zetes Review of Escape from Dartmoor

Escape from Dartmoor (1930)

Well made, but the script isn't very good

[6/10 · 28 August 2011]

Beautifully shot and edited British silent, one of the final ones produced in that country. The most interesting thing about this film is that the protagonist, Uno Henning, asks the heroine, Norah Baring, to accompany him to the new talking picture. There's a long sequence where we watch a group of characters go to the movies. It starts off with a short, a Harold Lloyd picture, and everyone in the crowd's cheering and clapping and laughing. The orchestra is rocking along to it. Then the talkie starts, and everyone looks downright bored (the orchestra stops playing and starts smoking; the piano score on the Kino DVD stays silent for a couple of minutes). This sequence alone makes the film worth watching. The visuals are the other reason. Unfortunately, the story here kind of sucks. It shows poor judgement to have Henning as the protagonist. I suppose one could see him as a majorly flawed hero, but, honestly, he's an enormous jackass. You can never sympathize with him. He's in love with Baring, but she doesn't think much of him. Instead, she falls in love with Hans Adalbert Schlettow, a customer at the salon where Henning and Baring work. Okay, so, yeah, I understand Henning's jealousy, It's ridiculous.