Words and Music (1929) Review: Big Pants and a Tiny John Wayne

If you are looking for a masterpiece, you should probably just keep walking. Words and Music is really only for the people who like digging through the dusty bargain bins of cinema history.

It is worth watching today if you want to see what college life looked like in the minds of movie producers ninety years ago. Or if you are trying to see every single frame of film that John Wayne ever stood in. 🤠

Most people will probably find it pretty boring. It moves slow, even for a movie that is barely over an hour long.

The plot is basically about these two guys, Phil and Pete, who are roommates. They both think they are great songwriters and they both think they deserve Mary.

Mary spends a lot of the movie looking vaguely concerned. I don't blame her, honestly.

The whole thing feels very stiff. You can tell it was made right when sound was still a new, scary toy for Hollywood.

Characters tend to stand in these tight little circles. It is like the director told them if they moved six inches to the left, the audience wouldn't be able to hear them breathe.

And the fashion. Oh man, the fashion.

The guys wear these giant trousers that look like they could house a small family. They are so high-waisted they are basically armpit-warmers. 👖

There is this one scene in the dorm where everyone is hanging out, and it feels so crowded. Like they are all trying to fit into a single shot just to save on film.

It is not nearly as gritty or interesting as something like Hell's Heroes. That movie actually feels like it has some dirt under its fingernails.

This movie feels like it was filmed inside a very clean shoebox. Everything is just a bit too polite and staged.

Now, let's talk about the "Duke." John Wayne is in this, but he is credited as Duke Morrison. 🐎

He is basically an extra who gets a few lines. But you can't miss him because he is about a foot taller than every other "college student" in the room.

He looks slightly out of place, like a professional athlete who accidentally wandered into a middle school play. It is funny to see him before he became the icon everyone knows.

The music is... fine? I guess. It has that fuzzy, early talkie sound where the high notes kind of crackle.

One of the songs goes on for about three minutes too long. I actually found myself looking at the background actors during the big musical number because the dancing was so repetitive.

I noticed one guy in the back of the contest scene who looks like he is genuinely falling asleep. Honestly, I felt that, buddy. 😴

The dialogue is pretty clunky too. "I'll write a song that'll make you love me!" nobody talks like that, not even back then.

It reminds me a bit of the awkwardness in Over the Hill, where the sentiment is just laid on so thick you almost choke on it.

There is no real surprise in how the contest ends. It is all very predictable and safe.

But there is a certain charm to how simple it is. It's a time capsule of a world that probably never really existed outside of a studio backlot.

I wouldn't say it's a bad movie, just a very thin one. It's like eating a rice cake when you wanted a steak. 🍘

If you enjoy seeing the very early days of talkies, give it a go. Otherwise, you aren't missing much if you skip it.

The ending happens so fast it almost feels like the film broke. One minute they are singing, the next minute it's just... over.

Maybe they ran out of those giant pants and had to stop filming. Who knows.