CinemaSerf
Jun 13, 2022
6/10
I think what makes this rather unremarkable early talkie stand out is the role of the usually benevolent Henry Stephenson as "John Tring". This time his mellifluous, fireside tones have a distinctly disreputable quality and his character is positively sleazy! Ronald Colman ("Jim Warlock") is an happily married barrister who has a fling with Phyllis Barry ("Doris"). She pursues him and soon he has fallen in love, just as his wife (Kay Francis) returns from Italy where she had been trying to save her sister from a bad relationship. Told by way of a retrospective, King Vidor elicits a good effort from Colman, and the narrative that deals with adultery, tragedy and ambition is delivered in a gentle, but effective fashion - for 1932, anyway. Kay Francis features sparingly, but still manages to own the screen when she appears, and though his behaviour is despicable - it is quite difficult to loathe "Warlock" entirely. Sadly, however, it plods - the pace is rambling and the focus too blurred; the subject matter could have delivered more punch. As it is, it's watchable, but perhaps all just a bit too nice.