The Great Divide

This is the sound remake of the M.G.M. Silent feature of 1925 which allegedly was a hit play in 1906. The film was shot both as a silent and in sound. Not a unusual practice at that time since outside of large cities most theaters had not been retrofitted for sound. This was particularly true with Warner Brothers/1st National since they were using sound on disk, rather then sound on film, like FOX, M.G.M., R.K.O. and PARAMOUNT.

Coming from the Stage and a early silent film most likely explains the rather 'stagy' and stilted performances by the actors. Ian Keith, normally a competent supporting actor is out of sorts as a romantic lead. Dorothy Mackaill a popular Silent Star who transitioned easily too 'Talkies' is lost here with a poor characterization and script. Finally Myrna Loy is still stuck in Her exotic period which She would finally escape from by the mid 1930s' over at M.G.M. Only Claude Gillingwater had a grasp of His character a stodgy businessman. A role He would continue to play His entire career.

Throw in some unrecognizable songs which I doubt were ever popular, you have one of the early sound quasi-musicals. Thus explaining the fall in popularity of movie-musicals. Which would not be reborn until Busby Berkeley at Warner Brothers and Astaire and Rogers at R.K.O. revitalized the genre. This is best watched as a curiosity piece. In just three (3) years such crude efforts will be totally eclipsed.