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6.6/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.6/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. The Drake Case remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
You should put this on if you actually like the weird, stiff energy of early sound films. It is definitely for the people who don't mind a movie that feels like a play recorded by a hidden microphone in a flower pot.
If you need fast action or cameras that actually move around, you will probably hate this and turn it off after ten minutes. 😴
The main reason anyone still talks about this is Gladys Brockwell. This was her last role before she died in a car accident, and man, you can really feel her presence.
She plays Lulu, the maid. She looks tired in a way that feels very real, not just like movie makeup.
There is a specific moment where she’s sitting in the witness stand and her eyes just sort of glaze over. It feels like she’s a hundred miles away from the courtroom drama.
It’s a much more grounded performance than what you see in something like The Telephone Girl. She isn't doing the 'big' acting that was common back then.
Most of the movie is just people talking in a big room. It’s very static.
The prosecutor is extremely loud. He shouts every line like he's trying to wake up someone in the lobby.
I noticed the way the light hits the jury box. It’s very harsh and makes everyone look slightly sickly.
The script is pretty standard whodunit stuff. You have the 'lady of the house' who gets killed and then everyone points fingers at the help.
It lacks the visual energy of The Block Signal. In that one, things actually happen outdoors occasionally.
One of the witnesses keeps adjusting his tie. I counted. He did it about fourteen times in one scene. 👔
I don't know if he was nervous or if the collar was just too tight, but it was distracting. I liked it though, it felt like a real human habit that a director forgot to cut out.
There is a scene where a character enters a room and the sound of the door closing is about three seconds late. That’s the 1929 charm for you.
The movie gets a bit bogged down in the middle. It feels like they were trying to fill time with long pauses.
It’s not as fast-paced as Men of Steel, which is funny because this is a murder trial and that's about factories.
The ending is... fine. It wraps up quickly, maybe a bit too quickly.
You get the sense that the producers just wanted to get everyone out of the studio so they could turn the lights off. 💡
I kept thinking about The Black Gate while watching this. Both have that dusty, mysterious atmosphere that only 1920s sets seem to have.
It’s a bit of a bummer knowing Brockwell wasn't around to see the transition into the 1930s. She had a voice that really suited the new technology.
If you like old-school legal dramas, give it a go. Just don't expect a masterpiece.
It’s better than Our Little Wife, mostly because the stakes feel higher. Even if the sound quality makes it sound like everyone is talking through a wool sock.
I’d give it a watch on a rainy Tuesday. It’s got that specific old movie smell, if that makes sense.
IMDb 8.2
1920
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