Irving Cummings seems to have been very uninspired by this drama about an aspiring actress struggling to survive on Broadway. His direction is dull, mostly simple two-shots with very few close-ups. In fact I don't think Johnny Walker gets a single close-up in the entire film. And his reluctance to bring the camera in close means that he doesn't use the wonderfully expressive face of Colleen Moore. There is one gorgeous close-up of her looking through a curtain which demonstrates how foolish Cummings' fear of close-ups was. Her face expressing so much emotion that we can feel the envy she feels, as her gold-digger friend goes off to fame and fortune.
This film is certainly a missed opportunity - a great cast, a good (if somewhat cliched) story and a fascinating setting (Broadway in the 1920's). But Cummings chooses to shoot all the dance routines from the side - like we are watching from the wings. A nice idea for some shots - but for all of them! The Broadway shows look pretty shoddy anyway. Perhaps this was a budgetary problem.
Anyway, the film is worth seeing for a glimpse of the great Colleen Moore in an early leading role.
This film is certainly a missed opportunity - a great cast, a good (if somewhat cliched) story and a fascinating setting (Broadway in the 1920's). But Cummings chooses to shoot all the dance routines from the side - like we are watching from the wings. A nice idea for some shots - but for all of them! The Broadway shows look pretty shoddy anyway. Perhaps this was a budgetary problem.
Anyway, the film is worth seeing for a glimpse of the great Colleen Moore in an early leading role.