Review of Liliom

Borzage's first talkie is absolutely dreadful, a lifeless telling of the Carousel story that features much of the worst acting I've ever seen, and moves at the pace of a dead snail. If you cut out all the awkward pauses, it would last about 10 minutes. Charles Farrell is Liliom, a carnival barker and all-round scumbag who snares the heart of a servant (Rose Hobart), while being primed for crime by his pal The Buzzard (my favourite actor of all time, Lee Tracy). Tracy's energetic performance and a few distinctive Borzage visuals are the only comforts in an abysmal first hour, then a celestial train appears - a jaw-dropping piece of invention - carrying H.B. Warner, and you could almost kiss him for injecting some gravitas into proceedings, only for the movie to decide that what it wants to do for an encore is mythologise domestic violence. Oh give me strength. Tracy would go on to become the most outrageously brilliant comic actor of his generation and Borzage would transfer the poetic eye and emotional beauty of his silent masterworks (including 7th Heaven and Street Angel) to extraordinary sound films like History Is Made at Night (a gobsmacking comedy-mystery-romance-cum-disaster-movie), The Vanishing Virginian (a remarkable slice of Americana) and Moonrise (a noir classic). But first, enjoy this complete piece of toilet.