There have been several explanations for John Gilbert's downfall with the advent of sound. But it's doubtful that any of them are true. His voice was not high and feminine, it was masculine and pleasant. Louis B. Mayer did not intentionally put Gilbert in a succession of turkeys to humiliate him. Mayer was too shrewd a businessman to throw away money by making clunkers. Why then did the silent screen's most popular leading man fall flat when movies learned to talk? "Gentleman's Fate" provides a pretty good answer. Gilbert had no flair for dialogue. He read his lines woodenly, especially in scenes with consummate pros like Louis Wolheim. And mediocre scripts like "Gentleman's Fate" didn't do him any favors. This has to be one of the slowest, talkiest gangster movies in history. The characters, ranging from Gilbert's "gentleman" to a gang of bootleggers and their molls, sit around a crummy hotel lobby blathering endlessly about who they're going to bump off with only an occasional foray outside for gunfire. Then it's back to the hotel for another gabfest. And another long wait for more action while poor John Gilbert has to keep bantering...which clearly isn't his forte.
Review of Gentleman's Fate
