Although this movie was originally issued as a talkie, that version is missing. I looked at a silent print, with titles.
Edmund Lowe is on trial for murder. At the summation, he lawyer paints a picture of a loving couple, with the deceased, Warner Baxter, a cad who want to take Mary Duncan, Lowe's wife, to Europe..... and presumably not to explain the architecture. The DA paints them as a high-living couple, Miss Duncan as a loose woman, and Lowe as murdering the innocent Baxter in a fit of jealousy. Each scenario is shown in flashback.
Does this seem familiar? Yes, of course, it is the story-telling technique used in Roshomon. Each of the scenarios takes a couple of reels, with interstitia material, and the wrap-up, showing what really happened, about one reel.
The camerawork is pretty good foran early talkie, with some nice tracking shots and a lot of costume changes for Miss Duncan. However, like many early talkies, there are a lot of words on the title cards, and these clearly distort the pacing.
Movie debuts for Sylvia Sidney and -- in a bit part -- Karen Morley.
Edmund Lowe is on trial for murder. At the summation, he lawyer paints a picture of a loving couple, with the deceased, Warner Baxter, a cad who want to take Mary Duncan, Lowe's wife, to Europe..... and presumably not to explain the architecture. The DA paints them as a high-living couple, Miss Duncan as a loose woman, and Lowe as murdering the innocent Baxter in a fit of jealousy. Each scenario is shown in flashback.
Does this seem familiar? Yes, of course, it is the story-telling technique used in Roshomon. Each of the scenarios takes a couple of reels, with interstitia material, and the wrap-up, showing what really happened, about one reel.
The camerawork is pretty good foran early talkie, with some nice tracking shots and a lot of costume changes for Miss Duncan. However, like many early talkies, there are a lot of words on the title cards, and these clearly distort the pacing.
Movie debuts for Sylvia Sidney and -- in a bit part -- Karen Morley.