The Painted Angel (1929) is a messy but fun time capsule

Is this worth your time?

If you have a soft spot for early talkies where everyone sounds like they are shouting into a metal bucket, you might like this. It is definitely for people who enjoy 1920s fashion and the weird transition period of cinema. If you need a fast plot or clear audio, you will probably hate it within ten minutes.

I sat down with The Painted Angel thinking it would be a standard musical. It isn't really a musical, but it has singing. It is more like a highlight reel of a woman's life that moves way too fast and way too slow at the same time.

The movie follows Mamie Hudler. Everyone calls her Rodeo West later on. She starts in New Orleans as a singer. Then, suddenly, she is a cowgirl star in California. Then she is the queen of speakeasies in New York. It is a lot to take in.

The whole thing is a secret biography of Texas Guinan. The studio said it wasn't, but everyone in 1929 knew better. Texas Guinan was the one who famously shouted "Hello, Sucker!" at her club guests. Billie Dove plays her with a lot of energy, even if the script is a bit thin.

The sound quality is... rough. You can tell they were hiding microphones in the flower pots. Every time a character moves two inches to the left, their voice gets quiet. It adds a weird tension to the scenes, like everyone is afraid to breathe.

Billie Dove is really the only reason to watch this. She has these huge eyes that do all the work the dialogue can't. There is a scene where she looks at Edmund Lowe, and you actually believe she loves him. Even though Edmund Lowe has a mustache that looks like it was painted on with a very steady hand.

Edmund Lowe plays Brood. He is the man she actually loves. Then there is Oldfield, played by George MacFarlane. He is the man she *doesn't* love. It is a classic setup we have seen a million times, like in The Wheel.

I noticed a few weird things while watching:

• The nightclub extras look like they were pulled off the street and told to look 'fancy.'
• One guy in the background of the New Orleans scene is just staring at the camera for a solid five seconds.
• The cowgirl outfits are amazing, even if they make no sense for the story.
• There is a lot of silence between lines that makes the movie feel longer than it is.

The transition from New Orleans to Hollywood happens so fast I thought I missed a scene. One minute she is singing in a bar, the next she is on a horse. The movie doesn't care about the 'how,' it just wants to get to the next costume change. It reminded me a bit of the jumpy storytelling in Ramona.

The nightclub scenes are where the movie finds its rhythm. It feels smoky and crowded. You can almost smell the illegal gin through the screen. This is where the Texas Guinan vibe really kicks in. Billie Dove looks like she is having a blast being the center of attention.

There is this one reaction shot of George MacFarlane that lingers way too long. He just stands there looking sad while Mamie walks away. It starts to feel funny after the tenth second of him just staring. I think the editor might have fallen asleep for a moment there.

The dialogue is very stagey. It feels like they are performing a play rather than being in a movie. This was common in 1929 because they didn't know how to move the cameras yet. If you have seen Wife Number Two, you know this feeling of everyone being stuck in place.

I liked the New Orleans set, even if it looked like a California backlot with some fake moss thrown on the trees. It had a certain charm. It felt like a storybook version of the South. Not real, but pretty.

The writers, Fannie Hurst and Forrest Halsey, were huge back then. You can tell they were trying to make something 'important.' But the movie is better when it stops trying to be a drama and just lets Billie Dove be a star. The 'painted angel' bit is a bit heavy-handed, honestly.

Is it better than other films from that year? It is better than The Explorer, mostly because it has more personality. It isn't a masterpiece, but it isn't a total bore either. It is just... fine.

One thing that bugged me was the ending. It feels like they ran out of money or time. Everything just wraps up in a neat little bow that doesn't feel earned. But I guess that is just how they did things back then.

I would recommend it to people who like to see the 'bones' of cinema. You can see the industry learning how to talk. It is clumsy and awkward, like a teenager on a first date. But there is something sweet about it.

Don't expect a deep dive into the human condition. Expect some nice dresses, a few okay songs, and Billie Dove looking very 1920s. Sometimes that is all you need for an afternoon watch.

I kept thinking about how much work went into the sets. The nightclub looks expensive. The Hollywood movie-within-a-movie scenes look expensive. It is a big-budget production that feels a little hollow inside.

If you find a copy of this, give it a chance for twenty minutes. If the crackling sound doesn't drive you crazy, stick around for the costumes. If not, you haven't missed much besides some very impressive hats.

Overall, I'm glad I watched it. It made me appreciate how far sound has come. And it made me want to buy a cowgirl hat. Wait, no it didn't. But it was a nice distraction for a while.