Betrayal (1929) is a weird, snowy mess of a love triangle

If you have about an hour and a half to kill and don’t mind squinting at some old silent film grain, Betrayal is actually pretty decent. It’s perfect for people who like those old stories where everyone is miserable because they’re too polite to just tell the truth. If you can't stand slow movies where people stare intensely at mountains for five minutes, you should probably skip it.

I watched this because I wanted to see Gary Cooper before he became the massive star everyone knows. He plays Andre, this artist from Vienna who wanders into Switzerland and falls for a local girl named Vroni. He looks so young here it’s almost distracting, like a tall drink of water in a beret.

Esther Ralston plays Vroni, and she has these eyes that look like they’re constantly about to spill over with tears. They have this secret summer romance that feels very light and airy, but you just know it’s gonna end badly because of the title. Sure enough, her dad forces her to marry the local rich guy, Poldi, played by Emil Jannings.

Jannings is a total contrast to Cooper. He’s big and loud and moves around like he owns every inch of the frame. It’s kind of funny seeing them in the same house later on, like a giant bear and a very confused giraffe trying to be friends.

There is this one scene where Vroni introduces Andre to her husband as just some guy who lost his girlfriend. Poldi, being a "nice guy," invites him to stay in their house. It’s so awkward it reminded me a bit of the tension in The Gaucho but without the cool stunts. Andre just hangs around for seven years, coming back for visits while Vroni has kids with the other guy. Seven years!

I kept thinking, "Andre, buddy, go paint a different mountain." But no, he stays devoted in that way only silent movie characters can. The kids in the movie are kind of just there as props to make you feel bad for the mom. One of them has a haircut that I’m pretty sure was illegal even in 1929.

The scenery is actually pretty great, even if it's mostly studio sets and some location shots blended together. It reminds me of the atmosphere in Driven, where the environment feels like it's crushing the characters. You can almost feel the cold coming off the screen during the winter scenes.

Everything leads up to this insane toboggan run. They decide to go sledding down a mountain, which seems like a bad idea when you're emotionally compromised. The way they filmed the sledding is actually kind of terrifying for the time. It’s fast and bumpy and you can tell they weren't using many safety wires.

Vroni dies in the crash, and Andre is basically a goner too. It’s a bit much, honestly. Like, couldn’t they just have a conversation instead of flying off a cliff? But that wouldn't be "cinema," I guess.

The ending at the funeral is where Jannings really goes for the Oscar—or whatever they had back then. He finds out about the affair and he’s ready to kill Andre, but then he realizes the guy is already dying. The look on his face is heartbreaking in a way that feels a little too big for the room. It's much more intense than anything in Soldiers of Fortune.

I noticed that the lighting in the indoor scenes is really dark, like they couldn't afford enough candles or something. It adds to the mood, but sometimes you can barely tell who is talking—or gesturing, since it’s silent. There’s a moment where a character enters a room and just stands in the shadows for a weirdly long time. I think the actor forgot their cue, or maybe the director just liked the silhouette.

It’s not a perfect movie by any means. The pacing in the middle drags like a heavy sled on dry grass. You could probably trim twenty minutes out of the "visiting the house" montage and not miss a thing. It feels a bit repetitive, like The Long Chance, where you’re just waiting for the inevitable disaster to strike.

Still, for a 1929 flick, it holds up if you’re into the tragic romance stuff. Cooper and Jannings together is a weird pairing that somehow works. It’s like watching two different styles of acting crash into each other. If you’ve seen Der Sträfling von Cayenne, you know that European dramatic style Jannings brings.

Don't expect a happy ending. This is the kind of movie that wants you to leave feeling a bit cold and lonely. Which is fine, sometimes you're in the mood for that. Just maybe don't go tobogganing right after watching it. ❄️

Oh, and look out for the scene with the baby. The baby looks genuinely confused about why all these adults are crying and shouting. It’s probably the most honest performance in the whole film.