Knowing Men (1930) Review: Fancy Hats and Awkward Silences

Is Knowing Men worth watching today? Honestly, only if you have a real soft spot for those very early, slightly stiff British talkies. If you want something fast or loud, you’re gonna hate this one. 🛑

It’s a movie for people who like to look at old furniture and judge people's outfits from the 1930s. It’s not exactly a masterpiece, but it has this weird, sleepy charm to it that I kind of liked.

The plot is pretty basic stuff. Korah (played by Elissa Landi) is an heiress who is just exhausted by all the fortune hunters chasing her. She wants a man who loves her for her, not her bank account. Which, let's be real, is a very "movie" problem to have.

She decides to go undercover as a companion to a Marquise. This means she has to act like a servant, which she isn't very good at. There’s a scene where she’s holding a tray and she looks so confused by it. Like she’s never seen a piece of silver that wasn't being polished by someone else.

Elissa Landi is actually pretty good here. She has these massive eyes that seem to be doing most of the acting for her. Sometimes she just stares at the other actors and you can almost see her thinking about her next line.

The movie was written by Elinor Glyn, who was famous for inventing the "It" girl thing. But this movie feels a bit like it’s missing that spark. It’s a bit more better than some of the other stuff from that year, but it’s still very slow.

I found myself comparing it to Hríchy lásky. Both films feel like they are caught between the silent era and the new world of sound. There are these long, awkward silences where nobody says anything and the camera just lingers on a vase or a rug.

Carl Brisson plays the main guy, Paul. He’s got hair that is so perfectly slicked back it looks like it’s made of plastic. He smiles a lot, but I didn't really buy the romance between him and Korah. It felt more like two people politely agreeing to be in the same room.

The Marquise is played by Helen Haye and she is the best part of the movie. She is so mean! She treats Korah like dirt and has this very high-pitched, snooty voice that probably broke a few microphones back in 1930. 🎙️

There is this one scene in a garden where the background noise is so loud. It sounds like there is a bird trapped inside the microphone. It’s so distracting that I totally forgot what they were talking about. I think it was something about love, but who knows.

The dialogue is very... theatrical. People don't just talk; they proclaim things. "Oh, to be loved for oneself!" It’s all very dramatic and a bit silly. If you’ve seen Aylwin, you know that slow, lingering pace I'm talking about.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Knowing Men (1930) through its definitive frames.

I probaly checked the time twice during the middle section. It really drags when they’re just sitting around the drawing room. But then the hats come out. 👒

The fashion in this movie is wild. Some of the hats are so big they look like they could catch a satellite signal. I spent more time looking at the costumes than listening to the plot, to be honest.

The lighting is also really weirdly inconsistent. In one shot, Korah looks like a movie star, and in the next, the shadows are so harsh she looks like she’s in a horror movie. It’s that early sound-era struggle where they didn't know how to hide the equipment yet.

If you want something with a bit more energy, you should probably watch The Gallopin' Gaucho instead. That one actually moves. Knowing Men just sort of sits there and hopes you think it’s elegant.

There is a villain guy named Gerald who is so obviously bad. He has a tiny mustache and he sneers at everyone. It’s funny how they used to make villains so easy to spot back then. No nuance at all, just pure sneering.

The ending is exactly what you expect. No big twists or turns. Just a nice, clean wrap-up where the rich girl finds her man. It’s fine. It’s totally fine.

The audio quality is pretty rough too. There’s a constant hiss in the background that sounds like someone is frying bacon in the next room. 🥓 It adds a weird vibe to the romantic scenes.

I wouldn't say this is a "must-see" unless you really love Elinor Glyn's work. It’s more of a curiosity. A relic from a time when movies were still trying to figure out how to talk without sounding like a stage play.

It’s a nice movie for a rainy Sunday when you have nothing else to do. Grab a cup of tea and just enjoy the hats. Don't worry too much about the story because it’s not really going anywhere fast. ☕

In the end, it’s just a harmless, slightly clunky romance. It’s better than For the Love of Tut, but that’s not saying much. It’s okay. Just okay.

Things I noticed:

• The way the actors stare at each other for way too long after a line.
• The sound of the film crackling like a fireplace.
• That one guy’s mustache is definitely fake.
• The sheer amount of lace on everything.
• How loud the bird sounds were in that one scene. 🐦

So yeah, watch it if you’re bored and like old stuff. Skip it if you want to stay awake.