Juno and the Paycock (1930)

I've seen a lot of films and this is one of the worst I have ever seen. If a film as static and talky and irritating as this turns up on Talking Pictures TV I stop watching but I was obliged to finish this. I even at one point said I'd rather watch Frenzy which is really saying something.

I'm aware it is a relatively faithful adaptation of the play and I think that is particularly where the problem lies. It is so stagey with actors proclaiming rather than acting. And to anybody who argues there are Hitchcockian touches, there aren't. Early sound films didn't have to be like this.

One ironic thing is that I was dismayed that Barry Fitzgerald was in it and it turned out that he wasn't the worst thing about it. The casting was odd too - you have members of the Abbey Theatre and...Edward Chapman younger than his son, John Laurie, and talking of John Laurie...One thing that actually did tickle me was the fact that John Laurie appears to have been the Sean Connery of his day by dint of the fact he didn't even try to hide his Scottish accent.

Appearance by a cat or dog: reversed shot of a cat climbing up/down a lamppost
Alma fact: scenario by
Source: Film First DVD