kidboots I often see stills from this movie accompanying articles about art direction of the 1920s. Stressing the claustrophobic ceilings and the pointed triangular furniture where Irene (Garbo) lives with her husband (Anders Randolph) with whom she is caught in a loveless marriage, the extreme surroundings mirror their tense lives. MGM embraced the stark modernistic Art Deco style, their films were always aimed at the wealthier members of the audience or the poor audiences that envied the rich. The "average" MGM family of the 20s were usually wealthy, who lived in a mad whirl of parties, often taking place on yachts ("Our Dancing Daughters" is a good example).In my opinion, along with "A Woman of Affairs", this is my favourite Garbo film. It was her last silent - released late in 1929 and once again she gave a strong, mesmerizing performance even though the men in the movie (Conrad Nagel, Anders Randolph, Lew Ayres) lacked dynamism and at just over an hour an extraordinarily short running time for a Garbo film.Irene (Garbo) is having a very discreet affair with Andre (Nagel), she begs him to take her away but he is concerned for her reputation and wants to confront her husband, blustering, quick tempered Charles (Anders Randolph - yes Anders Randolph - how did that ever happen, was she in a daze until their honeymoon!!!) - who is not above having Irene tailed!! The only thing of interest the "trailer" has in his book is the amount of time Irene spends with young Pierre (Ayres) who just happens to be her messenger boy and dog handler. Unbeknownst to everyone Pierre is infatuated with Irene. Charles is on the verge of bankruptcy but LaSalle, Pierre's father offers to bail him out, however on the way to the meeting Charles suffers a slight heart attack and instructs his driver to return home. He walks right in on a playful kiss between Irene and Pierre but by the end of the evening Charles is dead and Pierre has staggered home, dishevelled and bloody.The last part of the movie has a couple of innovative sequences. When Irene is questioned by the detectives she is hesitant and changes her story, but the viewer sees it in flashback - are the windows open, no they are closed, what time was it - the clock hands go haywire and instead of 9.30 pm it is now 9.10 pm - she constantly stumbles, recollects and fabricates. At the trial (Andre has returned to represent her) her stark black Adrian designed hat almost turns her into an Art Deco decoration as she is photographed from below, sitting in the witness box.Lew Ayres made a spontaneous, eager Pierre. He was a protégé of Paul Bern and had had a bit part in "The Sophomore" but when Bern moved to MGM he thought of Lew for the role of the youthful Pierre in "The Kiss".

calvinnme This isn't the best Garbo silent ever made, but it was the last, and it was also the final silent film made by MGM. What makes this film good is the combination of Garbo's acting and the cinematography here. Movies like this and Sunrise make me somewhat sad that the silent film era ended, because what could be done creatively with the camera was lost from this point until the early 30's once the problems of the static camera got worked out and the novelty of sound at the expense of everything else wore off.Garbo convincingly plays the sympathetic yet no-longer-in-love wife when in the presence of her husband (Anders Randolf), the longing lover who wishes to defy convention and just leave her marriage behind regardless of the consequences when with André Dubail (Conrad Nagel), and the knowledgeable "older" woman who is enjoying the attention she is getting when with the very young and naive Pierre Lassalle (Lew Ayres). Whenever she is alone she has no trouble conveying which of these three moods she is in. The story is a very good tale of tortured romance with a little bit of mystery thrown in towards the end, but the main attractions are the romance and the beautiful and creative shots. The only thing really annoying is the original Vitaphone score that went along with the movie. With all of the other subtle expression going on in this film, the choice of the theme song from "Romeo and Juliet" to convey the feelings between Garbo and Nagel every time they shared a scene just seemed a bit over the top.

ptb-8 The last silent film of the 20s is a perfect showcase to reveal succinctly and gloriously exactly why this cinematic form was a genuine work of living breathing visual art. Basically a 64 minute glamorous murder mystery of love gone wrong and love misinterpreted THE KISS was Garbo's silent farewell to the 20s too, before "just gimme a scotch baby" or whatever slutty thing she mumbled in 1930 set the tone for talkies. I saw this on a double feature with the astonishing and romantic 1929 talkie drama The Divorcée which I also heartily seriously recommend for students of the age and genre. SO modern! Anyway, THE KISS has committed to everlasting celluloid imagery of one of the most perfect moments in film history...and this is not a spoiler, in fact a great reason for you to find and enjoy this gorgeous film: teenager Lew Ayres has fallen in love with Greta; it is his besotted first time and she is exquisite anyway...so imagine the focus and impact for this charming boy. His tennis match with her at her home has her playfully leaping about laughing and being his friend too. At the end of the game, as they leave the court, she is delighted to be with him and playfully kisses him. So stunned at this impromptu expression of affection, he returns the kiss, and lets his emotions escape. She realises and for a brief moment has THE KISS before stopping it short. Estranged husband has seen all from the drawing room. But the focus here is also on Lew actually unexpectedly getting what he has only dreamed about. She turns away to go to the house and the camera lingers on Lew. So overwhelmed, he privately begins to cry at the enormity and perfection of what has just happened. There isn't a person on the planet who would not have had the same reaction..and this wise and almost perfect film clearly includes us all in on this act and reaction. Sooo genuinely beautiful. Find it. Love it. Kiss it even.... A murder mystery ensues....

overseer-3 "The Kiss" has a fairly predictable plot, but interesting acting from the excellent cast keeps you watching on this one. As others wrote, the Vitaphone soundtrack here was pretty poor, except for one section; all the melodies have been used before in many silent films. Listening to classical Tchaikovsky is not really appropriate for a modern film like "The Kiss."Greta has some great closeups in this film, but in certain sections seems to be sleepwalking through her role. Conrad Nagel was a delight to watch, he always seemed much more handsome on screen than in his still photos. He is the hero in this film, if the film could really be said to have a hero after everyone lies in court.Lew Ayres was adorable, and had to have made a great impression on studio bosses when the film was first released, for he went straight from this film into his classic "All Quiet On The Western Front", which made him a star. Holmes Herbert, so good in Pola Negri's "A Woman of the World", here is aged with makeup and plays Lew Ayres' father convincingly. Anders Randolf was a bit jarring as Greta's husband, but his performance was fine too.The print was decent on this MGM release, compared to another Garbo feature, "The Single Standard", made earlier. But of both films, "The Single Standard" is by far the superior film technically, plot-wise, and in its performances, though its print is more worn.