but winner tale of a poor but pure woman (Gloria Swanson) who marries the son (Robert Ames) of a millionaire but when his father finds out he convinces the son to have the marriage annulled. We flash-forward eighteen months and the woman has given birth to a son but she decides to keep this news from the real father until a few bad choices forces her to confront her past. THE TRESPASSER was Swanson first talkie and it also won her a Best Actress Oscar nomination, which she certainly deserved and for my money she's a lot better than Norma Shearer was in THE Divorcée. I'll admit that there's way too much sugar in some of the scenes and I'd say that the final thirty-minutes don't make a bit of sense but there's no question that the film kept me glued to what was going on and you can't help but get caught up in everything. I think a lot of the credit has to go to Swanson who really does deliver a very strong performance. I've read a few reviews stating that her facial gestures are too over-the-top, which might be true but I still think the pain of her character is nailed by the actress and she really brings this character to life. Ames isn't nearly as good as the one-day husband but he does get to shine in a few scenes as does Kay Hammond as the second wife and Henry B. Walthall has a nice part as well. There's no doubt that the film contain some flaws and for the life of me I never could figure out what Swanson's character was thinking and especially at the end. I won't ruin what happens but we have something predictable happen and then it's followed up with something so sugar-coated and worst of all is that it happens out of nowhere. Still, the incredibly strong performance by Swanson makes up for any flaws and film buffs should enjoy it.

Swanson looks divine, so she's a lot more believable when pampered by her wealthy boss/lover than down on her luck as a single mum refusing to rely on her even wealthier ex-husband, who is completely unaware they've had a child together. Corny doesn't begin to describe The Trespasser, and the ending is laughable, but Swanson is always worth watching.