Framed (1930)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

... with some Hitchcockian irony thrown in. This was certainly a good vehicle for Evelyn Brent who plays Rose Manning. The first scene is her surrounded by cops acting like a football team. Maybe if they confuse her with enough questions she'll confess? In this case they are looking for the killer of her father. Two of his associates are shown to her in a lineup and she says she does not know them.Meanwhile she is sure that Police Inspector "Butch" McArthur (William Holden...no not THAT William Holden) is responsible for her beloved dad's murder, and years later she still wants revenge.. She goes to work for gangster Chuck Gaines (Raf Harolde) as a hostess at his nightclub. At least I THINK that's her job. She doesn't sing or dance, just goes from table to table. The front story to keep the customers off of her is that she is Gaines' girl. Problem is, the story is apparently so convincing even Gaines believes it. A young guy is at the club night after night (Regis Toomey as Jimmy) who is head over heels for Rose and wants to marry her, taking up all of Rose's time. She thinks he is just a sweet kid until she finds out Jimmy is actually the inspector's son, the son of the man she think killed her dad. What worse revenge could she send upon him than to have a gun moll as his daughter in law? Meanwhile Chuck Gaines is a dumb gangster or the police are even more dumb. First off, Raf Harolde portrays his gangster more as cowardly weasel than brains of a syndicate. Jimmy Cagney he is not. But then WB in its prime RKO is not either, so what can I say? Gaines never does the killing himself, he always sends his doorman out to do the job, dressed up in a costume as obvious as an organ grinder, and uses the same corner drugstore and the same time (midnight) for all of his hits. The owner of the all night drugstore, the police, and the fact that it is all of Gaines' old friends that are being bumped off should make somebody wise to this guy's ways.How does this all work out? Very ironically in a way you'd never guess. Yes some of the scenes are laughable, but overall it is one of the better early talkie films I've seen from that year.

"Make hay while the sun shines and whoopee while the moon shines." So speaks Evelyn Brent, the glamorous operator of a casino where the booze flows as the bullets fly. With Brent's line, you know that you are in the world of pre-code Hollywood where pretty much anything goes. This drama focuses on Brent's love for decent Regis Toomey, the son of the cop who killed her father. Add in other elements of organized crime muscling in on her, and you've got a pretty spicy tale of cafe society when sobriety was not an option no matter what the law said.Other than some moments when certain actors speak very slowly, this is a rather interesting look at what was going on during that free for all era of prohibition. Brent's not quite a Texas Guinan or Sophie Tucker, but don't let her all American girl look fool you. Toomey, better in supporting parts, remains one of the true curiosities as a leading man, being totally bland. This reminded me of "Shopworn", another pre-code drama with similar themes, except in that film, it was a possessive mother father than a disproving father that also featured Toomey. Ralfe Harold a rather slimy rival. As pre- code films go, this is an early talkie example of how enjoyable they could be, even if the technical standards needed improving.

Creaky, but Sometimes Clever, this Early Talkie was Headlined by Evelyn Brent, Hardly a Household Name. But Her Acting Ability, Especially Making the Transition from the Silents, is Obvious and She Shines in this Male Oriented Gangster Film.Regis Toomey, in an Early Role, is Underused and Bland, but as Brent Carries the Film it Plods Along with the Expected Datedness that Plagued the Era from 1927-to about 1933. Hollywood's Transition from Silents to Talkies was, Like All Births, Painful at Times.This One Fares Pretty Good, but Cannot Escapes the Confines of its Playdate. Worth a Watch to See the Unknown Brent and as a Bridge Roughly Traveled as Filmdom was Finding its Feet with New Technology. The Opening and Closing are Stylistic and Connected, the Middle Meanders a bit, but Manages to be Entertaining Enough to Recommend.Note...There is very little Pre-Code Inclusions worth noting and the Film would have passed the Censors with no problem.

No one did sulky/sultry quite like Evelyn Brent. She really hit her stride in the late 1920s with parts in a couple of Josef von Sternberg ground breaking films. When talkies came along she was thought enough of by Paramount to be cast in their first all talkie production, "Interference", and no one in the cast (not even William Powell) seemed more natural or at ease in front of a mike than Evelyn. Even though Paramount had her pegged for stardom she was mysteriously let go amid rumours of temperament but Brent claimed that as an independent woman she was just speaking her mind. Fortunately for film fans her brand of "bad girl" continued to be in demand and in "Framed" she gives a blistering performance which makes you wonder why she didn't find stardom - especially when Ralf Harolde, who plays "Chuck" gives a very mannered, stagy performance, obviously still finding his "talkie" feet!!Film opens (and closes) with an innovatively filmed interrogation scene in which Rose Manning is grilled by the police and realises that they may have killed her father. Five years later a vengeful Rose is now a nightclub hostess but still planning the demise of police chief "Butch" McArthur (William Holden) - through his son, persistent nightclub patron Jimmie (Regis Toomey - did he ever play a tough guy - I doubt it!!) There is more than enough evidence to suggest with Harolde's "madly mugging" performance that he was the real killer of Rose's dad. The result is an okay crime meller (to give audiences of the day their gangster fix) with some interesting camera angles that only the smaller studios seemed game enough to try.Tough talking Brent keeps the action flowing and is the main reason to watch. Her costumes are gorgeous and must have blown Radio's yearly budget - there is a silver geometric evening dress and one with feathers - how could any man resist her?