Prisoners (1929) Review - A very weird way to get a date

If you are looking for a logic-heavy legal drama, you should probably just keep scrolling right now. Prisoners is one of those old silent movies where the characters make decisions that would get them sent to a therapist today.

Is it worth watching? Only if you really love the silent era or if you're a completionist for early Bela Lugosi cameos.

Most people will probably find the plot a bit too ridiculous to handle. The main girl, Riza, is played by Corinne Griffith, and she’s a dancer in an Austrian cabaret.

She wears these massive, feathered headpieces and looks constantly distressed. She falls for this lawyer, Nicholas Cathy, played by Ian Keith.

Now, most people would just try to start a conversation or maybe drop a handkerchief. But Riza decides the best way to get his attention is to become a criminal.

She steals something specifically so he will have to defend her in court. It’s a bold strategy, honestly.

I kept thinking about how much easier her life would be if she just had a dating app. Instead, she chooses a felony.

Ian Keith plays the lawyer with a very stiff, very serious face. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would be worth going to prison for, but I guess tastes were different in 1929.

The courtroom scene is actually the funniest part of the whole thing. He is a terrible lawyer.

He loses the case! So Riza gets exactly what she wanted—his attention—but she also gets a one-way ticket to a jail cell.

Task failed successfully, I guess? The movie really slows down once she is behind bars.

There are a lot of shots of Griffith looking through the bars with these giant, sad eyes. She was known as "The Orchid of the Screen," and she looks very pretty even when she’s supposed to be miserable.

The lighting in the jail scenes is actually pretty good. It has that moody, shadowy look you see in stuff like A Woman of the Sea.

One weird detail I noticed was how clean her hair stays in prison. Not a single strand out of place after months in a cell.

Also, Bela Lugosi shows up in a small role. It is so strange seeing him before he became the world's most famous vampire.

He has this way of standing that just makes everyone else look boring. Even in a tiny part, he’s kind of magnetic.

The movie isn't exactly a riot. It’s definitely not as much fun as a comedy like Tight Shoes.

It takes itself very seriously, which makes the silly plot feel even weirder. There is a scene where she’s looking at jewelry that feels like it lasts for ten minutes.

The middle of the film is basically just a lot of sighing. If you’ve seen Phantom Justice, you know how these crime-adjacent silents can sometimes drag their feet.

I did like the cabaret sets, though. They had that dusty, European feel that you only get in these old studio productions.

The ending is exactly what you think it is. He waits for her to get out, and they are suddenly in love, even though she’s a thief and he’s a failure at his job.

It’s a bit of a head-scratcher. But hey, that's the movies for you. 🎥

If you want to see a woman ruin her life for a guy she barely knows, this is the one for you. Otherwise, you might want to skip it.

A few things I noticed:

• The hats in the cabaret scene are bigger than the actors' heads.
• The judge looks like he’s about to fall asleep during the trial.
• Riza’s "theft" is the most polite robbery I’ve ever seen.
• Ian Keith’s mustache deserves its own credit.
• The prison uniforms look surprisingly comfortable.