This 57 minute film was the first all-talking feature and is a perfect illustration of the effort to combine two art forms to create a third. Silent films + live theatre=the modern movie. Helene Costello is a lovely leading lady and Cullen Landis seems worthy of her. The attempts to "project" beyond the theatre lights are somewhat comical: heavy Tom Dugan menaces but bears an uncanny resemblance to Stan Laurel, with his facial exaggerations and bowler hat; Robert Elliot plays suspicion as the detective too shrewd to be taken in by crooked, villainous Wheeler Oakman; Jere Delaney and Walter Percival perform beneath a neon sign, flashing "Conmen;" only Mary Carr is so sweet and motherly to be taken in; Gladys Brockwell copes with the tragedy of love gone wrong. And the pearl is Eugene Palette, who displayed the distinctive voice that ensured steady employment through the 1930s. But this is unique.
Review of Lights of New York
