From what I understand, John Gilbert was one of the 1920s stars whose career faded with the advent of sound. Not because he had a bad voice, but because of interference by the Hollywood execs. Whatever the case, Mervyn LeRoy's "Gentleman's Fate" is one of his talkies. He plays a high society man who discovers that he comes from a family of gangsters, and they want him to participate in their business. Inevitably, some unpleasant things are going to arise.
The movie's okay, not great. I suppose that the casting of the homely Louis Wolheim (who died right before the release) as Gilbert's character's brother emphasizes the different worlds that they inhabit, even living only a few miles apart. Leila Hyams is mostly there as an ornament; it sounds as though she mostly got cast in movies to look pretty (she certainly succeeded at that).
Anyway, nothing special, but will probably be of interest to film buffs.
The movie's okay, not great. I suppose that the casting of the homely Louis Wolheim (who died right before the release) as Gilbert's character's brother emphasizes the different worlds that they inhabit, even living only a few miles apart. Leila Hyams is mostly there as an ornament; it sounds as though she mostly got cast in movies to look pretty (she certainly succeeded at that).
Anyway, nothing special, but will probably be of interest to film buffs.