Actors: Watch and learn.
Most =talking= film performers haven't learned as much about the effective communication of internal processes and emotional congruence in speech =and= motion as Shearer knew about motion alone at the age of 23.
The standard of the time was "acting." This... is =being=.
If there had been a Motion Picture Academy and an awards show in 1926, Shearer would have won in a walk. And Irving would have had nothing to do with it.
Since IMDb requires ten lines, I'm forced to add the superfluous notion that though the script may have reflected the value judgments of a more belief-stricken and closed-minded -- vs. observant and open-minded -- cultural normality, "Lady..." is nevertheless right there in the ballpark with the probing of sensitivities Irving and other producers were trying hard to convey at the time. The Legion probably loathed "Lady...," but the "expansionists" came out in legions to see it.
Most =talking= film performers haven't learned as much about the effective communication of internal processes and emotional congruence in speech =and= motion as Shearer knew about motion alone at the age of 23.
The standard of the time was "acting." This... is =being=.
If there had been a Motion Picture Academy and an awards show in 1926, Shearer would have won in a walk. And Irving would have had nothing to do with it.
Since IMDb requires ten lines, I'm forced to add the superfluous notion that though the script may have reflected the value judgments of a more belief-stricken and closed-minded -- vs. observant and open-minded -- cultural normality, "Lady..." is nevertheless right there in the ballpark with the probing of sensitivities Irving and other producers were trying hard to convey at the time. The Legion probably loathed "Lady...," but the "expansionists" came out in legions to see it.