I've only watched Within the Law of the four films on the Talmadge discs so far, and I have to agree with the general disappointment over Norma. I had heard such a lot about her being the great emotional actress of the silent screen; and yet her performance in this was so uninflected. I couldn't believe in her as a working class shopgirl, a jailbird, or a conwoman. The title cards didn't help either, since although the other criminals were allowed to talk in a colourful way (e.g.: Aggie), Norma was stuck with the most excrutiatingly correct and unlifelike English.MichiganJ wrote:I also watched Norma Talmadge's Within the Law, and all I can say is, if this was representative of the kinds of films Norma was known for, it's curious that she was known at all. The plot is nonsensical, the direction is abysmal, and the performances are one-note at best. For her part Norma had two expressions: dour and more dour--and each one she over-emoted.
It almost seemed as though NT - as an actress - was more concerned in projecting a ladylike image (perhaps one beloved by her fans) than in suggesting the character she was supposed to be playing. Joan Crawford was much more convincing in the sound remake, Paid (1930). With her, you really got the sense she'd been through the mill.
However, I still have high hopes for Constance - and also for Kiki.