Gentleman's Fate (1931)

7/10

planktonrules12 July 2011

This and many other early talking pictures (especially "Downstairs") disprove that the notion that John Gilbert's career in films was cut short because he could not translate well from silents. Too many times I have heard that his voice was poor and this led to his MGM contract being dropped. However, once again, Gilbert turns in a very good performance in "Gentleman's Fate"--and his voice, though not booming, was quite nice.

The film begins with Gilbert playing the life of a spoiled playboy. Apparently his father died when Gilbert was a child but he left his kid with an ample inheritance. However, out of the blue, Gilbert learns that his father is NOT dead but is dying. So, Gilbert rushes to see him and learns that his father is a mobster--and his fortune came from bootlegging. After his dad really dies, Gilbert's brother (who he just met--played by Louis Wolheim) tells him that he is more than welcome to continue receiving his allowance and he should return to his old playboy life. However, rather inexplicably, Gilbert insists he wants to go into the family business. Not surprisingly, this ultimately leads to disaster--just like the way all gangster films of the age ended (such as in "Little Caesar", "Scarface" and "The Public Enemy").

While not a great film, "Gentleman's Fate" is quite entertaining. And, while Gilbert is good, I think the best performance is from Louis Wolheim. Sadly, Wolheim died only a few months later--like Gilbert a star who died way too young. And, while I am talking about Wolheim, he was very good BUT casting him as Gilbert's brother was odd. Gilbert, for want of a better word, was a pretty man. Wolheim, however, was one of the ugliest men in Hollywood and his face and build were the opposite of Gilbert. Odd....but considering the fine acting, I could suspend disbelief on this one.

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7/10

Another Nail In John Gilbert's Cinematic Coffin

Ron Oliver31 January 2001

A dying gangster reveals himself as the true father of a young society man, thus turning that GENTLEMAN'S FATE completely upside down...

According to cinematic legend, all the talkie MGM films starring John Gilbert were dreadful - the result of a bitter hatred between Gilbert (the highest paid star in Hollywood, with a $1.5 million contract) & studio boss Louis B. Mayer. A determination on Gilbert's part to fulfill the contract, and a campaign instituted by Mayer to destroy Gilbert's career - including spreading the rumor that Gilbert's voice was 'high & feminine', culminated in several unwatchable movies.

Not entirely true. The Studio had a huge financial investment in Jack Gilbert and was not going to completely cut its own throat by showcasing him in nothing but dreck. However, of the 8 MGM talkies in which he appeared as solo star (1929 - HIS GLORIOUS NIGHT; 1930 - REDEMPTION; WAY FOR A SAILOR; 1931 - GENTLEMAN'S FATE; THE PHANTOM OF Paris; WEST OF Broadway; 1932 - DOWNSTAIRS; 1933 - FAST WORKERS) most, including GENTLEMAN'S FATE, were rather ghastly.

Poor editing, a tawdry story line about unpleasant people, unattractive sets and a depressing climax all work together to sink the film. Poor Gilbert seems deflated, obviously embarrassed by appearing in such a poor film. His rather cold appearance & demeanor make it hard to sympathize with his character. What makes matters worse is that he is continually upstaged by Louis Wolheim, who actually gives a noteworthy performance as Gilbert's older, plug-ugly brother. (That these two could actually be siblings is one of the script's most unbelievable contrivances.)

Two lovely ladies, Leila Hyams & Anita Page, grace the film with their presence, but they are sadly wasted. Their romantic tribulations are meaningless to the audience because it is so difficult to warm up to Gilbert, the object of their affections. Paul Porcasi, Frank Reicher & John Miljan all strive to make their small roles meaningful, but they are largely defeated by the unforgiving script.

Marie Prevost has some good moments as a slatternly moll, but it is very sad to see her scenes with Gilbert. One is inevitably reminded that both their lives would be cut short by acute alcoholism, her final circumstances being especially atrocious.

Finally, about The Voice. There was nothing at all strange or unnaturally high about Gilbert's voice. As a matter of fact, it was of medium range & rather cultured & refined. That was the crux of the problem, of course. While it is possible that no voice could have ever matched the perfect one viewers heard in their minds while watching his strong, virile silent roles, the reality was very different from what they wanted to hear (imagine Robert Montgomery's voice coming out of Clark Gable's mouth.) Gilbert was doomed from his first scene in his debut talkie; his war with Mayer only intensified the agony. He would die in 1936, forgotten by most of his former fans, at the age of only 36.

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6/10

Watchable film from Mervyn LeRoy gives John Gilbert an unusual role...

