The Locked Door

 (1929)
Directed by George Fitzmaurice
Written by George Scarborough, Earl Brown, screenplay by C. Gardner Sullivan from the play The Sign on the Door by Channing Pollock.
Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Rod La Rocque, William "Stage" Boyd, Betty Bronson
IMDB Entry

The early days of talkies were a bonanza for playwrights. Hollywood needed screenplays, and what better way than to buy an already successful play and adapt it for the screen? The Locked Door is a prime example.

During Prohibition, the young and inexperienced Ann Carter (Barbara Stanwyck) accepts an invitation by Frank Devereux (Rod La Roque) for a dinner aboard a ship just outside the twelve-mile limit, so alcohol can be served. Devereaux tries to seduce her, locking her in the room with him, but the police have a pilot who surreptitiously takes the ship into US waters. It's raided and Ann and Devereaux are arrested, but jump bail.

A year and a half later, Ann is happily married to Lawrence Reagan (William "Stage" Boyd*). Reagan's sister Helen (Betty Bronson) introduces her new boyfriend -- Devereaux.** Ann warns her to stay away from him, but doesn't dare explain why. Helen plans to run away with Devereaux, and Ann goes to him to beg him to call it off. Cad that he is, he refuses. But Lawrence shows up to try to convince him otherwise.

The plot doesn't hide its stage origins -- why should it?  Most of the movie takes place in Devereaux's apartment, and I will say the ending is a bit inconvenient and out of character. 

This was Barbara Stanwyck's first credited role and she handles it quite well. She hadn't quite formed her hard-as-nails persona, though there are signs of it. Rod La Rocque was a busy leading man of the time and has the right touch of smarmy smoothness to make him an excellent cad.  William "Stage" Boyd is OK, if a bit wooden.

Two important figures have small parts. The great Zasu Pitts appears as a hotel telephone operator. She isn't given a lot to do, though she does have some amusing line. Mack Swain was a silent film heavy, best known as Charlie Chaplin's partner in The Gold Rush.*** Adjacent to stardom was George Bunny, brother of John Bunny, one of Hollywood's first silent film comedians.

The film holds up pretty well overall and is still entertaining.

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*No connection to the actor known for playing Hopalong Cassidy. But when he was arrested for drugs, it affected the other Cassidy when the photo of him was mixed up. Hoppy couldn't get work for awhile, but managed to overcome it when he took on the role that he is famous for.

**A similar plot to Indiscreet, filmed a year later.

***Snowed in, he goes mad with hunger and thinks Chaplin is a chicken.