Sympathy (1929, Bryan Foy)

Sympathy is a Vitaphone one-reeler about a married man (Hobart Cavanaugh) stepping out on his wife. It’s not his fault, of course, he was just responding to peer pressure.

Harry Shannon plays the peer in question and he’s awful. He drags Sympathy down for the first half. Once he’s absent and the wife, played by Regina Wallace, comes in, the short greatly improves.

Both Cavanaugh and Wallace are good–they only have a couple moments together, unfortunately. Sympathy doesn’t give its cast much to do, which might be a good thing since director Bryan Foy can’t shoot a picture.

Synchronized sound is in its infancy here, not filmmaking. Foy can’t figure out how to place actors on a set, can’t imply scale. If Sympathy weren’t just talking and some tepid slapstick, he’d do it a far greater disservice.

As is, it’s indistinct except as an example of early talkies.

1/3 Not Recommended

CREDITS

Directed by Bryan Foy; written by Murray Roth and Edmund Joseph; director of photography, Edwin B. DuPar; released by Warner Bros.

Starring Hobart Cavanaugh (William Maxwell), Regina Wallace (Laura Maxwell), Harry Shannon (Larry), Wynne Gibson (Trixie) and Loretta Shea (Flo).


RELATED

OTHER VITAPHONE VARIETIES FILMS
OTHER 1929 RELEASES

The Mummy’s Ghost (1944, Reginald Le Borg)

The Mummy’s Ghost is, with a couple problems, really good for a monster movie (and leagues ahead of Universal’s other 1940s Mummy features). It’s not so much about the Mummy as the victims and the investigation (but the police investigation, not the scientific–and everyone believes in mummies walking around animate, so there’s no convincing to be done).

But it’s a little more than just the approach to the plot, it’s the whole script. The film opens with a great recap of the previous two, with a split expository scene, starting with villain John Carradine (oh, I forgot, John Carradine plays an Arab here) learning about it then splitting to a college lecture for the second half of the story. It’s a neat narrative shift, bringing the entire cast into the film while still doing the recap.

But Carradine isn’t even a major character. He’s important at the end for a scene or two, but mostly the film focuses on Robert Lowery, a college student whose girlfriend (Ramsay Ames) is taking the Mummy’s return poorly, and Harry Shannon’s sheriff, who knows what he’s pursuing but doesn’t know how to do it.

Shannon’s maybe not leading man quality, but he’s fine. Lowery’s good. Ames is all right too, with her terror coming through rather well.

Le Borg’s a somewhat poor director (the Mummy close-ups are staged terribly), but William A. Sickner’s photography–especially the day for night work–is exquisite.

It’s a real downer too, which is just wonderful.

1.5/4 ★½

CREDITS

Directed by Reginald Le Borg; screenplay by Griffin Jay, Henry Sucher and Brenda Weisberg, based on a story by Jay and Sucher; director of photography, William A. Sickner; edited by Saul A. Goodkind; music by Frank Skinner; released by Universal Pictures.

Starring John Carradine (Yousef Bey), Robert Lowery (Tom Hervey), Ramsay Ames (Amina Mansouri), Barton MacLane (Inspector Walgreen), George Zucco (Andoheb, High Priest of Arkan), Frank Reicher (Prof. Matthew Norman), Harry Shannon (Sheriff Elwood), Emmett Vogan (Coroner), Lester Sharpe (Dr. Ayad, Scripps Museum), Claire Whitney (Mrs. Ella Norman) and Lon Chaney Jr. (Kharis).