Early sound cameras were heavy and enclosed in a soundproof booth. Shooting on an ocean liner probably prevented any tracking shots. Thus the actors simply walk to the center of the frame and say their lines. The lack of camera movement makes a dull and pretty straightforward plot even duller. The other Christy Cabane films that I have seen, "The Mummy's Hand" and "Jane Eyre" were also a bit static, but moved like a tiger compared to this. The highlight of the film was seeing Harry Myers, the actor who played a great supporting role in Charlie Chaplin's "City Lights." I had never seen him in another movie before. Here, he has little to do beyond saying that his name is "Sturgeon, like the fish." He manages to make it funny. The other actors were fine, but, they all act as if they're on stage. The film is 57 minutes, not the 63 minutes listed on the Mill Creek Crime Collection. It is still rather slow and lacking in suspense. An annoyingly hiss fulled soundtrack does not help either.
Review of Convicted
