The universe of the vice movies has its classics, people like Esper, Clifton, Shyer, W. Kent, Doris Wishman (who belongs to a very different age, though the vice movies went on in the '50s and '60s, without morphing in the new and piquant exploitation).
Beyond the scandals, nowadays irrelevant, the movies witness to their crew's knowledge of the trade. The very distant ancestor, at least in some respects, is Baudelaire, one of the 1st to glamorize what he meant to criticize. The movies are complex because they take a moral stance, not simply pretend to show things neutrally and factually. They are kindred to social dramas, occasionally to horror, Expressionism, Gothic, when an over-the-top approach has been chosen ; the exploitation alludes to the unacknowledged luridness, sometimes to a certain wickedness, occasionally mere naughtiness, in the conveying of the world criticized, but these traits certainly depend on the director, etc.. The best achievements are lurid, appealing. Also, they sometimes discovered beauty, even truth and soundness. Sometimes, a player steps in, making a movie meaningful.
The topics were made appealing because they were taboos. So, the lurid topic wasn't sexuality, but prostitution.
The heyday has been in the decade betwixt mid-'30s and mid-'40s.
Eddie Kaye's drama has two of the vice movies' best players, Betty Compson and Oakman as the heads of an escort traffic; her acting is A, and if it upstages the others it also matches the movie, his, B, while Vallin and Housman have supporting roles. The movie here actually has something to convey. The director wishes it as a drama, spiced with piquant satire.
The drama is popular in tone, but effective, thorough and piercing. Both comedy and drama are well conveyed, the direction is smooth, and you can tell people by how a movie elicits the sensibility's answer, whether it does; this is such a lovable movie, I can understand why some deem it addictive. Here, the topic is a glamour girl ring, escort traffic, deceit and lie.
I liked the escort woman who's solicited by her husband.
Beyond the scandals, nowadays irrelevant, the movies witness to their crew's knowledge of the trade. The very distant ancestor, at least in some respects, is Baudelaire, one of the 1st to glamorize what he meant to criticize. The movies are complex because they take a moral stance, not simply pretend to show things neutrally and factually. They are kindred to social dramas, occasionally to horror, Expressionism, Gothic, when an over-the-top approach has been chosen ; the exploitation alludes to the unacknowledged luridness, sometimes to a certain wickedness, occasionally mere naughtiness, in the conveying of the world criticized, but these traits certainly depend on the director, etc.. The best achievements are lurid, appealing. Also, they sometimes discovered beauty, even truth and soundness. Sometimes, a player steps in, making a movie meaningful.
The topics were made appealing because they were taboos. So, the lurid topic wasn't sexuality, but prostitution.
The heyday has been in the decade betwixt mid-'30s and mid-'40s.
Eddie Kaye's drama has two of the vice movies' best players, Betty Compson and Oakman as the heads of an escort traffic; her acting is A, and if it upstages the others it also matches the movie, his, B, while Vallin and Housman have supporting roles. The movie here actually has something to convey. The director wishes it as a drama, spiced with piquant satire.
The drama is popular in tone, but effective, thorough and piercing. Both comedy and drama are well conveyed, the direction is smooth, and you can tell people by how a movie elicits the sensibility's answer, whether it does; this is such a lovable movie, I can understand why some deem it addictive. Here, the topic is a glamour girl ring, escort traffic, deceit and lie.
I liked the escort woman who's solicited by her husband.