Review of Lady of the Night

This is a pretty good film starring Norma Shearer in dual roles--as two different women in love with the same man. The acting is just fine and the film is still very watchable today, but I also feel that it's an awfully forgettable film as well--worth a look, but it won't change your life. Most of this is due to the simplicity of the plot and the fact that there really isn't that much tension in the film. The nice guy that the poor lady ("Norma #1") fell for really didn't love her, while the rich lady ("Norma #2) did--so it seems pretty obvious which "Norma" will end up with the guy in the end. Plus, when it becomes obvious that both women desperately loved the guy, the poor Norma just walks away and wishes them luck,...and there just doesn't seem to be any sparks or action. I didn't want a cat fight or anything, but to just walk away so quickly and without even a whimper was too anticlimactic. In addition, the message that nobility can be found in the poor as well as the rich is pretty obviously conveyed, though despite all the obviousness about the film, it is still pretty good and compares reasonably well with the many silent films I have watched.