The Lights Of New York
Billed as the first all-talking feature film, where the definition of 'talking' must be extended to include generous doses of stammering and pregnant pauses. Although it is tempting to write off this film's corniness, wooden performances, oddball dialogue, uncertain delivery, and numerous flubbing of lines to the challenge of pioneering in sound, that doesn't account for the film's sole solid performance (by Eugene Pallette). If one performer (a veteran of silent films, no less) got it right, what was the excuse for the others? And what was the excuse of the writers? How was this different than writing for the stage? And what was the excuse for the director's lack of direction? Face it folks: regardless of era or technology, trash is trash.