Small and straightforward, but very charming and calm romantic melodrama, shot with a decent professionalism and sense of style.
The key element of the whole film is the magnificent Norma Shearer, who played here both main roles at once: the vulgar and harsh dancer Molly, the daughter of a criminal, an enthusiastic but reasonable bad girl (an exciting, immediately captivating character), and Florence is a well-bred and sensitive modest, the daughter of a rich judge (who once sentenced Molly’s father).
The specificity of the double contrast role required a special approach to camera photography and work with light in the frame. If the scenes with Florence are dominated by diffuse lighting in thick color filters, accentuating the soft features of the girl, then in the episodes with Molly used bright light and predominantly orange sepia, which emphasizes her sharp, generous makeup (the convex image and title of the film suggest prostitution, but in the plot bypasses this point). This is not the first time a dual role has been played in the history of silent cinema, but the technique, which has worked through many details to achieve organic plausibility, deserves special attention and praise. An excellent example of competent shooting is the final soul-wrenching scene in a cab, where both heroines finally appear in the same frame (as a double for a couple of episodes, including this one, the aspiring actress Joan Crawford was involved, with whom 14 years later Shearer will play in Cukor’s film Women).
Light and elegant in its simplicity, the film retains the elusive charm of silent cinema, ending the story of two girls from different social worlds, but with equal chances for the notorious happiness, a classic MGM happy ending with a touch of “bright sadness”.
6.5 out of 10