Elinor Glyn’s story of love among the smart set is adapted to the screen as a silent film with talking sequences and the results are mixed, to say the least.
Billie Dove (the good girl) and Gwen Lee (the bad girl) take to sound like ducks to water but leading man Rod La Rocque (the boy everyone wants) is stiff, awkward and his Illinois accent does not suit his exotic persona at all. Add to that the fact that he acts like a jerk throughout the film and you have a not-too-appealing picture. Interesting for the sound angle but little else.
How does it end? Hover or tap below for a spoiler.
Despite acting like a bozo throughout, the boy still gets his girl.
Read my full-length review here.
If it were a dessert it would be: Low Fat Splenda Chocolate Chip Nut Raisin Cookies. Simultaneously too much and not enough.
Availability: Released on DVD by Warner Archive.
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Movies Silently 
You just can’t make these names up any more. For some reason, I know I read about it but my menopausal brain is acting up…..was that Rod’s real Name?? I will look it up and I would like to see this film. When you think about it, women still fall f9r the jerks so nothing new
Well, almost his real name. Rod was short for Roderick Ross La Rocque. Beat that! 😉
Not silent movie-related (or was there a silent film version?) but the ‘Crime and Punishment’ protagonist had the most luscious name – Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov.
Some names are just legendary.