Clive Brook and Olga Baclanova were two of Paramount's biggest silent stars. Clive Brook had often played men who were better than their lot in life, working class guys with maybe a hint of nobility and refinedness. Olga Baclanova played the temptress. But then sound came in. Clive Brook's aristocratic British accent meant that he had to play more refined individuals. Baclanova had a deep Russian accent. This actually went with the parts she had been playing, but with sound film she needed to integrate talking and action into a coherent whole and she seemed to have trouble with that, plus the parts they gave her over at Paramount did not help, this one being exhibit A and her first talking film. It was Brooks' second talking film.
The film opens in Africa, with Frank Gregory (Clive Brook) holding court over the natives' civil and criminal squabbles. He then goes back to his quarters where his wife Tania (Baclanova) is doing a passive vamp (it's the only way I can describe it) of one of Frank's men. Rejected, the man later shoots himself. Frank, aware of the situation, has the death certificate indicate it was an accident while cleaning his gun, to cover up the scandal for the sake of the man's family. Then word comes that Frank's much younger brother, Bobby (Neil Hamilton), is coming to visit, and Frank is worried that the bored Tania will test her feminine wiles on him. Complications ensue.
This is one of the earliest talking films and it is trying to transition two of Paramount's biggest stars to the new medium, so I am willing to cut it some slack. I will say its pace becomes tortuously slow at points, but some of the improbable dialogue makes up for it. My personal favorite is the discussion between Frank and Bobby where Frank says the secret of keeping control of the natives is to dress for dinner and shave daily so they can see you are anchored in civilization and order. Hmm. And here I thought it was all of the big guns that the British brought with them, with the natives realizing that the British would have no compunction about blowing them to smithereens if they got out of line. And then there is the insinuation that the native mating dances are capable of hypnotizing the British residents into such a state that they are compelled to commit immoral acts.
Recommended for those interested in the earliest talking films. The odd dialogue and acting style somewhat compensates for the glacial pace.
