FAITHLESS (1932)
Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 77 Minutes 33 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD (1.37:1)
Director: Harry Beaumont
Cast: Tallulah Bankhead, Robert Montgomery, Hugh Herbert, Maurice Murphy
In the pre-code Depression-era melodrama Fathless (1931), directed by Harry Beaumont (Dance Fools, Dance) and based on the novel "Tinfoil" by Mildred Cram, the enigmatic Tallulah Bankhead (Die! Die! My Darling!) stars as a a spoiled heiress Carol Morgan agrees to marry he beau Bill Wade (Robert Montgomery, The Mystery of Mr. X), a sausage-industry advertising exec, but before the nuptials they argue about whose money they will live off, Wade is not content to be the husband of an heiress and demands that they live off of his meager $20,000 a year. The point becomes moot when Morgan loses her fortune in the Depression, and too embarrassed or proud to marry Bill penniless she sets out on her own, but after mooching off of high society familiars and wearing out her welcome she ends up the mistress of a wealthy casino owner Peter Blainey (Hugh Herbert, The Black Cat), who supports her lavish lifestyle but is abusive.
Eventually still-lovestruck Bill comes looking wanting to marry her still, but when he finds out about her being "courtesan", something his brother Tony (Maurice Murphy, Abe Lincoln in Illinois) had predicted earlier, he walks away. Disgusted by where she now finds herself she leaves Blasiney, but finds herself penniless and living in a pretty shabby one-room apartment, and has a chance encounter with Bill once more, who asks again for her hand in marriage, proposing that they start over and wipe the slate clean, which she accepts. However, soon after Bill is involved in a truck accident that leaves him in a dire way and bed-ridden, the once proud Carol finds herself secretly turning to prostitution to pay for Bill's medical care, which causes more problems when she accidentally proposition Bill's brother Tony on the street one night, and nabbed by cop for turning tricks.
Faithless is an entertaining depression-era melodrama, Tallulah Bankhead turns in a fine performance as the spoiled heiress who loses it all and must learn humility, and to be massively humbled before she can find true love. It's fairly melodramatic but the pre-code sharpness of it prevents it from ever being too-saccharine, though Montgomery's 'let's just forget about the past' pushes credulity at times, but in a Hollywood fairytale sort of way as the couple face misfortune at every turn, only to finally persevere.
Audio/Video: Faithless (1932) arrives on Blu-ray from Warner Archive in 1080p HD 1.37:1, and it's yet another wonderful WAC restoration, the monochromatic depression-era melodrama looks splendid with organic textures and excellent grayscale. Audio comes by way of the English DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono, there's some minor age/source related hiss and a stray crack or pop but the track is never hard to decipher and it gets the job done, just not pristine.
Extras for this one include a trio to Vintage Short Subjects; we get an 11-min musical short Rambling Round Radio Row #1B, plus a pair of mystery shorts by way of the 22-min The Trans-Atlantic Mystery and the 22-min The Symphonic Murder Mystery. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the illustrated movie poster artwork.
Special Features:
- Vintage Short Subjects: Rambling Round Radio Row #1B (11:02), The Trans-Atlantic Mystery (21:40), The Symphonic Murder Mystery (21:20)
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