Temptation (1930) – An Uneven, But Curious, Glimpse at Early Talkies

Alright, so if you’re thinking about diving into Temptation from 1930, you gotta manage your expectations. This one's definitely for the film history buffs, or maybe just folks who like seeing how movies used to, well, *sound* and *look* back then. If you’re looking for fast-paced action or super nuanced characters, you're gonna be bored. But if you're patient and kinda enjoy the quirks of early talkies, it's worth a watch, especially for how it tackles a pretty timeless idea. Folks who need everything crisp and modern will probably hate it, honestly. 🕰️

The whole thing centers on this young woman, played by Lois Wilson, who’s sort of stuck in a predictable life. She’s got a steady fellow, a good guy really, but then this other dude comes along. He’s all charm and fancy clothes, offering her a world she’s only dreamed of. It’s that classic pull between comfort and something new, maybe a little dangerous.

What really jumped out at me was how *slow* some of the scenes move. Like, there’s this one where Lois Wilson’s character is just looking out a window for what feels like a full minute. You can almost feel the director thinking, “Okay, we need to convey deep thought here.” But it just stretches. It's not *bad* acting, per se, just a different pace for emotion.

Billy Bevan pops up too, and he’s usually a reliable source of some lighter moments. Here, he’s not exactly a comedic relief, but his presence does break up the heavy drama a bit. He plays this friend or coworker, and his lines feel a tiny bit more natural than some of the others, which can sound… recited. Like they're reading the script for the first time.

The temptation itself, it's not super flashy. It’s more about the idea of it. The rich guy, Lawrence Gray, he’s got this smooth way of talking. Not overly dramatic, just confident. He makes you understand *why* someone might be drawn to him, even if you know it’s probably trouble. There’s a scene in a fancy restaurant, or maybe a club, where the music is just a little too loud for the dialogue. You really have to lean in to catch what they’re saying. 🥂

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Temptation (1930) through its definitive frames.

And the sound design? Oh, boy. You get those moments where the ambient noise just cuts out abruptly. One minute you hear bustling city sounds, the next it’s dead silence, like someone flipped a switch. It’s a definite reminder of how they were still figuring things out. It makes for some unintentionally funny bits.

Lois Wilson herself, she’s got these *really* expressive eyes. Even when the dialogue feels a bit stilted, or she’s standing there doing not much, her eyes tell a story. There’s a moment, after she gets a gift from the tempting man, where she just holds it, and her gaze shifts between excitement and a kind of fear. It’s quite subtle, for an early talkie. You can tell she knows what she’s risking.

The ending, it wraps things up pretty neatly, as you’d expect for the time. No big surprises there. It reinforces certain ideas about what's proper and what isn't. You kinda just watch it unfold, nodding along. There isn't a lot of ambiguity left hanging.

So yeah, Temptation is a curio. It’s not a masterpiece, and it won't be everyone's cup of tea. But for a taste of early cinematic growing pains, with a surprisingly strong central performance by Wilson, it’s got its moments. You just have to be willing to forgive some of its rough edges and, well, the occasional bad audio. 😅

Didja notice?

• The way everyone just stands around for entire conversations. It’s like they haven’t learned how to move with the camera yet.
• Those fade-to-black transitions that last a *little* too long.
• Someone’s hat seems to change between shots in one scene, or maybe I was just tired.
• The background music during emotional scenes is often just a piano, very dramatic.
• The way the men always wore suits, even just lounging about. So formal!