Indiscreet (1931)

Gloria Swanson only made a handful of talkies and this is probably my favourite. She still acts very much with her eyes and her lips - but in this she also does a fair degree of singing and her comic timing comes well to the fore. The story is simple fun - she is a lady who keeps her past a little secret until she discovers that her ex-beau "Jim" (Monroe Owsley) has moved onto her young sister "Joan" (Barbara Kent). The star for me, though, is the daft "Buster" (Arthur Lake), a slightly geeky, lanky young man who is enamoured of "Joan" too - and who comes up with a teeny-weeny cunning wheeze that might just thwart "Jim" - even though he has no real idea what or why he's a-thwarting. His performance has an innocence about it that lends much to the gentle comedy of film. Maude Eburne is also good as "Aunt Kate" who has finessed the facial expression to a fine art. It's a quickly paced romance that is light and fluffy, and pretty entertaining with loads of hammy scenes, a lovely score from Alfred Newman and just the smallest hint of tragedy/just desserts/happiness at the end.... Well worth a watch.