Manslaughter (1930) is a weirdly loud, messy drama that actually works

You should probably watch this if you have a soft spot for movies where rich people finally get what is coming to them. It is also great if you just want to see Claudette Colbert be a total brat for forty minutes. People who hate the 'stagey' feel of early sound movies will probably want to skip it, though. It feels very much like a play that someone occasionally moved a camera into.

Lydia Thorne is the lead, and she is basically the 1930 version of a social media influencer with too much inheritance. She drives her car like she's trying to win a race that doesn't exist. I kept thinking about how small the cars looked back then, like toys that could flip over if you sneezed too hard.

There is this one scene where she is just flying down the road. The wind is blowing her hair all over the place, and she has this look on her face that is just... pure ego. It’s actually kind of terrifying. Then she hits the cop. 🏎️

The sound of the crash isn't even that loud, but the silence after it is what gets you. It feels like the movie itself is holding its breath. The way she tries to talk her way out of it at first is so gross but also very real. She really thinks a checkbook can fix a dead body.

The Fredric March Problem

Fredric March plays Dan, the District Attorney. He is supposed to be the hero, I guess? But he is so stiff. He stands like he has a wooden board strapped to his back. 🕴️

He loves Lydia, but he has to prosecute her. The scenes where they are together before the trial are kind of painful to watch because you can tell they are both acting at each other instead of with each other. It’s that early talkie thing where everyone is worried about the microphone hidden in the flower vase.

I found myself more interested in the maid, Evans. There is a whole subplot about the maid stealing some jewelry to help her sick mother. It feels like it belongs in a different movie, maybe something like The Painted Angel, but it works here to show how much of a hypocrite Lydia is.

Lydia is fine with the maid going to jail for a tiny theft. But when she kills a human being? Suddenly the law is too harsh. It’s a bit on the nose, but I liked seeing her get called out.

The Weird Flashback Thing

Okay, so there is this part in the middle of the trial where the movie just... goes to Ancient Rome? It’s a hallucination or a metaphor, I think. Everyone is wearing robes and drinking out of big cups. 🍷

It goes on for a long time. Like, a really long time. I think the director just wanted to use some leftovers from a bigger production. It’s supposed to show that society is decaying or whatever, but it just made me want to check my phone. It’s way more over-the-top than the rest of the film, which is mostly just people in small rooms talking about feelings.

It reminded me of the weird vibes in The Squall where everything just feels slightly off-balance. Not necessarily bad, just... strange.

Life in the Big House

Once Lydia actually goes to prison, the movie gets way better. The fancy dresses are gone and she has to wear this potato sack of a uniform. Claudette Colbert actually does a great job of looking miserable. Her hair gets messy and she stops doing that 'rich girl' pose.

• The prison soup looks like grey water.
• The other inmates are all much more interesting than the rich people from the first half.
• There is a moment where Lydia has to scrub the floor and you can tell she has never held a brush in her life.

I noticed a small detail in the jail cell scene. There is a shadow of the bars that stays perfectly still on her face while she talks. It’s a simple trick, but it made the scene feel much more claustrophobic than the courtroom stuff. ⛓️

The ending is a bit of a rush. It’s one of those 'everything is fixed now' endings that movies loved back then. I didn't really buy it. After everything they went through, a hug in a car doesn't really seem like enough? But hey, it was 1930.

The print I watched was a little grainy, and the audio hissed whenever someone spoke too loud. It actually added to the mood, though. It made it feel like a ghost story about a world that doesn't exist anymore. If you want something that feels like a clean 'classic,' go watch Beauty and the Beast. This one is for people who like their movies a bit more jagged and weirdly paced.

I think I liked it more than I expected to. Even if the Rome stuff was totally unnecessary. It’s a movie about a girl realizing she isn't the center of the universe, and that is always kind of satisfying to watch. Just don't expect it to be a legal thriller like we have today. It’s a melodrama, through and through. 🎭