Doylenf25 August 2010

JOHN GILBERT reveals himself to be a credible actor, with a range not demonstrated in some of his other earlier films. He's the son of a dying gangster who ends up getting involved with bootleggers after falling in love with a society girl.

The plot is all over the place with little twists here and there but it seems more like a jumbled mess than a coherent story. But Gilbert rises above the inadequacies of the plotting and gives a persuasive performance as the unhappy bootlegger.

Anita Page and Marie Prevost play gangster molls with some silly dialog for comedy relief. Prevost says something like, "What would this world be without bootleggers?" to demonstrate her lack of sophistication.

It's watchable, mainly to watch John Gilbert with his piercing eyes and handsome demeanor tormented by the fact that his fiancé decides to run off and marry another man. Ironically, in real life, Greta Garbo left him waiting at the altar.

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6/10

John Gilbert struggles valiantly

marcslope9 April 2014

This early Mervyn Le Roy work starts out as an intriguing look at class, self-identity, and a mixing of two worlds, but less than halfway through it switches to a standard bootleggers-and- their-molls flick. In both sections, there are some loose ends flapping. We first encounter Gilbert as a well-to-do, polished Manhattanite, unaware that his money comes from the illegal liquor trade, and also unaware that his dad, whom he thought dead, is alive and dying, and he has a brother, Louis Wolheim (Louis Wolheim as John Gilbert's brother? even the script tries to make a joke of it), who runs the dirty business. Where the heck did he think all his money came from, anyway, and how was he catapulted into such high living? The movie doesn't say. Anyway, upon discovering his humble origins, he's at first repelled and then sucked into the family business, resorting to murder and taking up with moll Anita Page (who's rather touching) because he can't get over being dumped by fiancée Leila Hyams. It's run-of-the-mill booze, broads, and guns from there, though the ending's unexpectedly downbeat and depressing (he has sinned, but surely he didn't deserve this). Gilbert is better than his reputation suggests--there was absolutely nothing wrong with his voice, and he emotes persuasively. But it's basically downhill from a good start.

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Valiant John Gilbert

drednm18 November 2007

I certainly agree with Ron Oliver that this is a lousy movie, but the great John Gilbert has a few scenes in this mish-mash that show yet again what a terrific career he could have had in talkies if Mayer hadn't been such a vindictive pig and Thalberg a spineless wimp.

The opening sequence is good and Gilbert is in terrific voice as he sets about to prepare for his day with fiancée Leila Hyams. In a later scene with Louis Wolheim, Gilbert is terrific as he defies the fate of his life and declares his hatred of the rackets and his love for.....

Nothing much in this film works very well and it's solid proof of the crap Mayer handed Gilbert to star in as he tried to force Gilbert to break his contract. Most of Gilbert's talkies are lousy films, but he always comes off rather well, and the films DOWNSTAIRS and THE PHANTOM OF Paris are actually pretty good. Gilbert never gave in to Mayer; he finished his contract with MGM even though he knew the rotten films were finishing is career as a star actor.

Mayer is famous for his petty vengeances and his hatred ruined the careers of Buster Keaton, Lillian Gish, William Haines, and eventually Ramon Novarro. Later Mayer ruined Joan Crawford, Jeanette MacDonald, Judy Garland, and many others. As soon as someone started to slip Mayer could be counted on to drive a spike through their hearts. Others he went after with a hatred unparalleled in Hollywood history.

Gilbert gives this film his best shot. Hyams and Wolheim are OK as are Anita Page and Marie Prevost.

Most stars had the final word because their films have survived. Mayer is remembered as a hateful pig. The actors he tried to ruin have lived on long after Mayer's "fame" and power have faded to nothing.

Long live John Gilbert!

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7/10

Gilbert Thinks Blondes Have More Fun

DKosty12322 August 2017

Warning: Spoilers

Even though this is early in talking era, the film is pretty good. Mervyn LeRoy is a good director. While the script here limits what can be done, he does pretty well with telling the story on screen. John Gilbert stars as Giacomo Tomasulo aka Jack Thomas, a gentleman who becomes involved in the nasty bootlegging business because of the death of his father by a gang hit slug, and finds out he has a brother in the business. He is living the life of a gentleman until he finds out about his family who have been kept secret from him due to his dead mother's wishes.

Leila Hyams is Marjorie Channing is the society woman who is in love with Gilbert until she finds out about his gangster father and brother. Then she deserts him like a shot though he does not find out about it immediately is is planning for her to come back.

