Truly Dreadful Film

Such a frustrating disappointment

Sadly Over-hyped

Great Film overall

A musical comedy with Sally Blane (who doesn't sing), R. Vallee, Nella Walker (as the matron who's the aunt's rival) and M. Waite (as the impersonated jazz-man), refreshing and good-natured, it has the assets of the classy silent age: the good cinematography, neat and beautiful sets; it is from the 1st wave of its genre, when the movie was eager to offer music, the dawn, the earliest springtime of these comedies. The best tune belongs to the small girlie (Patti Brill, Dorothy Gray …).A lighthearted show, and in fact a show within a show: the charity event, with the dancers and the small orphans and then the jazz-band; it was made by a stylish studio. The players embody the different styles: for the blandness and numbness, R. Vallee (bland and insipid, awkward and silly), for the luridness, Sally Blane (lurid and glamorous, ), for the lightest comedy, Nella Walker (for the humor and relish) and the grotesque comedians (the aunt, the copper …). The quirk is that, despite its lead, the movie doesn't depend on him.The jazzmen's music comes across as mild but dapper, and the lead has a nasal, plugged tone.

Though I don't have a lot to add to the reviews posted here (wooden acting, static players grouped around the microphone, awful wailing by Rudy Vallee), I would mention the godawful humming, ringing, buzzing noise on the soundtrack, punctuated by snapping sounds of static electricity. During lulls in the stilted dialogue, this reached fever pitch and demonstrated that talkies had not yet gotten all the bugs out. Unlike other reviewers, I believe Marie Dressler overacted wildly here and seemed manic-depressive. But I think early talkie audiences were uncritical and in awe of watching words come out of actors' mouths, no matter how lame. It's an interesting period piece, but you may want to hit the fast-forward button during parts of it.

"The Vagabond Lover" could be considered the perfect example of the early-talkie. The acting by Mr. Vallee is rather non-exsistant, but his singing and the music is quite pleasant, and the performance by the great Marie Dressler as "Auntie" makes up for the rest. The photography is very representative of the early sound era, with the actors grouped around a hidden mike with hordes of people in the frame. The sound itself is remarkably good, maybe the best remaining example of early sound recording. There is one chorus number which has a brief overhead shot of the type that Busby Berkely would make famous a year later in "Whoopee!". The film is a brief 65 minutes in length, and it is a rather modest black-and-white production, but it remains a telling window into the 1920s, with it's fashions, music and such. This was also one of the most profitable films of the year for the fledgling Radio Pictures, a new company set up that year to take advantage of the RCA Photophone system. The DVD has a rather dry commentary prolouge by a UCLA film specialist which appears to be taped in his apartment. Rather poorly edited, this feature is easy to skip on the DVD, once you have seen it once. Other players featured in this include Loretta Young's sister, Sally Blane, Eddie Nugent and especially Nella Walker, as Marie Dressler's rival for social prominence. The story, by James Ashmore Creelman, was purportedly based on Mr. Vallee's own carrer.

On Long Island, crooner Rudy Vallee and His Connecticut Yankees are mistaken for a more famous band, by neighboring socialite Marie Dressler (as Mrs. Whitehall). The ruse, which started innocently, goes too far, and threatens Mr. Vallee's budding relationship with Ms. Dressler's niece, Sally Blane (as Jean Whitehall). It all works out while Vallee sings several songs, including "I'm Just a Vagabond Lover" and "A Little Kiss Each Morning (A Little Kiss Each Night)"."The Vagabond Lover" does not capture the Vallee hysteria, unfortunately. It is his first feature length film. The songs are stylistically representative, but dull; "Honey" had already appeared in a "short", and the film was completed too early for "The Stein Song" to be included. Ms. Blane (Loretta Young's sister) is very pretty; but, the most beautiful woman in the film is most definitely Dressler. It is her first feature length sound film. Later, Vallee would become a surprisingly effective (considering this performance) character actor.**** The Vagabond Lover (1929) Marshall Neilan ~ Rudy Vallee, Sally Blane, Marie Dressler