I'm referring to the 80 something year old held in Lowell, the type of sweet old lady whom everyone rises for when she walks into a room. There's a sense of nostalgia when you see someone like her, so gentle and Regal, filled with kind and I didn't forget it just all that angels are made of. In our generation, we haven't seen someone like this probably since Gloria Stuart in "Titanic" (or the occasional presence of a beloved star at an award show), so Ms. Lowell easily walks off with the film. The Broadway star of the 1870s only made a handful of films 60 something years later, and her diverse credits and roles made her stand out even if her time on film was short.
Lowell portrays an elderly woman, simply known in the credits as "the old doll" (how Damon Runyon of author Damon Runyon), who has not locked her door in 50 years, and when gangster Richard Barthelmess in, she treats him as if he is a long-lost relative that she's been waiting for. Ironically, he is an exact look-alike of an old lover of hers who was killed on the very same doorstep after an elaborate party where her father expressed his disapproval. Now in the current day, Barthelmess is facing the same issue with his girlfriend and Dvorak's brother, and when the brother is killed by one of his henchmen, Barthelmess ends up on trial for murder. But the arrival of a surprise witness offers a happy ending with an ironic revelation that is silly and sappy but may start to tear ducts fluttering.
This sentimental old programmer is surprisingly good in spite of its implausibilities, and the flashbacks to 50 years before our elaborate and deliciously melodramatic. Helen Chandler of "Dracula" fame plays the younger version of Lowell, and it's a reminder that just because someone has white hair and wrinkles doesn't mean that at one point in their life, they were the most beautiful person in their city. Barthelmess is better in the current story than the flashbacks, and he has a nice chemistry with Lowell. In fact, he had better chemistry with her than with either Chandler or Dvorak. The mixture of crime drama, light comedy and touching romance makes for an interesting hour that won't text the brain which will leave the viewer dabbing their eye with a Kleenex.
Lowell portrays an elderly woman, simply known in the credits as "the old doll" (how Damon Runyon of author Damon Runyon), who has not locked her door in 50 years, and when gangster Richard Barthelmess in, she treats him as if he is a long-lost relative that she's been waiting for. Ironically, he is an exact look-alike of an old lover of hers who was killed on the very same doorstep after an elaborate party where her father expressed his disapproval. Now in the current day, Barthelmess is facing the same issue with his girlfriend and Dvorak's brother, and when the brother is killed by one of his henchmen, Barthelmess ends up on trial for murder. But the arrival of a surprise witness offers a happy ending with an ironic revelation that is silly and sappy but may start to tear ducts fluttering.
This sentimental old programmer is surprisingly good in spite of its implausibilities, and the flashbacks to 50 years before our elaborate and deliciously melodramatic. Helen Chandler of "Dracula" fame plays the younger version of Lowell, and it's a reminder that just because someone has white hair and wrinkles doesn't mean that at one point in their life, they were the most beautiful person in their city. Barthelmess is better in the current story than the flashbacks, and he has a nice chemistry with Lowell. In fact, he had better chemistry with her than with either Chandler or Dvorak. The mixture of crime drama, light comedy and touching romance makes for an interesting hour that won't text the brain which will leave the viewer dabbing their eye with a Kleenex.