Anita Page is Ruth Corrigan, the gangsters moll who eventually replaces Marjorie Channing as the woman in his life. Her mob connections are a liability to him, as he is not aware of them when he starts dating her.

Louis Wolheim as Frank Tomasulo is Giacomo's brother. He is excellent in this role and tries to help his brother survive and adjust to his new role as a bootlegger which he is a novice at.

The most dangerous guy is John Miljan as Florio, the rival gang boss who is trying to kill Frank, and Ruth, and Giacomo once he finds out about their connections.

The title of this film reveals the ending, but the acting and writing and direction are good in an early sound film which this is. Leonard Praskins who wrote the screenplay would later do one for The Champ which is a great film from 1931 too. Because of the silent movies done before this, the experience of the folks in film makes this a better pre-code mob film than you would expect.

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7/10

Surprisingly Good

Uriah4329 May 2022

This film begins with a rich playboy by the name of "Jack Thomas" (John Gilbert) living the life of luxury while also courting a beautiful woman named "Marjorie Channing" (Leila Hyams) who he absolutely adores. His life changes, however, when he is shocked to learn that, rather than being an orphan, his father is alive but in critical condition in New Jersey due to a gunshot wound incurred while operating an illegal bootlegging operation. Not only that, but upon visiting his father he also learns that he has an older brother named "Frank Tomasulo" (Louis Wolheim) who has been taking care of the family business during his father's injury as well. What he isn't prepared for, however, is the reaction from his fiancé when he tries to help his dying father by taking the blame for a crime he did not commit. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that I was pleasantly surprised by how good this film turned out to be. For starters, I really liked the performance of John Gilbert who seemed tailor-made for his role. Additionally, having two beautiful actresses like Anita Page (as "Ruth Corrigan") and the aforementioned Leila Hyams certainly didn't hurt either. Be that as it may, although it was definitely a bit dated, I still found this film to be quite enjoyable and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

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6/10

Only Their Mother Could Tell Them Apart

richardchatten1 November 2017

Warning: Spoilers

'Gentleman's Fate' feels like it was based on a play, but apparently wasn't. Fortunately, the lengthy indoor verbal expositions that pass for action are in the hands of two forceful star personalities neither of whom were long for this world, of whom this film is thus of value as a record. Louis Wolheim died of cancer just days after it was released, while John Gilbert was one of the talkies' most high-profile casualties and a serious alcoholic, but much better in his early talkies than legend would have it. The ill-fated Marie Prevost (who also drank herself to death) brings sass to an amusing supporting role (and Leila Bennett too has a funny bit as a counter attendant who's just run out of coffee).

This convoluted tall tale rather resembles Pip's discomforting discovery in 'Great Expectations' of the true source of his wealth, when whitebread millionaire playboy Jack Thomas (Gilbert) discovers that his money comes from not out of thin air like most movie heroes of the era were accustomed to but from the very physical world of bootlegging, that his name is actually Giacomo Tomasulo and that he has Wolheim for a brother! (We're told that Mama Tomasulo had wanted this income to enable him to "become someone", but he doesn't seem to have been doing much with his life, getting up at noon every day while living off Papa's ill-gotten gains.)

Under the capable direction of the up and coming young Mervyn LeRoy and atmospherically photographed by Tod Browning's regular cameraman Merritt Gerstad it all passes the time satisfactorily enough.

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10/10

Thoroughly entertaining

davost3 December 2008

What on earth is everyone's problem with this movie? It has some awkward movement but so did most movies of this era before Hollywood developed its amazing (and often irritating) slickness. The story is kind of a goofy fantasy as are most movies from since they day they were born to the present moment. This is a really fun movie with a great cast. Anita Page and Marie Provost were great bad girls, especially Provost as the gangland superflooze. George Cooper and John Miljan were very entertaining bad boys. But Louis Walheim was the real gem of the piece, sort of a cross between Shrek and Marie Dressler dressed like a guy. As for John Gilbert , I can see how how this may have been a form of career sabotage because he wasn't able to be nearly as gallant as his public wanted to see him. But he demonstrated great range and his chemistry with the whole cast and particularly with Walheim and Page was wonderful. The dialogue was good and the much of the shooting was visually interesting. Of course it doesn't hurt to be a big fan of pre code gangster movies, Hollywood history, and Depression Era cultural history.

