Acquitted (1929) Review: A clunky but sweet prison drama

You should probably watch Acquitted if you are the kind of person who enjoys dusty old film reels and doesn't mind a bit of stagey acting. It is a perfect rainy Sunday afternoon movie for people who like to see how movies used to work before they got all fast and loud.

If you need high-speed chases or characters who don't announce every single thought they have, you will probably hate this one. It is very much a product of 1929, meaning everyone moves a bit like they are underwater.

The story kicks off with a doctor played by Lloyd Hughes. He gets wrongly convicted of a murder, which is a classic trope, but it feels especially heavy here because he's just so nice.

He ends up in prison, but because he's a doctor, he spends most of his time in the infirmary. It’s not exactly The Shawshank Redemption; it feels more like a very gray hospital with bars on the windows.

While he is there, he treats a female inmate. Her name is Margaret Livingston in real life, and she has these incredibly expressive eyes that seem to belong in a silent film rather than a talkie.

They fall in love pretty fast. Like, really fast. It’s that old-school movie magic where one look over a stethoscope means you are ready to get married.

The pacing is a bit of a mess, honestly. It reminds me of The Small Town Girl in the way it tries to balance a serious crime plot with a very soft romance.

One thing I noticed is the sound quality. You can hear this constant hiss in the background, which I actually find kind of soothing, but it might drive some people crazy.

There is a scene where the doctor is looking out a window and the lighting is just... off. It’s like they had one giant spotlight and didn't know where to put it, so his forehead is glowing while the rest of the room is pitch black.

I found myself wondering if the prison had a budget for light bulbs. Probably not.

Once the girl gets released, the movie picks up a little bit. She decides to become a amateur detective to find the real killer and get the doctor out of the clink.

It’s actually pretty cool to see a woman in 1929 taking charge like that. She doesn't just sit around and cry; she goes out and does the work.

The real killer is a guy who looks like he walked off the set of a cartoon. He has this very suspicious mustache that he might as well be twirling every five seconds.

If you compare this to something like Orochi, you can see how different the energy was between American dramas and international stuff back then. This feels much more like a filmed play.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Acquitted (1929) through its definitive frames.

I laughed a little bit during the courtroom scene at the end. The judge has a voice that sounds like he’s shouting into a tin can.

There is a moment where a witness looks directly at the camera for a split second. It feels like they were checking to see if the director was still awake.

The movie is quite short, which is a blessing. It doesn't overstay its welcome, though the ending feels like they ran out of film and just decided to stop.

I liked the costumes, especially the hats. Everyone in 1929 had a great hat game.

It lacks the slapstick energy of something like Double Whoopee, obviously. It tries to be very serious, but the technical limitations make it feel a bit goofy in hindsight.

Things I jotted down:

• The doctor's white coat is impossibly clean for a prison hospital.
• The way people walk into a room and stand perfectly still before speaking.
• That one guard who looks like he’s about to fall over.
• The weirdly romantic music that swells up at the strangest times.

It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s a vibe. If you’re into the history of how sound changed movies, you’ll find it fascinating to see them struggle with the dialogue.

The chemistry between Hughes and Livingston is actually decent. You believe they like each other, even if they've only known each other for about ten minutes of screen time.

I think the script could have used another pass. Some of the lines are so on the nose they might as well be subtitles.

At one point, someone says something about justice, and the camera lingers on a legal book for way too long. We get it, movie. We get it.

It’s better than The Goofy Age if you want something with actual stakes. But it’s not going to change your life or anything.

I’d give it a watch if you’re already deep into a marathon of early talkies. Otherwise, you might find it a bit of a slog.

The ending is happy, which I guess is what people wanted back then. No ambiguity here. Just a clean sweep of the legal system and a kiss.

I missed some of the grit you see in later prison movies. Everything here feels a bit too polite, even the criminals.

Anyway, it’s a solid piece of history. Just don't expect it to be 100% logical. 🎬