While not a masterpiece in the true sense of the word, Lady Of The Night is a masterpiece in ways that you wouldn't expect. The story is predictable, yes, and the intertitles aren't the best, but acting and the mood captured in the film as a whole are splendid.
A prisoner only gets to see his daughter for a little while before he is imprisoned again. The judge who sentences him has a daughter the same age. Eighteen years pass, and the two girls grow up. One is kind, sweet and respectable Florence. The other is loud, bawdy (and implied to be a prostitute) Molly. Neither of them know each other until an inventor named David comes into their lives. He likes Molly as a friend, but she falls in love with him. When he meets Florence, their love goes both ways. It is not hard to guess what happens next.
I revisited this film after immersing myself in Norma Shearer films, good and bad. This one is, I believe, one of her best performances. The amazing part is that Molly and Florence are not twins, but rather completely different women. They come from different classes, and that is made very clear. They have hopes, desires, and romances. You can root for both characters, as the writers didn't go down the very clichéd "one is good and one is evil" route. Neither of them are evil. There is just a difference in social standing. Florence is the daughter of a respected judge. Molly lives in the gutter. Joan Crawford made her film debut as the body double for Shearer in some scenes- in the scene where the two women meet in the car, she's the tawdry one. I only wonder if Norma Shearer could see that she'd have some competition in the future, even at that moment.
Neither of the male leads are all that interesting. Malcom McGregor as David captures the hearts of both women, and you can see why. Naturally, the one he ends up with causes the other one heartbreak, but there is a reason for this. George K. Arthur as Chunky, Molly's baby-faced (literally- he looks about eleven years old) boyfriend, is perhaps only there for some comic relief. Some of it is actually funny and some of it is just tiresome.
Monta Bell is a wizard behind the camera. He uses different colour tinted film for different scenes- the scenes with Molly (except at the beginning) are amber, the ones with Florence purple, and to show the night, he uses dark blue. There are lots of good shots to look for, lots of shots that mean more than they seem to show. Hidden emotions captured subtly. The print is in very good condition considering its age- very little crackling and acid damage. I am not sure if any scenes were lost (maybe), but if they were, it does not affect the telling of the story.
This is such a well-made film, with well done acting. If only there were a substantial plot to be encased in this, but there isn't. However, it is not tedious, and it is not tired. My rating for this one is only 6.4/10, but despite that, I do recommend it.
A prisoner only gets to see his daughter for a little while before he is imprisoned again. The judge who sentences him has a daughter the same age. Eighteen years pass, and the two girls grow up. One is kind, sweet and respectable Florence. The other is loud, bawdy (and implied to be a prostitute) Molly. Neither of them know each other until an inventor named David comes into their lives. He likes Molly as a friend, but she falls in love with him. When he meets Florence, their love goes both ways. It is not hard to guess what happens next.
I revisited this film after immersing myself in Norma Shearer films, good and bad. This one is, I believe, one of her best performances. The amazing part is that Molly and Florence are not twins, but rather completely different women. They come from different classes, and that is made very clear. They have hopes, desires, and romances. You can root for both characters, as the writers didn't go down the very clichéd "one is good and one is evil" route. Neither of them are evil. There is just a difference in social standing. Florence is the daughter of a respected judge. Molly lives in the gutter. Joan Crawford made her film debut as the body double for Shearer in some scenes- in the scene where the two women meet in the car, she's the tawdry one. I only wonder if Norma Shearer could see that she'd have some competition in the future, even at that moment.
Neither of the male leads are all that interesting. Malcom McGregor as David captures the hearts of both women, and you can see why. Naturally, the one he ends up with causes the other one heartbreak, but there is a reason for this. George K. Arthur as Chunky, Molly's baby-faced (literally- he looks about eleven years old) boyfriend, is perhaps only there for some comic relief. Some of it is actually funny and some of it is just tiresome.
Monta Bell is a wizard behind the camera. He uses different colour tinted film for different scenes- the scenes with Molly (except at the beginning) are amber, the ones with Florence purple, and to show the night, he uses dark blue. There are lots of good shots to look for, lots of shots that mean more than they seem to show. Hidden emotions captured subtly. The print is in very good condition considering its age- very little crackling and acid damage. I am not sure if any scenes were lost (maybe), but if they were, it does not affect the telling of the story.
This is such a well-made film, with well done acting. If only there were a substantial plot to be encased in this, but there isn't. However, it is not tedious, and it is not tired. My rating for this one is only 6.4/10, but despite that, I do recommend it.