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6/10

This Was a Great Teaching on Early "Talkies".

vestutoinglish16 April 2014

Earlier this morning I was watching a movie on TCM from 1931 - "Gentleman's Fate". It was the first "talkie" that John Gilbert did after reigning as the matinée idol of the "silents", and the fateful movie that revealed his nasally throated voice, sadly. Yet, it was a great teaching on how movies struggled with sound after being quiet for many years.

The awkward moves and scene flows of each actor, and no music rising or lowering under scenes, made for an interesting movie.

In my opinion though, the best part in the whole flick was when a character was coming down the stairs obviously intoxicated.

The "dame" who sees him is cracking and eating walnuts and asks,

"Hey. Are you plastered?" In which he replies, "Plastered? Sistah ... I'm Stuccoed!" Another character enters the scene as the drunkard leaves. The "dame" reaches out her hand to offer the cracked walnuts and says, "...nuts?"

He looks at the drunk struggling to climb back up the stairs, looks back at her and just nods..."...yes".

Ya just can't get dialog like that anymore! Loved it.

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4/10

Gilbert does his best

mukava99110 December 2008

Gentleman's Fate is okay, nothing more. To maintain momentum it repeatedly lurches off into another plot tangent, peters out and then lurches again until it finally lurches to a blah finish. It begins with the dapper and handsome Mr. John Gilbert as a pampered Park Avenue- type playboy rising uncharacteristically at 7:30am to declare that he is finished playing the field and determined to marry and settle down with pretty Leila Hyams. Just as he is proposing to her to the strains of "Little White Lies" on the radio over morning coffee against the skyline of the Big Apple, the phone rings, and here is the first lurch. The caller is his wealthy, powerful, Italian-accented "guardian," suddenly informing him that his biological father is dying in Jersey City and wants to see him. He is directed to the "Ritzi" hotel, a dive where he discovers he has a biological brother (played by Louis Wolheim who looks absolutely nothing like Gilbert, an irony which the script is forced to address momentarily) and a gangster father succumbing to a bullet wound from a mob fight. The dying father gives Gilbert an emerald necklace which he in turn passes on to his fiancée, but soon she finds out that it had been stolen from a friend of hers. When she realizes her fiancée is not what she thought, she breaks the engagement, and in a fit of disappointment, Gilbert joins the mob and learns the bootlegging trade. Just when he has mastered it, another lurch. Anita Page shows up as the moll of a rival gang sent to spy on Gilbert's gang, but she switches loyalties, falls in love with Gilbert, and. I won't go on, lest I spoil the plot for those who haven't seen the film. Marie Prevost provides comic relief, such as she can, as a Ritzi denizen who spends her time uttering inanities while feeding her face with whatever foodstuffs are available.

The photogenic and refined Gilbert is called upon to enact various states including carefree, exuberant, poetic, romantic and passionate, drunk and angry. He is good to excellent at all of them. He is eminently watchable. His voice was indeed high pitched, but not extremely so. One can only guess that his molten lover image from the silent days hung over his screen persona to such an extent that audiences expected more depth from the vocal chords. There is no logical reason why Gilbert should be cast in this role. Antonio Moreno, perhaps, or maybe even Ricardo Cortez, but Gilbert? Clearly, MGM was out to sabotage him and to his credit he stood up and did justice to the thankless task presented to him.

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8/10

Whatever Happened to Anita Page Between 1929 and 1931?.....

kidboots18 June 2013

Warning: Spoilers

....It wasn't her voice which recorded marvellously or her looks but in 1929 she went from a leading role in William Haine's first all talkie "Navy Blues" to a very unfulfilling bit part as Clarke Gable's contented wife in 1931's "The Easiest Way". Maybe it was the emergence of newer blondes like Constance Bennett or Leila Hyams who shared the spotlight with Anita in "Gentleman's Fate" but was nowhere near as vibrant or captivating as lovely Anita.

Hyams plays society girl Marjorie who is all set to marry breezy playboy Jack Thomas (John Gilbert) when he learns something about his past. His father is still alive, his heritage is Italian and his family is head of the city's biggest bootlegging organization. His brother Frank (the wonderful Louis Wolheim and the obvious remark "that guy downstairs don't look a bit like you") is eager for him to come into the business and run it jointly and his dying father gives Jack a set of beautiful emeralds that he claims are family heirlooms. In reality they have been stolen and Marjorie, who is roped into the whole sordid business, promises to be true to Jack who admits to the crime so his father doesn't have to die in prison.

It sounds over the top and far fetched but somehow it all fits in especially when pretty Anita Page makes her appearance as Ruth, a gangster's girl, who is initially a plant but starts to respond to Jack's decency and kindness. Oh yes, Jack has done a short stint in prison (about 2 weeks) and on release decides he will take up his brother's offer of going into partnership, again a bit on the silly side but it seems to work.

