Lady of the Night (1925)

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Lady of the Night (1925) is most certainly one of the most beautiful pictures ever made. Tinted and toned and presented in the most wonderful condition by Warner Archive, "Lady of the Night" is indeed most certainly an absolutely constant pleasure to look at. The special effects are a wow too! And as for the acting by Norma Shearer, Malcolm McGregor and George K. Arthur, they are almost is almost totally spellbinding. Just one problem: No plot. All the clues are planted all right. But nothing happens! Nothing! Absolutely nothing!Never mind, I'll willingly watch it all unfold again - it's just so lavishly staged by director Monta Bell, and so beautiful to look at, thanks to the artistry of photographer André Barlatier.

Actors: Watch and learn. Most =talking= film performers haven't learned as much about the effective communication of internal processes and emotional congruence in speech =and= motion as Shearer knew about motion alone at the age of 23. The standard of the time was "acting." This... is =being=. If there had been a Motion Picture Academy and an awards show in 1926, Shearer would have won in a walk. And Irving would have had nothing to do with it.Since IMDb requires ten lines, I'm forced to add the superfluous notion that though the script may have reflected the value judgments of a more belief-stricken and closed-minded -- vs. observant and open-minded -- cultural normality, "Lady..." is nevertheless right there in the ballpark with the probing of sensitivities Irving and other producers were trying hard to convey at the time. The Legion probably loathed "Lady...," but the "expansionists" came out in legions to see it.

During the silent film era there were many important and famous directors who contributed with their mastery to the greatness of s film art but there were also other remarkable but not well-known film directors who also made good films. These interesting oeuvres unfortunately made little impact and are often not remembered in spite of their artistic merits. The American film director Herr Monta Bell was responsible for a number of these good (though not great) movies.This Herr Graf likes specially Herr Bell's films, little pieces of craftsmanship in the silent era, perfectly planned and never disappointing. Herr Bell was influenced in his directorial style by Herr Ernst Lubitsch ( beside working with Herr Charles Chaplin ) and it is possible to see this in many of his films; elegant comedies, sometimes as sophisticated as the Herr Lubitsch ones, not with the German director's touch, certainly, but elegant, stylish and displaying an ironic sense of humour, anyway."Lady Of The Night" is not one of those remarkable Herr Bell's stylish comedies but it is certainly a good film, one of those Herr Bell's small pictures, brief but intense and with excellent final artistic results. The film depicts the story of two women from very different backgrounds; Dame Molly Hellmer and Dame Florence Banning, both played by Dame Norma Shearer in a double role. They are in love with the same youngster, a successful inventor who has a complicated task on his hands; he must sell his invention and pick the girl he will spend the rest of his life with.The parallel stories and the different backgrounds of the two women, are depicted in detail and there is an excellent performance by Dame Shearer who expertly captures the different gestures and habits in the way both women face life; it's a "tour de force" and even though it seems simple it is actually complex. The film is also perfectly balanced, with witty editing showing transitions from Dame Molly to Dame Florence, especially at the beginning of the film. With skill and craftsmanship the film narrative goes from to a barroom dance to a luxurious mansion very smoothly, reflecting different social realities that have only one thing in common: the sufferings of love.Herr Bell knows (as does this German count) that different social classes cannot be mixed and that's what happens in "Lady Of The Night" but in order not to disillusion the audience and keep them dreaming those impossible dreams, Herr Bell includes some humour and also an ironic and cynical ending, as happens in many of Herr Bell's films. After all, those two different girls are realistic not foolish ones and know pretty well what the future has in store for them.And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must drink a double cocktail.Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/

Monta Bell and Norma Shearer had an actress-director collaboration as important as that of Von Sternberg and Dietrich. And deeper. For while Sternberg never tired of exploring the planes of Dietrich's face, Bell explored Shearer's soul -- and through her, explored the moral nature of American women in the pivotal decade of the 1920s. All three of their extant films are to be cherished, but this is their absolute masterpiece.