The Indiscretions of Eve (1932) - A weirdly charming waxwork mess

Is this worth watching today? Only if you have a real soft spot for early British talkies or if you’re a completionist who needs to see everything Jessica Tandy ever did. If you hate stilted acting and plots that feel like they were written on a napkin during lunch, you’ll probably want to skip this one entirely.

I found myself watching this on a rainy afternoon when I didn't want to think too hard. It’s one of those movies that feels like a time capsule of a world that never actually existed, full of polite people doing very silly things. 🎩

The story is about an Earl—played by Steffi Duna’s co-star Lester Matthews—who falls for a girl named Eve. Eve has a pretty weird job: she models for shop window dummies. Not just posing for the sculptors, but actually standing there in the window like she's made of wax. It’s a bit creepy if you think about it too long, so the movie tries hard to make sure you don't.

Honestly, the whole thing feels like a weird fever dream from 1932. One minute they are talking about romance, and the next, there’s a giant man playing the xylophone. I am not joking about the xylophone. Teddy Brown shows up and just goes to town on the keys for what feels like ten minutes straight.

The Jessica Tandy of it all

It is wild to see Jessica Tandy here. Most of us know her as the older lady from Driving Miss Daisy, but here she is, barely twenty, looking totally different. She isn't the lead, but every time she’s on screen, the movie feels slightly more professional. Just slightly.

The lead actress, Steffi Duna, is charming enough, I guess. She has this very specific 1930s way of speaking where every word is plucked out of the air. It’s a bit much at times. 🗣️

The Earl character is... fine? He spends most of the movie looking like he’s trying to remember if he left the oven on back at the manor. There is zero chemistry between the leads, but in these old British comedies, that almost seems like the point. They just sort of collide into a happy ending.

I kept thinking about Sky Devils while watching this, mostly because that was another movie from the same year that felt like it was trying way too hard to be funny. But where that was loud and messy, The Indiscretions of Eve is just quiet and deeply odd.

The Window Display Obsession

The movie spends a lot of time in this dummy factory. There are rows and rows of wax heads. It reminded me a bit of the atmosphere in Adam and Eve, but without the silent film charm. The lighting is flat, and the sets look like they might fall over if someone sneezes too hard. 🏗️

There is a scene where Eve is pretending to be a dummy in a window and some guys are trying to figure out if she’s real. It goes on for a long time. They poke at her. They stare. It’s supposed to be funny, but it’s just awkward. The silence in these early sound films is always heavier than directors intended.

The music is probably the best part, even if it feels like it belongs in a different movie. It’s very cabaret-style. There are these big production numbers that just happen in small rooms. It’s claustrophobic but kind of cozy.

I noticed a mistake in the background of the shop scene. You can see a crew member's shadow for a split second on the left side of the frame. Nobody cared back then! They just kept rolling. I love that about these old flicks. They didn't have the budget or the patience for perfection.

If you’ve seen The Night of June 13, you know how these early 30s dramas can sometimes have a weirdly dark undertone. This movie tries to avoid that, but the wax dummies give it a lingering sense of uncanny valley that I couldn't shake off.

Final Thoughts on the Indiscretions

What were the indiscretions, anyway? The title makes it sound like she’s some kind of criminal or a wild party girl. In reality, she just... works a job and likes a guy. It’s the most polite "indiscretion" in the history of cinema. ☕

The ending is rushed. Like, really rushed. They just decide everything is okay and then the credits roll. It’s about 60 minutes long, which is the perfect length for something this thin. Any longer and I would have started looking at my phone.

It’s a movie that exists. That’s the best way to put it. It’s not a lost masterpiece, and it’s not a total disaster like some other things from 1932. It’s just a strange little artifact about a girl, an Earl, and a lot of wax. 🕯️

If you're bored and you want to see what people thought was funny ninety years ago, give it a look. Just don't expect it to change your life. It’s mostly just an excuse to watch Teddy Brown play the xylophone. And honestly? There are worse ways to spend an hour.

The print I saw was a bit grainy, which actually helped the atmosphere. It made the wax dummies look even more ghostly. Sometimes bad film quality actually makes a movie better by hiding the cheapness of the sets.

I’m still thinking about that xylophone. It was so fast. How did he do that? Anyway, back to real life. ✌️