This is no "Beast of the City" or "The Secret Six" - there is not much action and, apart from a shootout outside a diner, too much time sitting around talking (which showed the film had a pretty cheap budget)- I was expecting all the time that Wolheim was going to reveal his evil intentions but no, he genuinely wanted his brother as part of the team so they could work together. He does draw Jack's attention to the society pages where it is revealed Marjorie is about to be married to "the catch of the season" and Jack then realises that Frank and faithful Ruth are two of the "real ones". As well, cute Marie Prevost makes her part of dumbbell Mabel very memorable - Marie seemed to have a talkie career where she played nothing but Mabels!!! John Miljan is also good in the role of a rival gangster.

Irving Thalberg was always on the look out for diverse scripts for John Gilbert - he felt that a steady diet of bland romantic heros was not good for the star's long term career but Gilbert was not happy with that and apart from "The Show" he was content to roll along with swashbuckling roles. Gilbert in the 30s was a different kettle of fish and after his initial disastrous starring talkie was very keen to embrace character roles and they (the pictures) contain some of his best work. But the dye was cast and it didn't matter how wonderful the characterization was (and "Gentleman's Fate" was one of his better ones) the public only seemed to judge him on the strength of his early talkie bombs!!

Highly Recommended.

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7/10

my introduction to John Gilbert (or at least my understanding of his career)

lee_eisenberg5 March 2024

From what I understand, John Gilbert was one of the 1920s stars whose career faded with the advent of sound. Not because he had a bad voice, but because of interference by the Hollywood execs. Whatever the case, Mervyn LeRoy's "Gentleman's Fate" is one of his talkies. He plays a high society man who discovers that he comes from a family of gangsters, and they want him to participate in their business. Inevitably, some unpleasant things are going to arise.

The movie's okay, not great. I suppose that the casting of the homely Louis Wolheim (who died right before the release) as Gilbert's character's brother emphasizes the different worlds that they inhabit, even living only a few miles apart. Leila Hyams is mostly there as an ornament; it sounds as though she mostly got cast in movies to look pretty (she certainly succeeded at that).

Anyway, nothing special, but will probably be of interest to film buffs.

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3/10

A Falling Star

Bucs19602 December 2008

Warning: Spoilers

It is painful to see one of the greatest stars of silent film reduced to playing in this potboiler. The film is static, tacky and extremely talky (as were a lot of the earlier sound films where they seemed to believe that the sounds of actors voices took precedence over plot). The fate of John Gilbert is well known to those who are aficionados of early film and it is validated by this travesty. He was fighting for his cinema life and Mayer stuck him in the worst films that the studio could produce. A sad end for a brilliant star.

The cast in this fiasco does a mediocre job in support but it strains credibility to accept the unlovely Louis Wolheim as Gilbert's brother. The story involves Gilbert, a sophisticate, learning that he is the son of a gangster and takes up the wrong side of the law lifestyle with tragic results. The film ends rather abruptly with Gilbert's death by gunshot and roll the credits. Very unsatisfactory.

This film illustrates how the powerful movie moguls of early Hollywood could make or break their biggest moneymakers on a personal whim. Gilbert may have gone out with a whimper but that falling star left a beautiful trail in the history of film.

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9/10

Gilbert and Supporting Actors Do Good Job with Poor Material

tr-834954 September 2019

The movie that proves John Gilbert could speak, as well as act. Gilbert does a good job with the over-talky script, and he is assisted by Leila Hyams and Anita Page. Gilbert was never given good material to work with, per Louis B. Mayer's instructions. Gilbert would be one of the first big stars Mayer would go out of his way to ruin. Gilbert died after making a half dozen movies in 1936, when he was only 36. He saw no future in the movies for him -- after being the biggest star in the world just ten years earlier.

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4/10

Not what you heard...

MikeMagi17 April 2014

There have been several explanations for John Gilbert's downfall with the advent of sound. But it's doubtful that any of them are true. His voice was not high and feminine, it was masculine and pleasant. Louis B. Mayer did not intentionally put Gilbert in a succession of turkeys to humiliate him. Mayer was too shrewd a businessman to throw away money by making clunkers. Why then did the silent screen's most popular leading man fall flat when movies learned to talk? "Gentleman's Fate" provides a pretty good answer. Gilbert had no flair for dialogue. He read his lines woodenly, especially in scenes with consummate pros like Louis Wolheim. And mediocre scripts like "Gentleman's Fate" didn't do him any favors. This has to be one of the slowest, talkiest gangster movies in history. The characters, ranging from Gilbert's "gentleman" to a gang of bootleggers and their molls, sit around a crummy hotel lobby blathering endlessly about who they're going to bump off with only an occasional foray outside for gunfire. Then it's back to the hotel for another gabfest. And another long wait for more action while poor John Gilbert has to keep bantering...which clearly isn't his forte.

