Review of Flesh

Flesh (1932)
3/10
Soapy tale with disappointing lead performance
10 July 2005
Wallace Beery gives an uncomfortably self-conscious performance as a simple-minded German wrestler with a good heart who falls in love with cynical Karen Motley, a self-described gypsy (cue: uh oh! what's she running away from?). Director John Ford doesn't give the proceedings any frills, but leaving this stage so bare doesn't do the audience any favors. Motley is an amusing tough cookie, but she and Beery struggle to play off each other convincingly. The pacing is slow and flaccid, the story predictable, which is too bad since it begins quite promisingly. Falls apart soon after, becoming a standard soap opera.

*1/2 from ****
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