If I wanted to travel from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, I wouldn't go through Salt Lake City. That's illogical. Well, I feel like "Gentleman's Fate" did just that. While taking the main character, Giacomo Tomasulo aka Jack Thomas from point A to point B they first went to point F.
Jack woke up one morning to his normal life: a butler, a nice penthouse, and a woman coming over whom he was about to marry. When he went to bed that night he'd found out that his father, whom he'd never known, was about to die, and that changed his life forever.
His father (Frank Reicher) was an Italian immigrant and a bootlegger. Jack's brother Frank (Louis Wolheim) was also in the business. Papa Tomasulo took a bullet as payment for being in the racket, and as his dying wish he wanted to see his long lost son.
Jack met with his father, which made sense. Honestly, it would've made sense either way. If Jack met his dying father, then it's a man wanting to know who his father was. If Jack refused to meet his father, then it's a man who doesn't care to see the man who abandoned him.
Here's where it got illogical.
Jack knew right away that his family were bootleggers. It would've made the most sense for Jack to stay away from them considering he was a well to-do law abiding citizen who probably wouldn't want to be mixed up with bootlegging. Yet, for some reason, he stuck around the Tomasulo gang's digs as if it was his duty.
Jack had gotten an emerald necklace from his father right before he died. Jack understood it to be a family heirloom. He then gave it to his fiance Marjorie Channing (Leila Hyams) and all was right with the world.
Then Jack found out in, what had to be, a most embarrassing fashion that the necklace was stolen. Instead of simply telling his fiance he got it from his father whom he knew nothing about, he told her he stole it to protect the old man who was about to die.
Excuse me? Why?
Jack didn't know his father at all, so why would he have such a sense of loyalty to him to the point that he'd endanger his marriage and risk going to prison for him? Furthermore, his father was about to die anyway, so it made the most sense to let him take the fall!!
Instead, Jack took the wrap, he went to jail, his fiance left him, and he was left with very few choices except to join the family racket.
So, how Jack got into the family racket was nonsensical, but once he was in the family racket it was like the movie reset. It was a whole new ball game and I was interested.
Jack wouldn't be done acting off of impulse or poorly thought out ideas though.
Once he was entrenched in the family business and hadn't heard from Marjorie in a while, his brother Frank dropped a bomb on him. Marjorie had gotten married.
Dam she moved on quickly.
Giacomo's response? To marry Ruth (Anita Page), a woman who was initially used as a plant by Florio's gang, but was treated so kindly by Frank's gang that she switched sides (what's that old Snoop Dogg saying?). Jack quite literally decided to marry Ruth the same night he found out Marjorie was married. He got sloppy drunk and married her. That says something about him and her, but he wouldn't be the first man to get sloppy drunk and get married. And she wouldn't be the first woman to marry a drunk man (see "Slightly Married," "Bed of Roses" (1933), and "Anybody's Woman" (1930)).
It was an illogical move by Jack because he was still in love with Marjorie and it was an intoxicated decision. It was a bad move by Ruth because she had to know that Florio (John Miljan) wasn't going to take her double-crossing lying down. She only managed to endanger herself AND Jack.
Just when the movie was going so well they had to throw in another dumb stunt. I was beginning to like Giacomo too.
His fate would be the same as his estranged father's thereby bringing things around full circle. The title would suggest that his demise was due to him being a gentleman. I would proffer that his fate was due to him being dense and fully misplacing his loyalty.
Free on Odnoklassniki.
Jack woke up one morning to his normal life: a butler, a nice penthouse, and a woman coming over whom he was about to marry. When he went to bed that night he'd found out that his father, whom he'd never known, was about to die, and that changed his life forever.
His father (Frank Reicher) was an Italian immigrant and a bootlegger. Jack's brother Frank (Louis Wolheim) was also in the business. Papa Tomasulo took a bullet as payment for being in the racket, and as his dying wish he wanted to see his long lost son.
Jack met with his father, which made sense. Honestly, it would've made sense either way. If Jack met his dying father, then it's a man wanting to know who his father was. If Jack refused to meet his father, then it's a man who doesn't care to see the man who abandoned him.
Here's where it got illogical.
Jack knew right away that his family were bootleggers. It would've made the most sense for Jack to stay away from them considering he was a well to-do law abiding citizen who probably wouldn't want to be mixed up with bootlegging. Yet, for some reason, he stuck around the Tomasulo gang's digs as if it was his duty.
Jack had gotten an emerald necklace from his father right before he died. Jack understood it to be a family heirloom. He then gave it to his fiance Marjorie Channing (Leila Hyams) and all was right with the world.
Then Jack found out in, what had to be, a most embarrassing fashion that the necklace was stolen. Instead of simply telling his fiance he got it from his father whom he knew nothing about, he told her he stole it to protect the old man who was about to die.
Excuse me? Why?
Jack didn't know his father at all, so why would he have such a sense of loyalty to him to the point that he'd endanger his marriage and risk going to prison for him? Furthermore, his father was about to die anyway, so it made the most sense to let him take the fall!!
Instead, Jack took the wrap, he went to jail, his fiance left him, and he was left with very few choices except to join the family racket.
So, how Jack got into the family racket was nonsensical, but once he was in the family racket it was like the movie reset. It was a whole new ball game and I was interested.
Jack wouldn't be done acting off of impulse or poorly thought out ideas though.
Once he was entrenched in the family business and hadn't heard from Marjorie in a while, his brother Frank dropped a bomb on him. Marjorie had gotten married.
Dam she moved on quickly.
Giacomo's response? To marry Ruth (Anita Page), a woman who was initially used as a plant by Florio's gang, but was treated so kindly by Frank's gang that she switched sides (what's that old Snoop Dogg saying?). Jack quite literally decided to marry Ruth the same night he found out Marjorie was married. He got sloppy drunk and married her. That says something about him and her, but he wouldn't be the first man to get sloppy drunk and get married. And she wouldn't be the first woman to marry a drunk man (see "Slightly Married," "Bed of Roses" (1933), and "Anybody's Woman" (1930)).
It was an illogical move by Jack because he was still in love with Marjorie and it was an intoxicated decision. It was a bad move by Ruth because she had to know that Florio (John Miljan) wasn't going to take her double-crossing lying down. She only managed to endanger herself AND Jack.
Just when the movie was going so well they had to throw in another dumb stunt. I was beginning to like Giacomo too.
His fate would be the same as his estranged father's thereby bringing things around full circle. The title would suggest that his demise was due to him being a gentleman. I would proffer that his fate was due to him being dense and fully misplacing his loyalty.
Free on Odnoklassniki.