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5/10

Little Caesar salad with balsamic dressing

1930s_Time_Machine1 October 2023

This was MGM's big hope of getting on the Warner Brothers' gangster film bandwagon. Although this turned out to be a reasonable gangster movie which does look very much like a real Warner picture, there's not much emotion to engage you.

Warner's Mervyn LeRoy was loaned to MGM to give this that gritty underworld edginess he had given to LITTLE CEASAR which he'd made a few months earlier. LeRoy certainly succeeds; again he perfectly encapsulates the shabby seedy and constantly dangerous feel of the era. He further enhances this by contrasting it with the upper class society world Jack, played by John Gilbert believed he was born into. It proves that MGM could also make a WB gangster movie but something is missing: it lacks soul.

That emotional disengagement is what would reduce this from 'great' to just 'good.' This film is however not 'good' but just 'ok' and that's because the acting is atrocious, really atrocious. Being made in 1931 is no excuse for bad acting, the style is deliberate and down to the director. Mervyn LeRoy made excellent films so it's ofd that he was so below par with this - especially considering he had a bigger budget than he was used to at Warners - maybe that was the problem? You also wonder whether Jack Warner might have said to his employee, LeRoy, that it might be a good idea if he didn't make this picture for a rival studio quite as good as he could? What is surprising is how little influence Mervyn LeRoy seems to have over how John Gilbert performs. John Gilbert, who was possibly the biggest star of the silent screen so he knew what his fans wanted...or what they wanted five years earlier. You can't teach an old dog new tricks especially when that old dog thinks what it's doing is what is needed and also when it's being paid $10,000 a week to do it. Long moody stares and even longer dramatic pauses don't cut the mustard anymore! Perhaps Mervyn LeRoy was too nervous to risk changing Gilbert's tried and trusted style?

Watching films from 1929/30 you can tell which actors will succeed in the talkies and which ones won't: John Gilbert definitely looks like one that won't. He comes across very much like an actor rather than a real believable character. He's not a bad actor, he's just not suited for this. Someone who is a bad actor is Louis Wolheim. He plays the brother and although it's sad to learn that he died just a few days after filming this, he still is the worst actor in the world. He's truly appalling - well, he is to us in the 21st century. It's interesting to get a peak into the minds of those who were alive then to see what they considered to be good acting.

Personally I'm not much of a fan of LITTLE CAESAR and I didn't actually find this particularly worse. Those are both massively inferior to PUBLIC ENEMY and the the magnificent lesser known Paramount gangster film of 1931, CITY STREETS. This is still worth watching but if you're a fan of thirties gangster films, it's absolutely essential.

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4/10

For Film History Fans

howardeisman21 June 2017

As a movie, this offering has all of the usual faults of an early talkie. It movies too slowly with awkward pauses; there are long often flowery speeches, and the performers seem uncomfortable at times. In addition, the script is a hodge podge of ideas and scenes written not so much to tell a coherent story but to get required love and action scenes into the movie. Characters are stereotypes whose lines are predictable.

It is interesting as cinema history. What killed Gilbert's career? For a while, his voice was considered the reason. In this film, Gilbert's voice is fine. In this movie, he reads his lines well with a tenor voice, but he can't find any inner character to give resonance to them. His character just isn't quite congruent with the premise of this movie. It probably isn't his fault because the person the script forces him to play couldn't possibly exist in real life or even in plausible fiction. I wonder if this was also the case with his other early talkies?

Early thirties blond beauties Anita Page and Leila Hyams look so much alike that they might be twins (actually a plot point). Both do a credible job, but Page is more compelling. The movie comes alive with her scenes. Neither she nor Hymes were given much to do in their later movies and their careers were quite short.

All in all, if you aren't a movie history fan, you'll need a pot of coffee on the stove to get you through this.

