WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Iseerphia All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

Brooklynn There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

JohnHowardReid Another movie with a poorly conceived, second-string plot, The Love Trap (1929), stars a none too flatteringly photographed Laura La Plante and a quite presentable Neil Hamilton. Admittedly, director William Wyler handles the early scenes with a bit of style, but when the scriptwriters throw in the towel and the good-guy hero suddenly acts like a cluck, and the producer starts pulling in the purse strings, director Wyler's lavish staging and agreeable handling take a run-out powder too. The movie is available in its full 71-minutes silent version in a good print from Grapevine Video, along with a somewhat crudely animated but occasionally imaginative Fleischer cartoon, Ko-Ko's Reward (1929) in which the on-screen Max has a go at blending live action with animation.Be prepared! "The Love Trap" itself is still a must-see movie, even though it is fatally flawed.

MartinHafer This is a transitional film--one that is partly silent and partly a talking picture. This was common during the late 20s in the US and all the way up into the early 1930s throughout the world. So, although I have heard "The Jazz Singer" (1927) referred to as the first 'talkie', it only had a few talking and singing portions. A few other such films are "The Mysterious Island" (1929) and "Blackmail" (1929), but the number of such films is significant. Quite often, silent films were held from circulation and a few talking segments were added so that the film could be advertised as a talkie! "The Love Trap" clearly was originally planned as a silent, but instead of one or two talking segments spread throughout the film, it begins silent and about midway through it, the film becomes a talkie.For the most part, it's a pretty ordinary film and is probably only on DVD today since it was an early film of the famed director, William Wyler. It is also interesting for two other reasons. First, it is very Pre-Code in its sensibilities--with scenes involving attempted sexual assault, a woman being patted on the butt and a lot of sexual innuendo. Now this is NOT to say it's a dirty film (as the lady is quite innocent) but if the studio had attempted to release the movie following the adoption of a toughened Production Code in 1934, it never would have been allowed without significant editing. Secondly, it stars an actor who was a HUGE star in the 20s up through the mid-1930s who is almost totally forgotten today. Neil Hamilton (known to a few as Commissioner Gorden from the 1960s "Batman" show) was a very handsome and popular leading man and I've seen several dozen of his films--and enjoyed them quite a bit. As for the leading lady, Laura La Plante, she was never that prolific as an actress but had a relatively successful, if undistinguished, career.The film begins with Miss La Plante getting tossed out of her job as a chorus girl. She's way behind in her rent and is in danger of being tossed out of her home. So, in desperation, she goes to a party with a friend to try to meet a man, but it turns out to be a wicked party and she snuck away--as she was not that sort of a girl. Then she returns to her flat only to see her belongings sitting out front in the rain. A nice rich guy comes by and sees her predicament and comes to her aid. Oddly (and only in a scene that you'll see in films or with guests from "The Jerry Springer Show"), the pair get married--knowing almost nothing about each other.A few days later, after the dust settles, the first problems in their quickie marriage develop. Hamilton's very snobbish family is not amused he married so quickly (very understandable) but they also are angry because she's so 'common'. Hamilton fails his new bride, as he allows his family to mistreat and mistrust her. Through a series of misunderstandings, they convince him that he married a skank--and the marriage appears to be heading for an annulment. La Plante does love her dopey hubby and concocts a rather clever (and funny) plan to win him back and keep his stupid relatives at bay.While today this film might seem pretty ordinary, for 1929 it's actually quite good--and manages to still be rather funny. Not a great film, but for a transitional movie, one well worth seeing--especially since it has a rather sweet ending--which old softies will no doubt enjoy.

Steffi_P The Love Trap is one of a many "part-talkies" that were produced during the transition period between the silent and sound eras. As sound was still relatively expensive and still excitingly new, the talkie segment in these features was usually a gimmick for the final scenes, not necessarily adding or taking away anything from the picture, but helping to draw the crowds. Today these pictures provide us with a chance to see directly the contrast between the final days of silent cinema and the first faltering steps of the talkies.The director here is William Wyler, shooting one of his earliest full-length features. Wyler would later have the distinction of directing more Oscar-nominated acting performances than anyone else (thirty-three), a record still held by him today. In particular, he had a reputation for coaxing fine performances from actors who never showed talent anywhere else. Laura La Plante was not an especially distinguished actress, yet here she is first class. Perhaps the most crucial thing a director can do to help their cast, other than good coaching, is simply giving them time and space to act, and this is precisely what Wyler does for La Plante. In the opening scenes, when she is fired from the chorus line and flees to her dressing room, she is held for a few moments in mid-shot, forcing the audience to focus on her emoting. The scene in which she is kicked out on the street along with all her furniture could easily have been played for laughs, but again the camera concentrates on La Plante, and her expression is painfully real.This generous manner of filming the leading lady, and the commendable performance it captures, have a wider impact on the picture as a whole. Firstly, it helps bring out the story visually by subtly yet convincingly bringing out the character's thoughts and feelings – something which is complimented by the relatively low frequency of intertitles. Furthermore, Wyler avoids the trap of many male directors when shooting a story where a woman is the protagonist, which is to focus too much on the lead man, and show us his point of view rather than hers. Instead he makes it absolutely clear that this is her story, not Neil Hamilton's. Finally, by making the emotions of the main character appear real, and forcing the audience to take notice of them, he elevates The Love Trap above the simple romcom that it is on paper. It's just a shame there isn't quite enough substance to the screenplay for this to pay off.The talkie section of The Love Trap begins, ironically, with several seconds of silence as Hamilton confronts his family. This adds dramatic weight to the moment, and gives more impact to the dialogue when it begins. The power of silent moments had, again ironically, never been realised in the silent era as pictures had a continual musical backing. The sound scenes here still retain the flow, style and strong performances of the rest of the picture, and do not stand out as being awkward, as early talkies often were.By their very nature, the part-talkies were usually potboilers, since by now all the more prestigious picture would be all-talking. However, thanks in no small part to Wyler's sensitive direction, The Love Trap is well above the average. Laura La Plante's career would begin to peter out soon after, and Neil Hamilton wound up as a supporting player in numerous TV series, but here they are both excellent. Wyler himself would go on to win three Academy Awards, and direct some of the greatest stars of Hollywood's golden age in the greatest performances of their career.

blue-7 What a delightful, romantic comedy. THE LOVE TRAP sparkles under William Wyler's direction. Wyler earned fame over his career as a tough director to work for, but one that made actors look good. This is certainly evident in this late silent-part talkie, in the case of Laura La Plante, whom I had only seen previously in THE CAT AND THE CARNARY. She is quite wonderful and her co-star, Neil Hamilton makes a strong romantic lead. I chuckled all the way through this fun film, finding it full of nice little twists to a familiar kind of story. The print on the Kino release is very nice. Also included in the excellent DIRECTED BY WILLIAM WYLER documentary that was co-produced by Wyler's daughter, Catherine.