In the first moments of this antique, the MGM lion emits more of a pained groan than a roar, suggesting that perhaps an older, infirm animal was tied down to keep still enough for the shot, then protested. That said, these startling sounds are followed by crackle-and-hiss (or dead silence, depending on the clarity of your hearing) accompanying the series of opening credit title cards in the staid style of the studio's early talkies. Next, an introductory title, "Mr. Van Luyn, The Millionaire." Then the drama begins strangely but vividly as Conrad Nagel (the boss) tries to dictate letters to his beautiful secretary, Miss Joan Thayer (Leila Hyams) but keeps losing his concentration. When Hyams drops a pencil the two of them kneel down simultaneously to retrieve it; as they rise facing each other, he puts his arms around her and they kiss. Within a minute he is asking her to marry him. She consents immediately but then realizes that her family may not approve (a reversal of the usual conflict between rich marrying poor); as they are debating whether he should be present when she breaks the news to her family, the audio of their dialogue slowly fades out along with the scene. If what followed were this good, it would make a stimulating cinematic experience, but unfortunately when the Thayer family joins the action, things get dreary and rather messy.
First of all, perhaps due to primitive miking setups, group scenes are too formally staged and ring false; director William deMille tries for overlapping dialogue but it sounds forced. Frequently, when two or three actors are engaged in conversation, the non-speaking actors appear to be standing around like zombies waiting for their cue. Attempts at casual background chatter look and sound fake. Then we have the bizarre juxtaposition of Bessie Love as Hyams's younger sister, an uncultivated typist with big dreams. Bessie Love was petite a la Mary Pickford and in this context she looks more like a little girl than a grown woman. When she and Hyams share the frame she looks almost like a marionette or Hyams's 10-year-old daughter. The effort behind her girlie-girlie behavior shows, and in fact she was about 34 years old when this movie was made. She was far more effective later that year in "The Broadway Melody" as the older sister to Anita Page. Generally, Conrad Nagel walks off with the acting honors. Never a false move, never a botched line, rich and deep speaking voice, completely believable Good Guy. All of the other males are stiff and unnatural, especially Robert Ober as an opinionated cousin.
One unintentionally funny scene: During a conversation in the kitchen we suddenly hear a whistling sound. An off-screen character who will momentarily enter the frame with pursed lips? a water kettle on the boil? No, it's the apartment's intercom! When Hyams engages the device to talk to the person on the other end, it is Nagel, or at least that's what we're supposed to think. His voice sounds like a solemn judge pronouncing a death sentence. Then another bizarre sound is heard when Hyams presses the button to admit Nagel into the building.
And while we're at it, let's mention another example of unconvincing movie dishwashing: The Thayers' manner of washing dishes is to fill a basin with tap water, deposit the dirty dinnerware, swirl a cloth around in the water for a few seconds, then dry the dishes without rinsing them. I wonder if there ever was an old Hollywood movie in which people actually used soap and then rinsed before drying, or if such a sequence of events might have been achieved through the magic of
brace yourself: editing.
The plot limps around the crisis created when Nagel decides to give away his millions and move in with the Thayers. For various reasons, the Thayers are very upset by this decision. SPOILER: Eventually, seeing how miserable they would be if he actually demoted himself to their lower socio-economic stratum, he decides to buy them a house in the suburbs and give them a wad of cash, which they joyously count bill by bill in the final fadeout. The movie (based on a story and play) makes the point, literally and clearly, that the middle class is the most class-conscious group in America, which is probably true.
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