Marcel L'Herbier had been grinding out movies since 1917 so that by the time the 'talkies' arrived he knew a lot more than just which way to point the camera. He made three other films in 1930 and I'm betting plenty of twelve-to-seven the others are long gone but not too worry because there's lots to admire here, not least the atmospherics he conjures effortlessly out of nothing. It's only to be expected that acting of that vintage will be a tad mannered but once we get past that we can pay more attention to where he places his camera, the clever play of black and white and the re-telling of an old war horse - it had been filmed as long ago as 1912 and there would be more to come, the latest in 2003 - so that it appears new-minted. Definitely worth a look.
Review of The Mystery of the Yellow Room
