THE KISS (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1929), directed by Jacques Feyder, goes on record as the last silent movie for both the studio and its popular leading lady, Greta Garbo. Released near the close of the year when talkies were the talk, or in other words, the rage of the movie business, MGM took a gamble on continuing on making product of silent movies that's now considered passé, and keeping the Swedish temptress from appearing in a talkie until finally "Garbo Talks" in the highly popular ANNA Christie (1930). What's even more common up to this point was casting Garbo as an unfaithful woman married to a middle-aged man involved with one closer to her own age. For THE KISS, two young men, screen veteran Conrad Nagel, and newcomer Lew Ayres. While MGM might have placed the versatile Lewis Stone as the older husband, having done so with Garbo in WILD ORCHIDS (1929), Anders Randolf became the final choice. He acts his part with further conviction than Stone would have if he played the part. For a ordinary story (by George M. Seville) that could have taken place anywhere from New York to Tahiti, the setting for THE KISS is in Lyons, France. It's uncertain if the leading players are characters of French descent, but if so, maybe it's a good thing that THE KISS is a silent film since it's a hard to imagine the Swedish Garbo speaking with a French accent? As for the screenplay (credited to Hans Kraly), the story opens at the Museum of Fine Arts where Irene Guarry (Greta Garbo) is meeting secretly with Andre Dubail (Conrad Nagel), her lover. Andre wants Irene to divorce her husband, Charles (Anders Randolf), a silk merchant whose business prevents him from giving his wife the full attention she desires. Fearing of his jealous nature if the two men should meet, and unable to come up with a possible solution, Irene and Andre decide to part company. Returning to her usual lifestyle and social functions, Irene attends one given by her husband's business partner, Lassalle (Holmes Herbert), whose 18-year-old son, Pierre (Lew Ayres), has a crush on her. Suspecting Irene to be unfaithful, Charles hires Durant (George Davis), a detective, to trail her. During the investigation, Durant finds Irene constantly in the company of Pierre, in reality to be all very innocent. One night while Charles to assist Lassalle, whose on the verge of bankruptcy, Pierre comes over to visit with Irene, who had promised him a picture of herself to take with him upon his return to school. Discovering they are alone, Pierre forces himself on Irene with a passionate kiss at the very moment Charles returns to catch them together. As the irate husband beats the frightful youth senseless, Irene suddenly grabs her husband's revolver and off camera fires a shot. Because the police find contradictions in her story, Irene is arrested to later face a murder trial with her former lover, Andre, as her attorney.
An acceptable melodrama of the soap-opera school made interesting by its lengthy courtroom climax consisting of various points of views told via flashback depicting what occurred the night of the murder. Aside from such notable camera angles and stylish sets, along with added sound effects of the telephone ringing and a gunshot noise, there's also wonder what secret Irene is holding back from her attorney and what the verdict will be, a common practice in many trial stories.
While THE KISS is sometimes credited at 89 minutes, circulating prints available either on the old 1990s VHS format or on cable television's Turner Classic Movies have the running time of 62 minutes, which obviously was the one distributed in theaters since there seems to be no indication of severe editing nor sudden fade-outs. Containing a musical track conducted by Dr. William Axt, its only drawback is its repetitious use of Tschiakowski's love theme composition for "Romeo and Juliet." Other than that, this is typical Garbo of the 1920s that should still be of some interest today and the film for which she kisses goodbye to the art of silent movie making.(**)
An acceptable melodrama of the soap-opera school made interesting by its lengthy courtroom climax consisting of various points of views told via flashback depicting what occurred the night of the murder. Aside from such notable camera angles and stylish sets, along with added sound effects of the telephone ringing and a gunshot noise, there's also wonder what secret Irene is holding back from her attorney and what the verdict will be, a common practice in many trial stories.
While THE KISS is sometimes credited at 89 minutes, circulating prints available either on the old 1990s VHS format or on cable television's Turner Classic Movies have the running time of 62 minutes, which obviously was the one distributed in theaters since there seems to be no indication of severe editing nor sudden fade-outs. Containing a musical track conducted by Dr. William Axt, its only drawback is its repetitious use of Tschiakowski's love theme composition for "Romeo and Juliet." Other than that, this is typical Garbo of the 1920s that should still be of some interest today and the film for which she kisses goodbye to the art of silent movie making.(**)