Recaptured Love (1930) Review - A messy look at a mid-life crisis

If you have about an hour and some change and you don't mind the crackly sound of early 1930s cinema, you might find something to like in Recaptured Love.

It is definitely for people who enjoy those old 'woman's pictures' where everyone suffers in very nice clothes.

If you hate slow movies where people talk about their feelings in a very stiff way, you should probably skip this one and watch something else.

The story is pretty basic, honestly.

John Halliday plays the husband who gets a bit of a wandering eye for a younger woman played by Dorothy Burgess.

He leaves his wife, Mary, and then—who would have guessed?—he finds out that the grass isn't actually greener on the other side of the fence.

Actually, the grass over there is kind of annoying and loud.

Belle Bennett plays the wife, and she’s the best part of the whole thing.

She has this way of looking at the camera that makes you feel like she’s actually hurt, not just acting hurt.

It’s a bit like The Woman Beneath in how it treats the 'wronged woman' trope, but maybe a bit more grounded.

I found myself getting really annoyed at the husband, which I guess means the movie is working.

He is just so clueless about how much he is blowing up his life.

There is a scene where he’s trying to be all romantic with the new girl, and you can just see in his eyes that he’s thinking about his comfortable chair at home.

It’s almost funny if it wasn’t meant to be so dramatic.

The son is played by Junior Durkin, and he has a few scenes that felt a bit too scripted.

Like, no kid actually talks to their dad like that, especially back then.

But then again, movies in 1930 weren't really going for 'realism' like we think of it today.

The sound recording is a bit of a mess, too.

Sometimes a character will walk across the room and it sounds like a giant is stomping on a wooden crate.

I think the microphones were just really sensitive to footsteps back then.

It reminded me a bit of the technical clunkiness in The Climbers, though this one at least has people talking.

The Middle Slog

The movie really slows down in the middle section.

They spend a lot of time in rooms just... staring at things.

I think they were trying to show the passage of time or the weight of the regret, but it just feels like the editor went to get a sandwich and forgot to cut the scene.

There’s this one long shot of a doorway that goes on for about ten seconds too long.

I started counting the patterns on the wallpaper.

It's not all bad, though.

Dorothy Burgess plays the 'other woman' with a lot of energy.

She’s supposed to be this jazz-age girl who only cares about parties, and she nails that vibe.

You can see why a bored husband would be distracted by her, even if she’s clearly a bad idea.

It’s a similar energy to what you see in Sadie Love, just a bit more cynical.

I also noticed the lighting in the final act is much darker.

It’s like the movie is trying to tell us that things are getting serious now.

• The Weirdest Moment: There is a party scene where the music is so loud you can't hear the extras 'talking' in the background, but you can see their mouths moving like fish.
• Best Outfit: Belle Bennett has a hat in the second act that looks like it belongs in a museum.
• The Kid: Junior Durkin has a very strange haircut that I couldn't stop looking at.
• The Ending: It feels a bit rushed, like they realized they only had five minutes of film left and had to fix everything.

Is it a masterpiece? No.

But it’s a decent enough way to spend an afternoon if you like old stuff.

It doesn't have the bite of something like The Tree of Knowledge, but it tries its best.

The writing by Basil Woon and Charles Kenyon is okay, but it feels a bit like they were checking boxes on a 'Drama' checklist.

I wish we got to see more of Richard Tucker, he’s always a solid presence but he’s kind of wasted here.

Anyway, if you see it on a streaming service or a late-night TV channel, it’s worth a look for the history alone.

Just don't expect it to change your life or anything.

It's just a movie about a guy being a dummy and a wife being way too nice about it.

Also, the title is a bit of a giveaway, isn't it?

Recaptured Love. I wonder what happens at the end! 🙄

Still, Belle Bennett makes it work through sheer willpower.

I'd probably give it a 'watch once and forget' rating, but I'm glad I saw it.

It makes me appreciate how much better we've gotten at recording the sound of people walking.

If you want something with a bit more spice, maybe try The Pill instead.

That’s about all I got for this one.

The house they live in is really big, though. I wonder how much the rent was in 1930.