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4/10

A Fly in the Ointment

wes-connors17 October 2010

Wealthy New York City gentleman John Gilbert (as Jack Thomas) gets out of bed in a sprightly mood; he is looking forward to marrying pretty blonde socialite Leila Hyams (as Marjorie Channing). After the couple contemplate a European honeymoon plans, Mr. Gilbert receives startling news - guardian Paul Porcasi (as "Papa" Mario) tells Gilbert, who grew up believing he was an orphan, he is actually part of an Italian gangster family operating out of Jersey City. Moreover, Gilbert's mob boss father is dying from a gunshot wound, and wants to see his son...

Gilbert is told where to meet rough-looking older brother Louis Wolheim (as Frank Tomasulo), who will lead him to daddy's deathbed. Unfortunately, Gilbert is also lured into the family's bootlegging business. Exactly why this happens should have you scratching your head. Before dying, Frank Reicher (as "Papa" Francesco) gives Gilbert an emerald necklace for his fiancée. Later, Ms. Channing is embarrassed when the emeralds' owner sees her wearing them at a society function. Channing, told the gift was "a family heirloom," leaves Gilbert...

"Gentleman's Fate" was another questionable vehicle for fading "silent" star Gilbert. The story idea wasn't bad, and the MGM cast and crew were certainly not culled from the bottom of the barrel. Unfortunately, the foundationally good production values do not appear polished. Apparently, nobody noticed a fly crawling on Gilbert in the opening scene; this should have been taken care of in a re-take session (or later edit). The morose picture crawls along at a pace slower than the opening fly. Perhaps MGM studio chief Louis B. Mayer was indeed sabotaging Gilbert's career.

He has some moments, but Gilbert's characterization is most often unsure. In his penultimate performance, popular pug-faced Wolheim (suffering from cancer) fares a little better - but, neither actor adds much to their repertoire. The three featured women are better. Note how well eventual leading lady Anita Page (as Ruth Corrigan) does in her role. And, watch for a valiant supporting performance from Marie Prevost (as Mabel). Like Gilbert, Ms. Prevost was a high-pitched "silent" film player lost in primitive sound recording equipment, and soon drowned in alcohol.

**** Gentleman's Fate (3/7/31) Mervyn LeRoy ~ John Gilbert, Louis Wolheim, Anita Page, Marie Prevost

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5/10

A Bit of a Clunker

LeonLouisRicci31 March 2014

For an MGM Movie this one looks Rather Unkempt and Ugly. The Sets are no Great Shakes and even the Outdoor Scenes seem Claustrophobic. John Gilbert in His First Talkie does OK with a Mundane Character and the rest of the Cast seems Hardly Inspired as if They Knew this was a Clunker.

There are a Couple of Neat Scenes. A Fist Fight and a Peace Dinner that are Shot with some Panache but most of the Movie is Dull and some of the Scenes are Stilted and have some Heavy Handed Pauses and Awkward Dialog. Not much to Recommend here, even as a Pre-Coder because Truth be Told not much Happens and what does is so Mishandled that it Almost seems Deliberate and some Sources Say that was the Case. A Curiosity at Best.

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4/10

Mediocre fate

TheLittleSongbird7 July 2020

Despite such a dubious reputation, to me not all of John Gilbert's solo sound pictures are bad and actually don't consider any of them awful. 'Dowstairs', which was actually very good in my view, being his best, though others such as 'Redemption' are definitely not good. Also don't think that Gilbert's negative reputation in talkies is entirely deserved, in all his talkies he actually has never been one of the numerous problems almost all of them have (always a redeeming quality even).

'Gentleman's Fate' sadly is one of the worst of his talkies, second worst perhaps behind 'Redemption'. 'His Glorious Night' also has a negative critical reception but have still not been able to find it. 'Gentleman's Fate' also contains his weakest talkie performance, but even then there are great moments (just that his other talkie performances, especially in 'Downstairs', were very good and this performance just lacked their spark). There are far bigger problems though and one cannot believe that this was directed by Mervyn LeRoy in a strong contender for his worst film.

There are things that stop it from being a complete disaster. The cast actually do not do too badly with what they have, which already puts it above 'Redemption'. Do agree that Louis Wolheim, with the most energy and personality, gives the best performance. Marie Prevost and Anita Page are also fun in their roles, Prevost providing some levity. Leila Hyams is charming. Gilbert is not as warm or as engaging as in his other solo talkie performances, and he does have one of his most unlikeable characters in all his films, but his charisma hasn't gone and he doesn't look out of his depth in any of the moods he has to act out.

Some of the photography is quite nice. The film starts off quite well.

