The Kiss
Directed by Jacques Feyder
Written by Hans Kräly and Marian Ainslee from a story by George Saville
1929/US
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
IMDb page
First viewing/YouTube rental
André: Irene – we can’t go on meeting like this.
The last silent film made by MGM and by Greta Garbo was this OK melodrama/courtroom drama
The story takes place in France. Irene Guarry (Garbo) is unhappily married to a cranky, jealous old man. She has been meeting young attorney Andre Dubail (Conrad Nagel) on the sly. They have even kissed. But she has remained faithful to her husband. To complicate things further eighteen-year-old Pierre LaSalle (Lew Ayres in his film debut) has a massive crush on her.
Pierre is leaving for college and begs for a last goodbye kiss. Irene humors him but a peck on the lips leads to an unwanted passionate embrace. The husband walks in on this. The confrontation moves to another room behind closed doors. Shots are heard. Hubby is the one that doesn’t emerge. Irene is accused of the murder. She is defended in court by Andre. Who killed Mr. Guarry?
MGM and Garbo moved into the sound era with less a bang than a wimper. The plot is pretty trite and the Tchaikovsky score is way too much for the subject matter. Actually, though, the movie is quite watchable especially for Garbo’s beauty and gorgeous gowns and the art deco design. And I love Lew Ayres. It is only 62 minutes long.
