Watching these excellent performers attempt to maneuver through such a melodramatic, ridiculous format, I couldn't help but cringe.
"Hearing" characters express their inner thoughts via voice-over narration throughout the ENTIRE film is simply a bad idea. The pacing of every scene is destroyed, and the facial expressions displayed by the actors, to accompany their "narration," borders on parody.
This movie was produced just five years into the "sound" era, and apparently a few of the actors had not yet abandoned the silent film style of exaggerated performance.
Never have I seen a film adopt this technique, and frankly, I will never sit through another that does. "Narration" (or voice-over) is fine when used appropriately - as in almost any film noir. But in this case, the experiment fails.
Gable fares the best, as his earthy style is less inclined to be derailed by the "inner dialogues." I simply CANNOT recommend this film.
"Hearing" characters express their inner thoughts via voice-over narration throughout the ENTIRE film is simply a bad idea. The pacing of every scene is destroyed, and the facial expressions displayed by the actors, to accompany their "narration," borders on parody.
This movie was produced just five years into the "sound" era, and apparently a few of the actors had not yet abandoned the silent film style of exaggerated performance.
Never have I seen a film adopt this technique, and frankly, I will never sit through another that does. "Narration" (or voice-over) is fine when used appropriately - as in almost any film noir. But in this case, the experiment fails.
Gable fares the best, as his earthy style is less inclined to be derailed by the "inner dialogues." I simply CANNOT recommend this film.