KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

LeonLouisRicci "Race" has become a Hot Topic in the Media brought to the Forefront by the Election of the First Black President of the United States. Of Course the Scourge of Bigotry is Still Around, but We sure have Come Along Way.Colonial Rule in South East Asia is On Display in this Pre-Code Film and is Considered Honorable, Patriotic, and the Movie Makes it Clear that to Uphold the "Prestige" of the White Man is a Noble and Proud Thing, and the Darker Races are Less than Human. Director Tay Garnett Makes All of this "Artistic" with a Fluid Camera. Like a Kid with a New Toy, He uses the, Recently Released from its Immobility, Camera to Dolly Continuously and it Adds a New Dimension to the Art of Cinema and Considering the Cumbersome Technical Tools of the Time, it is Rather an Amazing Display of Daring.Overly Empathetic Viewers will Cringe and May have a Tough Time Sitting through the Ethnocentricities of the Film. There is Torture, Executions, and Generally the Locals are Treated like Animals. There's Some Creepy Stuff here and it Reminds of "Island of Lost Souls" (1933) with its Third Act as the Natives become Restless and are Out for Revenge.The Power, or "Prestige" if You will, of the White Man is Brought Home with Melvyn Douglas Beating Off a Horde of Haughty Types with Nothing More than a Belt and a Dirty Look. The Movie is So Much a Sign of its Time and is Recommended for a Sweaty and Sometimes Depressing Peak at Attitudes of the Day through the Adventurous Setting Worlds Away from the Homeland, but Not Really.

ScenicRoute Yes the movie is full of racists, has racist language but I wouldn't call the movie itself racist - the whites are shown no mercy. This movie is worth seeing for its realism, and the way it ends. No spoilers here, but I found the ending eminently satisfying, unlike other reviewers. And Ann Hardy is such a gem - so much better than the stars who held the screen for longer than she (Crawford, Davis etc). Adolph Menjou is a perfect snake. Melvin Douglas captures arrogance - and its consequences perfectly - and the "natives" are brilliant in their forceful presence.Another pre-code movie that is startling contemporary (except for the "racist premise") in its depiction of how the relationship between a man and a woman can be impacted by events beyond their control, especially if they ignore their environment.

marcslope The mostly B director, who made a lot of exotic back-lot adventures (his amusing memoir is called "Light Up Your Torches and Pull Up Your Tights"), is blessed with the most mobile camera 1931 could offer in this impressively atmospheric melodrama, set mainly in an Indochine penal colony, where bride Ann Harding has come to help commanding officer Melvyn Douglas. Garnett and his DP roam all over the place, with some tracking shots that are quite amazing for their time--one, taking Harding and Adolphe Menjou from a hotel lobby to a train station, lasts a couple of minutes and takes in every word of dialog, and is perfectly framed. Some of the tracking isn't to any particular purpose, but it's a lesson in how versatile the sound camera had gotten in just two years (compare this to anything from 1929). The premise is offensively racist and may have raised some eyebrows even in its day: As Harding's stiff-upper-lip father tells her, in so many words, she and Douglas are fighting for the white man's prestige and dignity, by proving their ability to lord it over all other races. But if you can put up with that, you get a sweaty, compelling little picture with some show-stopping set pieces. Harding is, as always, womanly and unforced, with an innate calm, and Douglas, replacing Robert Williams, who died unexpectedly, convincingly goes through some awful mood swings. It's very well and innovatively shot on what may be an RKO back lot but sure looks like the real thing. The climax strains credibility, and Garnett pushes harder for atmosphere than he absolutely has to, but it's interesting throughout and quite different from much of the assembly-line studio product of the day.

goblinhairedguy This is RKO's entry in the "White Man's Grave" genre. Being an Ann Harding (queen of the women's picture) vehicle, it lacks the ineffable luridness of most early Hollywood jungle melodramas (White Woman, Red Dust, Panama Flo, etc.). Instead, it generally takes the high road in delineating a French colonial officer's descent into despondency and alcoholism in a sweaty Southeast Asian outpost. Enough politically-incorrect dialog and flouting of accepted morals does creep into the picture to place it in the pre-code realm, but much less than one might expect.Although long-forgotten, the film definitely has many points to recommend it. The ever-reliable Hollywood helmsman Tay Garnett here evinces a startling obsession with keeping the camera moving -- it's just one complex tracking shot after another, with several long pans thrown in. When the camera does remain static, it's often to emphasize a dramatic moment, and quite effectively so. Also, long before the infusion of liberal ideals into Hollywood's view of third-world relations, this picture's take is surprisingly modern. The protagonists learn their lesson in dignity from a remarkably loyal and noble native servant (played by the great thespian Clarence Muse). At the same time, the clearly delineated incompatibility between the French and the natives shows the futility of the "white man's burden" philosophy.