Before sadly going downhill quite quickly. Gilbert does do his best, but at times there was a sense that he knew that his material was bad. His character is impossible to feel anything for, let alone root for him, which made the various character interactions not believable and hard to swallow. That between him and Page has moments but generally the attraction isn't there. 'Gentleman's Fate' is not a good representation of LeRoy in one of his earliest films, he didn't seem comfortable at all with the material and fails to bring any life to it. Found it uncharacteristically stiff and indifferent, good goodness he went on to better things. The sets look rather under-budgeted and claustrophobic and the editing is awkward in movement throughout.

Worst of all are the script and story. The script is far too over wordy and too flowery, and is also like a hodge-podge of half baked ideas cobbled together with little done with them. The story is heavily contrived, and this is including trying and failing to accept Gilbert and Wolheim as brothers, is deadly dull, has no tension whatsoever and is very jumbled structurally so coherence was an issue. The ending is not just rushed and abrupt but even worse is jarringly downbeat and cruel, while 'Gentleman's Fate' fails utterly in giving us characters worth caring for.

Overall, very lacklustre and one of Gilbert's weaker talkies. 4/10

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5/10

Misplaced Loyalty

view_and_review5 February 2024

Warning: Spoilers

If I wanted to travel from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, I wouldn't go through Salt Lake City. That's illogical. Well, I feel like "Gentleman's Fate" did just that. While taking the main character, Giacomo Tomasulo aka Jack Thomas from point A to point B they first went to point F.

Jack woke up one morning to his normal life: a butler, a nice penthouse, and a woman coming over whom he was about to marry. When he went to bed that night he'd found out that his father, whom he'd never known, was about to die, and that changed his life forever.

His father (Frank Reicher) was an Italian immigrant and a bootlegger. Jack's brother Frank (Louis Wolheim) was also in the business. Papa Tomasulo took a bullet as payment for being in the racket, and as his dying wish he wanted to see his long lost son.

Jack met with his father, which made sense. Honestly, it would've made sense either way. If Jack met his dying father, then it's a man wanting to know who his father was. If Jack refused to meet his father, then it's a man who doesn't care to see the man who abandoned him.

Here's where it got illogical.

Jack knew right away that his family were bootleggers. It would've made the most sense for Jack to stay away from them considering he was a well to-do law abiding citizen who probably wouldn't want to be mixed up with bootlegging. Yet, for some reason, he stuck around the Tomasulo gang's digs as if it was his duty.

Jack had gotten an emerald necklace from his father right before he died. Jack understood it to be a family heirloom. He then gave it to his fiance Marjorie Channing (Leila Hyams) and all was right with the world.

Then Jack found out in, what had to be, a most embarrassing fashion that the necklace was stolen. Instead of simply telling his fiance he got it from his father whom he knew nothing about, he told her he stole it to protect the old man who was about to die.

Excuse me? Why?

Jack didn't know his father at all, so why would he have such a sense of loyalty to him to the point that he'd endanger his marriage and risk going to prison for him? Furthermore, his father was about to die anyway, so it made the most sense to let him take the fall!!

Instead, Jack took the wrap, he went to jail, his fiance left him, and he was left with very few choices except to join the family racket.

So, how Jack got into the family racket was nonsensical, but once he was in the family racket it was like the movie reset. It was a whole new ball game and I was interested.

Jack wouldn't be done acting off of impulse or poorly thought out ideas though.

Once he was entrenched in the family business and hadn't heard from Marjorie in a while, his brother Frank dropped a bomb on him. Marjorie had gotten married.

Dam she moved on quickly.

Giacomo's response? To marry Ruth (Anita Page), a woman who was initially used as a plant by Florio's gang, but was treated so kindly by Frank's gang that she switched sides (what's that old Snoop Dogg saying?). Jack quite literally decided to marry Ruth the same night he found out Marjorie was married. He got sloppy drunk and married her. That says something about him and her, but he wouldn't be the first man to get sloppy drunk and get married. And she wouldn't be the first woman to marry a drunk man (see "Slightly Married," "Bed of Roses" (1933), and "Anybody's Woman" (1930)).

It was an illogical move by Jack because he was still in love with Marjorie and it was an intoxicated decision. It was a bad move by Ruth because she had to know that Florio (John Miljan) wasn't going to take her double-crossing lying down. She only managed to endanger herself AND Jack.

Just when the movie was going so well they had to throw in another dumb stunt. I was beginning to like Giacomo too.

His fate would be the same as his estranged father's thereby bringing things around full circle. The title would suggest that his demise was due to him being a gentleman. I would proffer that his fate was due to him being dense and fully misplacing his loyalty.

Free on Odnoklassniki.

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