"Interference" is slow, static, verbose, sometimes poorly recorded....but it's also intriguing and even compelling at times. The opening credits announce five characters, the last of whom is an inspector who doesn't appear for a long time, so you suspect that there must be a murder in there somewhere (Brandon Hurst has the honor of playing probably the first in a looooong line of wily inspectors in the talkies). Evelyn Brent gives the best performance - she's natural and comfortable with sound, plus she's kind of a badass! (when Clive Brook threatens her, she responds: "If I had less experience with men, I'd take you seriously!"). Brook is also convincing; William Powell hadn't quite found his footing yet but he shows some of his potential; Doris Kenyon is not bad at all, but she plays the typical helpless female and thus she is the least interesting character of the main four. The film may feel like a trial sometimes, but it's a trial worth passing through for any serious film buff, if only for the fact that it's one of only a handful of still-surviving all-talking pictures made in 1928; it's quite an experience. **1/2 out of 4.
Review of Interference
