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Cult Review
Senior Film Conservator
Honestly, if you are a fan of Olive Borden, then yes. You should probably see this.
It is great for people who love those late-silent era melodramas that feel a bit more mature than the stuff from the early twenties. If you hate slow stories where people stare intensely at letters for three minutes, you'll probably want to skip it.
I caught this the other night and it’s one of those movies that stays in your head mostly because of how bleak the setup is. Usually, these films are about finding love in the city, but this one starts with a dead dad and a sister who has been through some real stuff.
The movie opens with Olive Borden coming back to Buenos Aires. She looks great, but you can tell something is off from the second she steps off the boat.
The way they shot the father's house is actually pretty creepy. There are these long shadows on the walls that make the whole place feel like a tomb before she even finds out what happened.
She finds out her father was murdered and her sister was attacked by an "American." That part is interesting because usually, in these old movies, the Americans are the heroes. Not here.
Ralph Graves plays the lead guy, and he’s fine, I guess. He doesn't have nearly as much screen presence as Borden does.
There is a scene where Olive is looking at her sister in bed and you can just see the pure rage in her eyes. It isn't that polite, dainty silent movie acting. She looks like she wants to actually kill someone.
Speaking of Borden, she was such a star back then. If you’ve seen The Lover of Camille, you know she can handle the heavy emotional scenes without looking too goofy.
The pacing is a bit clunky in the middle. There is a lot of walking around and people talking in rooms where we can't hear what they're saying (obviously).
I noticed one extra in the background of a street scene who was just staring directly at the camera for a solid five seconds. It kind of breaks the immersion, but it's also sort of charming in an old-movie way.
Buenos Aires looks suspiciously like a Hollywood backlot with a few palm trees thrown in. I don't think anyone involved in this production had ever actually been to South America.
The villain, played by John Miljan, is perfectly greasy. He has that mustache that you just know belongs to a bad person.
It reminds me a bit of the tension in The Spite Bride, though that movie is a bit more of a traditional romance. This one feels dirtier, in a good way.
One thing that really stuck out was the lighting during the climax. It gets really dark and they use these sharp flickers of light that almost feel like a horror movie.
The plot moves along pretty predictably once the revenge starts, but that's okay. Sometimes you just want to see the bad guy get what’s coming to him.
I do wish the sister had more to do. She mostly just sits there looking sad while everyone else makes decisions for her.
It’s a bit like Wedlock in how it treats family drama, but with a much higher body count. Well, maybe not a high body count, but the deaths that do happen feel like they matter.
The ending feels a little rushed. Like they ran out of film or the actors had a bus to catch.
One minute she's confronting the guy, and the next, it's all over and we're supposed to feel happy. It’s a bit of a whiplash.
But overall, it’s a solid piece of filmmaking for 1929. 🎬
If you've spent time watching things like Chivalrous Charley, you'll find this much more serious and grounded.
It isn't a masterpiece, but it’s interesting. It’s got a bit of grit under its fingernails.
Anyway, give it a look if you find it. It’s better than most of the generic fluff from that year like Flapper Fever.
Just don't expect a happy-go-lucky time. It's a bit of a bummer, but a stylish one.
IMDb 5.2
1927
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