Tonight's Movie: The Love Trap (1929) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

THE LOVE TRAP (1929), directed by the great William Wyler, was recently released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber.

THE LOVE TRAP is a cute romantic comedy which is of historical significance as a transitional silent-to-sound film.

Most of the first half or maybe two-thirds of this 71-minute movie is silent, other than some sound effects.

Next thing you know, the characters are speaking, but it's done so smoothly it takes a beat before the viewer realizes it. The dialogue then continues until the last scene of the movie.

The story finds chorus girl Evelyn Todd (Laura La Plante) fired from her show when her klutziness exasperates the choreographer.

Facing eviction, Evelyn goes to ritzy party with her friend Bunny (Jocelyn Lee), who's told Evelyn that wealthy men attend and she could end up making money. 

But innocent Evelyn, confronted with a lecherous man who wants to give her $50 and then maneuvers to get her alone, escapes without the money -- and without most of her clothes. (It's a long story involving a deliberately spilled drink...)

Evelyn arrives at her apartment building only to find that her landlord has put all of her worldly possessions on the sidewalk -- and what's worse, it begins to rain!

Enter Paul Harrington (Neil Hamilton), a wealthy young man who spots Evelyn and her predicament. He insists she take cover in his cab and then enlists other cab drivers to rescue her furniture.

Paul and Evelyn drive for hours, fall in love, and immediately marry. The only problem in the midst of their joy is his snooty family, including his uncle (Norman Trevor), a judge who was coincidentally at the party Evelyn attended. The judge hypocritically thinks less of Evelyn for having been there.

This was a sweet film in which La Plante's Evelyn is put through the proverbial wringer, suffering job loss, lack of funds, loss of her apartment (in the rain!), and having to fend off a man who deliberately spills a drink all over her party dress.

After all that, it's quite a relief when Hamilton's charming Paul shows up and immediately begins to lift away Evelyn's worries. It's a real Cinderella tale; not only is Evelyn relieved, but so is the viewer!

I also appreciated that Paul stands by his bride despite his mother's moaning about poor Paul; perhaps he could have been even stronger, but the overall story was satisfying, especially when the judge "gets his" and we realize that Paul has complete understanding of his bride's trustworthiness and creativity in delivering justice to his uncle.

La Plante and Hamilton have very good chemistry. I'd previously seen La Plante in the silent comedies POKER FACES (1926) and SKINNER'S DRESS SUIT (1929) and she's delightful again in this film. It's of note that the same year THE LOVE TRAP was released, she played Magnolia in the first version of SHOW BOAT (1929).

Like many people, I first knew Neil Hamilton as Comissioner Gordon on TV's BATMAN, so it's been quite a pleasure to discover him as a handsome leading man of silents and pre-Codes. The same year's WHY BE GOOD? (1929) with Colleen Moore is one of my favorite early Hamilton films.

The film's dialogue was by Clarence Thompson from a story by Edward J. Montagne. It was filmed by Gilbert Warrenton.

Kino Lorber's print is a 4K restoration by Universal Pictures from a 35mm nitrate print provided by the William Wyler Estate and the UCLA Film & Television Archive. It looks excellent, especially considering the movie's age.

Disc extras consist of a commentary track by Jason A. Ney plus a gallery for half a dozen additional films availble from Kino Lorber.

My late father had the opportunity to see THE LOVE TRAP a number of years ago and liked it. I regret only now finally catching up with it, wishing we could have enjoyed it together, but on the other hand, what a delight to see it thanks to such a nice Blu-ray release! 

THE LOVE TRAP is an enjoyable film with the added bonus of being of historical importance, not only as a part-silent, part-talkie film but for having been an early film of one of our greatest directors. Recommended.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray.

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