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5.5/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.5/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Children of Pleasure remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
You should probably only watch Children of Pleasure if you are the kind of person who likes looking at old dusty things in a museum. If you hate movies where the sound is a bit scratchy and people talk like they have a mouthful of marbles, you will definitely hate this.
But for the rest of us? It’s a pretty interesting look at how movies were trying to figure themselves out back in 1930. 🎬
Lawrence Gray plays Danny. He is a songwriter who gets famous and then starts acting like he’s too good for his old life.
He falls for this girl named Emma who is 'high society.' Spoiler alert: she is actually just mean and bored.
The whole movie feels a bit like a stage play that someone decided to film at the last minute. The camera doesn't move much, and everyone stands in a line when they talk.
It reminds me a bit of the vibe in The Painted Angel, where everything feels just a little too loud and bright. The actors are trying so hard to make sure the microphones pick up their voices.
The musical numbers are... something else. They happen a lot.
One song, 'Leave It To Love,' comes back over and over again. By the third time, I was humming it, but by the fifth time, I wanted to hide under my couch.
There is this one scene with a huge production number that feels like it cost about five dollars to make. But everyone is smiling so hard you almost believe they are having a good time.
The way they stage the singing is so funny. Usually, a guy just stands next to a piano and stares directly into your soul while he belts out lyrics about moonlight.
It isn't exactly like The Squall, which is way more dramatic, but it has that same early-talkie stiffness. You can almost hear the director whispering 'don't move!' from behind the curtain.
The best part is seeing Jack Benny. He is so young here!
He isn't quite the Jack Benny everyone knows yet, but you can see the glimpses of it. He has this dry way of saying things that makes everyone else look like they are overacting.
Then you have Cliff Edwards, who most people know as the voice of Jiminy Cricket. He plays the ukulele, obviously.
The 'girl-Friday' character is the one you actually end up rooting for. She spends the whole movie looking at Danny with these big, sad eyes while he ignores her for the fancy girl.
It’s one of those plots where you want to reach into the screen and shake the main character. Like, 'Hey buddy, the nice girl is right there!' 🤦♂️
The ending happens so fast it’ll give you whiplash. One minute he’s heartbroken, and the next minute he’s in love with the right girl and everything is perfect.
Movies back then didn't really care about 'character arcs' as much as they cared about getting to the final song. It’s messy, but it’s honest in its own way.
If you've seen things like A Romance of Happy Valley, you know how these older stories love their simple morals. This one is no different.
Don't be a snob, stay true to your friends, and don't marry a girl just because she has a fancy house. Simple stuff.
Is it a masterpiece? No. Is it better than sitting in silence for an hour? Yeah, probably.
It has this weirdly cozy feeling, like watching an old home movie of people you don't know. You can see the seams, but that’s what makes it feel real. 📽️
I think I liked the piano player the most. He looked like he actually knew how to play, unlike some other movies where the fingers don't match the notes at all.
Anyway, if you find a copy of this, give it a look on a rainy Sunday. Just don't expect it to change your life.
IMDb 6.3
1912
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