Kid Gloves (1929) is a strange, charming gangster romance

If you have a soft spot for those old movies where gangsters wear tuxedos and actually have feelings, Kid Gloves is worth a look. It is not exactly a masterpiece, but it has that specific late 20s charm that is hard to find now.

You should watch this if you like stories about 'bad guys' who are secretly the nicest people in the room. You will probaly hate it if you need things like 'logic' or 'pacing' to enjoy yourself. 🎬

The whole thing starts with a taxi ride that goes south real fast. Ruth Darrow is just sitting there, being a socialite, when a gun battle breaks out between bootleggers.

The way the taxi driver just sits there while bullets fly is kind of hilarious. I think I counted at least three windows breaking but Ruth stays remarkably calm for someone being shot at.

This is where we meet The Kid, played by Conrad Nagel. He is a hijacker, which sounds scary, but he has these very sensitive eyes.

He takes the injured Ruth to a nearby apartment to care for her. This part of the movie feels like it belongs in a different film, something much slower and quieter.

Nagel plays the role with a weird mix of toughness and like... he is about to cry? It is a very specific vibe.

Then we get John Stone, Ruth's fiance. He is a bootlegger too, but he keeps a 'respectable' front so nobody knows he is a criminal.

When he finds Ruth and The Kid together, he does the weirdest thing. Instead of being mad or calling the cops, he blackmails The Kid into marrying her.

I had to rewind that bit to make sure I heard it right. He thinks she is cheating, so his solution is to force her to marry the guy he caught her with?

It is the kind of plot point that only makes sense if you have had a few drinks. It reminds me of the strange marital setups in Watch Your Wife or maybe even What Wives Want.

So they get married. But they decide to live together like 'brother and sister.'

The movie spends a lot of time on this awkward domesticity. They live in this apartment together and it feels like they are just playing house.

There is this one scene where they are just sitting there, and you can tell they want to hold hands but the script says no. It goes on a bit too long.

I actually liked the way the apartment was lit, though. There are these deep shadows that make the whole thing feel more like a noir than it actually is.

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

The costumes are great, especially Ruth's hats. She has this one hat that looks like a small bird is nesting on her head. 🎩

It is very distracting but also very 1929. It’s definitely more stylish than the outfits in Davy Crockett.

Anyway, Stone eventually realizes Ruth wasn't actually cheating on him. So, naturally, he decides the only solution now is to kill The Kid.

Ruth tries to save him by agreeing to leave The Kid and marry Stone. It is the classic 'sacrifice for love' trope that you see in movies like Smooth as Satin.

The ending comes out of nowhere. Stone gets implicated in a different killing and has to leave town.

Problem solved, I guess? It is very convenient for everyone involved.

The Kid decides to reform and stay married to Ruth. The reform happens so fast it will give you whiplash.

One minute he is hijacking trucks, the next he is a dedicated husband. I guess love does that to you in old movies.

Random things I noticed:

• The 'Kid Gloves' nickname is never really explained. Does he have soft hands?
• Richard Cramer has a face like he just smelled something bad in every scene.
• The gun battle at the start has zero recoil on the guns. It looks like they are clicking toys.
• The apartment has a lot of very uncomfortable-looking chairs.
• Lois Wilson is actually really good at looking worried.

The dialogue is definitely a bit clunky in places. You can tell they were still figuring out how to make people sound real on screen back then.

It is not as weirdly experimental as La tour. But it is a solid bit of drama if you don't think about it too hard.

I’ll probably forget the specific plot by next week. But I will remember Conrad Nagel’s weirdly intense stare.

And that bird hat. Definitely that hat.

It's much better than some of the other stuff from that year, like Flying Romeos which is just a mess.

If you find a good print of this, give it a shot. Just don't expect it to make a whole lot of sense.

It’s just a nice, slightly goofy time capsule. Sometimes that is all you need from a movie.