Fascinating film which grabs the attention thanks to a hard-hitting script, big-budget sets and believable acting from a really solid cast, particularly from Constance Bennett in what is surely her best performance ever. Barthelmess is mighty believable too. But the story, alas, is not. Mind you, it's first-rate stuff right until all the cop-out rubbish surfaces with Robert Homans in his all-too-familiar element, but even less convincing than usual. (Homans plays the cop, of course). Interest and believability then take a nosedive despite the studio's frantic efforts to hold our attention with a Technicolor sequence (which is now, despite the excellent quality of the rest of the movie, a Clayton's Technicolor sequence, that is it's the cheesy color filter you have when you're not actually having Technicolor). However, it's hard to keep producer-director Frank Lloyd down, and "Son of the Gods" is still a movie that's well worth watching. Available on a very good Warner Archive DVD.
Review of Son of the Gods
