My Past (1931) is a weirdly polite love triangle with great hats

If you like watching people in tuxedos agonize over their feelings in very quiet rooms, My Past is probably worth your time today.

It’s for anyone who misses when movies felt like stage plays where the actors were slightly afraid of the microphones.

If you hate slow dramas where people talk about 'honor' for seventy minutes, you will likely be bored to tears. 😴

Bebe Daniels plays Doreen, a big-shot actress who everyone seems to adore.

She has these massive eyes that the camera just loves to sit on for way too long.

Then you have Lewis Stone as John, the older guy who is rich and steady.

He looks like he hasn’t slept since 1925, but in a way that makes him seem very dignified.

Ben Lyon plays Robert, the younger friend who comes back from a trip and ruins everything by falling for Doreen too.

The whole thing feels a bit like The Love Piker if everyone was much wealthier and more depressed.

There is a scene early on where Doreen is in her dressing room and the lighting is just... off.

One side of her face is totally in shadow for no real reason, and it makes her look like a Batman villain for a second.

I don't think it was intentional, but I couldn't stop looking at it.

The movie really leans into the 'best friends' thing between the two men.

They call each other 'old man' and 'kid' and it feels very sweet until you remember they are fighting over the same woman.

It’s weirdly polite. Nobody punches anyone.

They just sit in expensive chairs and look out of windows.

The pacing is a bit clunky, kind of like Some Tomboy, where scenes just end abruptly.

One moment they are at a party, and the next, someone is suddenly heartbroken in a library.

Joan Blondell shows up briefly and she is, as always, the best part of the room.

She has this energy that makes the other actors look like they are moving in slow motion.

I wish the movie was about her character instead, honestly.

There is a lot of drinking. Like, a lot of drinking.

They pour drinks to celebrate, they pour drinks to mourn, and they pour drinks just because the scene started.

The glassware is very nice, though.

The dialogue is very '1931.' People say things like 'I didn't know you cared' with total sincerity.

It reminded me of the stiff delivery in White Pants Willie, though this is a much more serious film.

Bebe Daniels wears these hats that are basically architectural marvels.

I kept wondering how she kept her neck straight while wearing a giant velvet pancake on her head.

The ending feels like it belongs to a different movie.

It wraps up so fast you might blink and miss the resolution.

It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s a good 'Sunday afternoon with a headache' kind of movie.

It’s gentle. It doesn’t demand much from you.

Didja notice?

• The way Lewis Stone holds his cigar like it's a religious artifact.
• That one extra in the background of the party who is clearly just eating real food and ignoring the actors.
• The sound of the film crackling whenever someone stops talking. 🔊
• Bebe's dramatic cape. It has a life of its own.
• The weirdly empty hallways in the 'mansion' that look like a high school gym.
• Ben Lyon's hair never moves, even when he's supposed to be distressed.

If you enjoy seeing how Hollywood handled 'scandal' before the censors really tightened the leash, give it a go.

It’s got that Pre-Code honesty where people admit they aren't perfect.

Just don't expect a lot of action.

It’s mostly just people in very nice clothes being very sad about their choices.