Pointed Heels (1929) is a weird, clunky relic that I actually liked

If you have a soft spot for those 1920s movies where everyone sounds like they are shouting into a tin can hidden in a flower vase, you should probably watch this today. It is a strange little thing from 1929 called Pointed Heels.

It is definitely for the people who like old Hollywood history more than they like a tight plot. If you want something fast or logical, you will probably hate this within five minutes. 📺

The whole thing is about these musical performers and what they do when they aren't on stage. Mostly, they just seem to have problems.

William Powell is in this, and he is honestly the only reason I sat through the whole thing. He plays a guy named Oliver and he has this way of looking at people like he knows exactly what they are thinking and he’s slightly bored by it.

There is a scene early on where he is just standing there with a cigarette and he looks so much more natural than anyone else. Everyone else is acting with their whole bodies, like they are trying to reach the back row of a theater that isn't there.

Fay Wray is the lead girl, and she is very sweet, but the movie doesn't really know what to do with her. She spends a lot of time looking worried or pretty, sometimes both at the same time.

I noticed that her eye makeup is so thick it almost looks like she hasn't slept in three days. It was the style back then, I guess, but it makes her look like a very sad raccoon. 🦝

The movie has these sequences with the Albertina Rasch Dancers. They are very technically good, I suppose, but the way they move is so stiff and synchronized it feels a bit like watching a machine.

They do this one dance where they are all in a line and their heels are clicking and it goes on for a long time. Like, a really long time.

I started counting the tiles on the floor during that scene. I think there were twelve.

The sound is the biggest hurdle here. It is one of those early "talkies" where the actors have to stand perfectly still so the microphone can catch them.

It makes the dialogue feel very heavy and slow. Like they are reading a grocery list instead of having a fight.

There’s this one guy, Eugene Pallette, who has a voice like a gravel truck. Every time he speaks, the whole movie seems to vibrate.

I remember seeing him in The Quarterback and thinking he was funny, but here he’s just sort of there. He provides some "comedy," but I didn't laugh much.

Actually, the movie gets better when it stops trying to be a drama and just lets people be weird. There is a bit with a piano that I liked, mostly because the music actually sounded okay for 1929.

The plot is about a guy who wants to be a composer but his rich family hates the idea of him marrying a chorus girl. It’s the same story we’ve seen a thousand times, even back then.

I think I saw a similar vibe in Tillie's Punctured Romance, though that one was way more chaotic. Pointed Heels feels like it’s trying to be sophisticated, which is its biggest mistake.

The ending is very abrupt. It’s like they ran out of film or the director just wanted to go home and have dinner.

One minute they are arguing, and the next minute everything is just... fine? It didn't really feel earned.

Also, there is a weird thing with the shoes. The title is Pointed Heels, and they keep showing close-ups of feet.

I get that it’s a metaphor for the "stings" of the stage life or whatever, but it just felt like the cameraman had a very specific interest. It was a bit much. 👠

The sets look like they were made of cardboard and hope. You can see the shadows of the actors hitting the backdrops in a way that makes the whole world feel two-dimensional.

I kind of love that, though. It feels honest.

Modern movies are so polished you forget they are made by people. In this one, you can practically hear the director whispering "action" off-camera.

If you’ve seen One Stolen Night, you know how these late 20s films can be a bit of a gamble. This one is a better gamble than most, but only because of William Powell.

He has this scene where he’s talking about how life is just a big show, and for a second, I actually believed him. Then a dancer in a giant hat walked by and ruined the mood.

The hats in this movie are enormous. I don't know how they balanced them.

There was one hat that looked like a giant velvet pancake. I spent five minutes wondering if it was heavy.

Anyway, it’s not a masterpiece. It’s not even a "good" movie by most standards.

But it has a certain charm if you’re in the right mood. It’s like finding an old postcard in a dusty book.

It doesn't tell you much, but you’re glad you looked at it. ✉️

One more thing—the way they filmed the backstage areas makes it look incredibly cramped. I wonder if the studio was actually that small or if they just liked the cluttered look.

It made me feel a bit claustrophobic. Just people and costumes and props everywhere.

I think I missed a whole subplot about a secondary romance because I was trying to figure out if a guy in the background was wearing a real mustache or a fake one. (I’m pretty sure it was fake).

So yeah. Pointed Heels. It’s clunky, the sound is rough, and the dancing is robotic.

But William Powell is there. And sometimes, that’s enough for a Tuesday night.

"It's not the life, it's the heels that get you."

I don't think anyone actually says that in the movie, but they should have. It would have made more sense than half the dialogue.

I’m gonna go watch something with better audio now. My ears need a break.