“Put on your pants and don’t worry about me!” exclaims Evelyn Brent, right as her ex-boyfriend Lawrence Gray (who dumped Brent her for sister, Louise Brooks) comes to her “rescue” donning pantaloons and tights (he had just come from a costume party). Moments before, Brent gloriously beat the smithereens out of a sleazy bookie who had stolen her sister’s winnings: for his every push, shove, or throw, she could do him one better. It’s a marvelous piece of action-comedy, as the two rough-and-tumble throughout the apartment, tearing it to shreds. And when Brent walks out the winner, holding the wallet and cutting Gray down-to-sizeÑit’s a moment of joyful exultation.
Shot in Paramount’s Astoria Studios in New York, the picture has a feeling of authenticity that is noticeably, if subtly, apparent throughout. A few location shots, but largely it’s the intimate details of the set, particularly the apartment building which is realistically middle-class (far from the glamorous penthouses one normally encounters in movies). Its story, of the elder sister (Brent) who looks after her man-stealing, libido-crazed, flapper of a younger sister (Brooks), is nothing groundbreaking, but the cast carries it well enough, indeed, with plenty of comedy and light-drama for it to be quite likeable (just slightly shy of loveable). And Brooks, with that sly concoction of sexy naivety, her bob-like helmet of hair, and a black dress that clings to her like oil, is irresistible.
by Cullen Gallagher | Source: 35mm Print
19 Sep 2008 4:42 PM | Submit Comment
